Ford's boxy new Flex crossover wagon is far from meeting its sales expectations. And while part of its slow sales can be chalked up to the overall downturn in the auto market, and specifically sales of large 'utes, some believe that there could be more than meets the eye to this particular story.

Only a few days after Ford officially confirmed that the seven-seat crossover everyone already knew was coming was indeed coming, a preproduction mule of the Lincoln MKT has been spotted in the wild. Ford promised that the MKT would look nothing like its Ford Flex sibling, and a quick glance at these spy pics prove that to be the case. In fact, the well-covered MKT development vehicle looks an awful lot like the MKT concept from the 2008 Detroit Auto Show.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lincoln MKT concept.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Ford Flex.

From: Ford Motor Company
To: Richard Gresens

Richard; sincere thanks for designing the Flex, a vehicle that's working well for FoMoCo in the press, gathering much critical praise at a time when we need it most. Your team succeeded at turning the Freestyle's sows ear into a bigger, slicker, bolder silk purse that's drawing good attention to Ford. Unfortunately, now that we've got a viable neo-Country Squire, we no longer require your talents. Please accept the nice cardboard box we've left, it's been spray painted gold in an effort to call to mind the gold watch you might have gotten were our business not in such a shambles. Thanks for your service, and warmest regards.

Click above high-res gallery of the 2009 Ford Flex

Ford has been banking on strong sales of its crossover vehicles to help counter the sinking ship that is its line of SUVs. While the new Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, along with the brand new Ford Flex and revised Escape, have sold well enough to post a meager 2.8-percent gain in overall sales so far this year, that number apparently isn't high enough to warrant a third shift at Ford's Oakville, Ontario plant that the automaker was hoping would be necessary. Unfortunately, this shift cancelation means that 350 workers who had planned on showing up for their first day next Monday are now left jobless.

We're typically too busy with our nose to the automotive grindstone to goof off. After stumbling across some 50 year old Ford commercials on YouTube during our time with the Ford Flex, we had all the inspiration needed for some weekend fun. The old days of automotive advertising meant long, one- to two-minute commercials, bad camera work, and scripting that was done before the women's rights movement took hold. We had a somewhat retro-looking Ford Flex, a camera and a few spare moments to put something together, and the finished product is available after the jump.

Click the image above for more high res photos of the 2009 Ford Flex