Ford CEO Alan Mulally Aims to Remake the Lincoln
Ford (F) is revamping its also-ran Lincoln luxury brand with striking new styling; smaller, more fuel-efficient Lincoln models; and a serious attempt to break into global markets.
That's just about 180 degrees from Lincoln's image today, which is stuck in the recent past: generic styling that's too close to less-expensive Ford models; big, powerful limousines and SUVs; and no awareness outside the United States.
It's understandable that fixing Lincoln had to work its way up the to-do list for Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally.
He's been busy surviving the Great Recession without taking Ford bankrupt. The next step was to achieve profitability at the lowest per-capita level of U.S. auto sales since World War II. Mulally's other big initiative, the so-called One Ford scheme, has been to simplify the lineup and spread costs over the greatest possible volumes. That also appears to be moving in the right direction.
With the decks relatively clear, Ford is now prepared to tackle the Lincoln brand. So far, Lincoln is more easily defined by what it's not than what it is.
- Lincoln isn't the Lincoln Town Car any more. The Town Car is being phased out, even though it's the model many people associate with the Lincoln brand.
- Lincoln isn't symbolized by the hulking Lincoln Navigator SUV any more, either, although the Navigator is still being offered. If the newest generation of the Ford Explorer is any indication, and it probably is, new Lincolns will be less imposing, with have smaller, more fuel-efficient engine options.
- Lincoln also isn't part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group (PAG) any more. Mulally disbanded the group and sold off or closed the pieces in the last couple of years. The fact that Ford created PAG in the first place was a vote of no-confidence in the Lincoln brand. Rather than put its chips on the Lincoln brand, Ford acquired a bunch of European luxury brands and starting in 2001 put them under one umbrella organization, the Premier Automotive Group. At various times, PAG brands included Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo, all of which have been sold. Ford's domestic upscale brands, Lincoln and Mercury, were sort-of in and sort-of out of the group. Jaguar earlier shared a platform with Lincoln models, but neither version will be fondly remembered as either a classic Jaguar or a classic Lincoln. Ford also at one point moved Lincoln Mercury headquarters to California, where it also put PAG, but then later moved Lincoln Mercury back to Michigan. Ultimately, Ford dropped Mercury this year.
The future, though, may look different. Here's why:
- Ford recently named a General Motors (GM) alumnus, Max Wolff, as Lincoln director of design, stressing Wolff's global experience. That strengthens the impression that Ford wants Lincoln to capture a significant presence overseas.
- Lincoln is getting smaller. Not quite a year ago, Lincoln had a small concept car at the Detroit auto show called the Lincoln C Concept. It's much smaller than today's somewhat smaller Lincolns. My initial reaction was that it was cool-looking, but didn't belong in the Lincoln lineup. But a radically smaller, more fuel-efficient Lincoln could reflect what customers want in other markets, where gasoline is much more expensive than in the U.S.
Related:
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- No Town Car or Crown Vic? New York Streets Won't Be the Same