Background: A Lincoln truck! Who would've thought. Certainly not Henry Leland (founder of the Lincoln Motor Company who sold his company to Ford in 1922). Yet a Lincoln truck (alright, sport utility vehicle) is not only a reality, it is a phenomenal success. Introduced in June of 1997 as a 1998 model, the truck-based Lincoln Navigator has set all kinds of Lincoln-Mercury sales records. For 1999, Lincoln equipped the Navigator with a new 300-horsepower engine, making it the most powerful SUV on the planet, and added a feature sure to enamor women from both Venus and Earth -- power-adjustable brake and accelerator pedals. The Navigator presently boasts 47 percent female buyers. It'll be interesting to see if this new feature improves that already impressive statistic. Also improving the Navigator for 1999 are rollers on the removable third-row seats.

The Test Vehicle: seven-passenger, four-wheel drive

Vehicle Type: seven- or eight-passenger, four-door full-size luxury sport utility vehicle, two- or four-wheel drive

Base Price: $39,510 (2WD); $43,160 (4WD) plus $640 destination charge

Test Vehicle Price: $46,125

Engine: The test vehicle was equipped with last year's 5.4-liter two-valve Triton V8. The new powertrain, placed in models built later in the production year, is a more powerful Intech 5.4-liter engine. Although the engine in the test vehicle produced a healthy 260-horsepower, the more sophisticated Intech powerplant jumps the horsepower to 300 and increases torque from 345 to 360 foot-pounds. This new engine is available with either the two- or four-wheel configuration. Both engines achieve LEV (low-emission vehicle) status for 1999.

Transmission: four-speed automatic with overdrive

Fuel Economy: 13 mpg city/17 mpg highway

Safety Features: second-generation driver and passenger-side airbags, all-wheel anti-lock brakes, power door locks, rear-door child safety locks, 3-point height-adjustable seat belts for driver and all outboard passengers, remote keyless entry, anti-theft device

Special Features: Power-adjustable pedals convert this full-size SUV to all-size drive. A first for any vehicle, the feature adjusts the gas and brake pedals up to three inches toward or away from the driver. Great for short people, but everybody will enjoy the luxury getting the driver's position "just right." The memory feature that controls the seat and mirror settings also remembers where the pedals have been set.