Would You Buy Any Of These Vehicles? This online banner ad dramatically illustrates how unappealing the current Lincoln line-up is:

I'm sure such a visual message was not the intent of the ad creator but - hey - ya gotta work with what ya got.

Yes, the MKZ concept, introduced at the Detroit Auto Show, is an improvement but I'll remain skeptical until I personally examine the production version.

Meanwhile, Lincoln has cut its dealers in U.S. metropolitan markets to 325, from more than 500. There is no longer a Lincoln dealer in Clark County (WA), where I live - which will make it more difficult for me to inspect the new model. (posted 1/11/12, permalink)

The Pyongyang Hillbillies: The idea of strapping a coffin to the roof of a 35 year-old Lincoln and parading it through town seems a bit redneck, no? There were several old '70s Lincolns in Kim Jong Il's funeral procession, including a 1975 or '76 black stretch limo which carried Kim's casket on its roof.

Check out the myriad J.C. Whitney accessories on the front end: chromed headlight covers, cheesy fog lights and odd side mirrors on the front fenders. (posted 1/3/12, permalink)

Will There Be A Lincoln Brand 10 Years From Now? Earlier this year, FoMoCo announced that it "is spending $1 billion in an effort to develop a new generation of vehicles for its struggling Lincoln brand." In November, the company debuted the 2013 version of the MKS flagship sedan, featuring a mildly facelifted exterior and an upgraded interior. Most automotive cognoscenti were unimpressed.

Mere incremental improvements are not enough to save this brand. Today's Lincolns have no real identity - they are perceived as tarted-up Fords. Lack of uniqueness is just one potentially-lethal problem for Lincoln. The other is that it is no longer perceived as a true luxury brand.

Once upon a time in the American automobile market, there was an entity known as "the mid-priced field." Neither entry-level nor luxury, these vehicles offered something more upscale than the "low-priced three" (Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth) but at a price far below luxury cars. Brands in the mid-priced pack included such now-extinct brands as Clipper, DeSoto, Edsel, Kaiser, Mercury, Pontiac and Oldsmobile as well as still-breathing offerings Buick and Dodge.

When introduced in 1939 as Ford's first foray into the mid-priced field, Mercury was priced about 50% higher than a Ford. The Lincoln Zephyr was priced 50% higher than Mercury. About 2.5 Fords were sold for every Merc. Mercury outsold Lincoln by roughly 3 to 1 in 1939. The Merc was priced in between Oldsmobile and Buick.

In the postwar era, FoMoCo prices began to converge. A 1950 Mercury cost about 30% more than a Ford. A Lincoln cost about 35% more than a Mercury. In 1950, there were about 4 Fords sold for every Mercury and 10 Mercuries sold for every Lincoln.

By the 1970s, a full-size Mercury was priced only 10% higher that an equivalent Ford. Mercury was being squeezed out of existence. The same thing was happening to Plymouth as Dodge brand moved downscale. The mid-priced field was evaporating. Meanwhile new competition in the luxury field appeared produces significant sales: Mercedes in the 1970s, BMW in the 1980s and Lexus in the '90s. And in this decade, Audi.

In the last decade or two, America's upscale brands began filling the gap left by the mid-priced field. And the term "entry-level luxury" (ELL) was born.

Consider this: in 1936, the lowest priced Cadillac sold for three times as much as a mere Chevrolet. By 1976, a four-door Caddy Calais cost only twice as much as an entry-level four-door Chevy Bel Air. Today, a Cadillac CTS will cost you about 50% more than an Impala. A Lincoln MKS carries roughly the same premium over a Ford Taurus. Meanwhile, the entry-level luxury field is becoming even more crowded with brands like Toyota's Avalon Limited, Genesis from Hyundai, Acura, Infiniti, etc.

Recent brand surveys have shown that Mercedes and BMW hold top ranks in the category of automotive luxury cars, followed by Jaguar, Lexus and Audi. Cadillac, Lincoln and Acura received far lower scores. Many auto buffs have trouble believing this. They should keep in mind that, if such a survey was taken in 1939, Packard would probably been the most desirable luxury car. Today's forty-something or fifty-something luxury car buyer probably doesn't know what a Packard is and vaguely remembers Cadillac and Lincoln as something his/her grandfather used to lust after. The he/she pulls out an iPhone to find the nearest Bimmer store.

Within the ELL field, many BMW 3-Series models carry higher transaction prices than those alleged 'flagship' MKS or CTS models. Lexus, Audi and Mercedes offer vehicles from ELL to six-figure flagship models. These foreign brands either did not exist or were an insignificant factor in the U.S. luxury vehicle market 40 years ago. While Lincoln and Cadillac are openly advertised with discounts off sticker, most foreign luxury cars offer little in the way of discounts. They don't need to.

Despite widespread discounting, Lincoln sales have declined almost 60% in the last decade. Cadillac sales have dropped almost 50%. Who's getting these lost sales? Mostly BMW, Audi, Infiniti, Lexus and Mercedes, it would seem. Lincoln is becoming the new Mercury.

If ELL World isn't crowded enough, Buick has renewed its aspirations of returning as a upper-end player with the LaCrosse GL concept - a luxurified LaCrosse, which debuted at the LA Auto Show last month.

In 2011, there were 24 Fords sold for every Lincoln. The small MKZ sedan and Edge-based MKX crossover average 2,000 units per month each in customer deliveries. The remaining Lincoln models - MKS, MKT and Navigator - sell at mostly three-digit monthly volume levels. At such low quantities, it is doubt that any of these models are sustainable from either a profit or return on investment standpoint.

Just as Mercury was squeezed out of existence by a shifting, compressing and increasingly-competitive market, Lincoln now faces the same danger. While Cadillac presently outsells Lincoln by almost 2-1, gven current trends (and with Buick nipping at its heels), Cadillac should be plenty worried too. (posted 12/2/11, permalink)

Store Reduction: Ford Motor Co. has announced that it plans to cut its Lincoln dealership count to about 325 from the current 434 in big metro areas.

The top 130 metro markets hold about 85% of the U.S. luxury market. Lincoln now has about 1,100 U.S. dealers, including ones in smaller markets.

What Are They Smoking Over At Lincoln? In a recent review posted at The Truth About Cars, Michael Karesh wrote, "The logic behind the Lincoln MKZ (formerly the Zephyr) is clear enough: if Toyota can get away with making a Lexus out of a Camry, why can't Ford do the same with a Fusion?"

BMW and Audi have done well, probably at Mercedes' expense. Lexus sales have remained relatively flat. Both Lincoln and Cadillac have declined substantially; ten years ago they duked it out with Lexus for first place, now they are relatively minor players. Jaguar is at the bottom of the list, suffering a sales slide of almost 70% over the decade. (posted 1/4/10, permalink)

Headline Of The Week is from Justin Berkowitz at MetaCars; 'Lincoln Changes Company Name to MKL, VP Mark Fields Now Called MKF'.

Excerpts: "The Mark series cars were always the most successful, interesting Lincolns. As a contrast, Lincolns with real names have negative customer associations: Towncars are just big taxis. The Navigator hasn't been cool since the Escalade came out. The Continental was once popular, but then Kennedy got shot in one," MKF explained.

"Most recently, Lincoln has renamed virtually all of its models MK-something. The Zephyr became the MKZ, the Aviator became the MKX, the Blackwood became the Mark LT, and the Ford Taurus became the MKS." (posted 12/7/09, permalink)