Ford on Quest to Revive Lincoln

DetroitNews November 8, 2012 at 1:00 am OK...my media friends...Get over to your Ford-Lincolndealer and lettem know you know about the exciting new MKX..as it is veddy cool! Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D. Read below.... by John McCormick Jim Farley, Ford’s global vice president of marketing and sales, says the Lincoln revival is aimed at buyers seeking the “next thing.” (Sam VarnHagen / Ford) If you are a premium car owner or shopping for one, you may well be bored and looking for the "next thing." At least that's what Jim Farley, Ford's global vice president of marketing and sales, would have you believe. Farley and his fellow top executives at Ford are engaged in the "reinvention" of Lincoln, the Dearborn automaker's luxury brand which has been on life support for the past decade or so. Several previous attempts to revive Lincoln have failed for various reasons, but this time Ford says it's serious and is putting the money, people and resources behind the effort. One of those resources is a brand new design studio dedicated solely to Lincoln and integrating engineering and other disciplines in one open plan, loft-like space. "This facility allows us to gather design and engineering teams together quickly," says Raj Nair, Ford's group vice president of global product development. For J. Mays, Ford's global design chief, the point of the studio is "to bring together a combination of imaginative engineering and style in a compelling package. Style is not just poured over the top of engineering." The first evidence of Lincoln's new style is the 2013 MKZ midsize sedan, which comes to market before the end of this year. As well as a new signature Lincoln waterfall grille design, the MKZ will boast a novel interior feature, a vertical set of push buttons on the center of the instrument panel for controlling the automatic transmission. This frees up room on the center console for more elegantly designed storage space. The MKZ is the only "new" Lincoln to be shown publicly, but insiders say a "very attractive" small crossover vehicle is close to fruition. This will be a welcome addition because Lincoln's current crossover, the MKT, is not known for its good looks. Now that Ford has shed all its previously owned European luxury brands, including Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin, it is free to concentrate on Lincoln. However, questions remain whether Ford truly has the stomach for such an expensive and long-term commitment, and if the crowned premium market really has room for another brand. Aside from the well-established high volume luxury marquees, such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Lexus, there are several second-tier contenders, including Cadillac, Volvo, Infiniti, Acura, Porsche and Jaguar/Land Rover all hungry to expand their shares of a market still suffering from the recession three years ago. So what can Lincoln do to regain its former luster in the eyes of consumers? From Farley's perspective, the answer lies in being different, with a combination of attention to details and unique personal touches. "Wealthy Americans are curious about what is the next thing, that's the opportunity for Lincoln," says Farley, who worked at Lexus prior to Ford and therefore knows a thing or two about launching a luxury brand. Lincoln will focus on the heart of the premium market, meaning smaller and mid-sized vehicles, and eschew the large sedan segment, demand for which has dropped sharply since the recession. "We are not going to make a big box with a cappuccino machine," Farley notes, "our ambition is to produce something very personal, because emerging customers are more reflective and interested in authenticity, rather than showing off how much they have." How such inspiring statements will translate into reality for future Lincoln buyers remains to be seen and skeptics would point out that the brand's track record for revivals is less than stellar. Still, it is promising to see physical evidence like the impressive design studio and the stated commitment to Lincoln from so many high-profile Ford executives.