Book Review: 'Lincoln Design Heritage: Zephyr to LS (1936-2000)' by Jim & Cheryl Farrell

This large-format (approx. 10" x 13") heavy (over six pounds) hardbound book offers coffee table appeal along with a plethora of photographs, artwork and images (1,600 photos total), over 230 bios of designers and clay modelers and a comprehensive history of Lincoln's most important decades. It is a 475-page story plus bibliography and index - over 200,000 words. This limited-edition book is a labor of love by the Farrells, who traveled to Detroit/Dearborn on numerous occasions to scour the Ford Archives, the Henry Ford Museum historical records, as well those at the National Automotive History Collection at the Detroit Library. They also did research at the Art Center College in California, the Collier Automotive Museum collection in Florida as well as other resource sites. The Farrells interviewed hundreds of former Ford employees in order to factually document events chronicled in their book.

2000 Lincoln LS

In 1999, Jim & Cheryl Farrell wrote and published the highly-acclaimed 'Ford Design Department Concept & Show Cars 1932-1961' (399 pages, over 900 photos, published in 1999) now fetches $2-300 on the used book market. In that book, every chapter was about a different car; therefore, each chapter stood alone and the book could be read out of order without losing continuity.

'Lincoln Design Heritage' flows chronologically, beginning with the pre-Zephyr John Tjaarda experimental ... (more >>>)

2040 Is Lookin' Weird: Lincoln has partnered with the ArtCenter College of Design to produce four virtual concept cars as a potential preview of Lincoln design elements.

The cars are set in the world of 2040 or thereabouts. One is a six-passenger utility/van called 'Ensemble':

Lincoln actually built one of the concepts, the Lincoln Anniversary - a low-slung four-seater coupe, and put it on display during Monterey Week at The Quail.

In 1999, I drew a future Lincoln concept coupe proposal called the 2058 Lincoln Solar Mark XVII - sun-powered of course. (posted 8/26/21, permalink)

Ersatz Luxury; Faithful Fans: Mike Seely of The New York Times wrote an article on the cult of the mythical Lincoln Town Car, a model discontinued in 2011.

"Even with the predominance of Uber and Lyft, plenty of Americans still ask to be driven someplace by a "town car." But with every passing year, the odds become slimmer that they'll be ferried to their destination by an actual Town Car, a model Lincoln ceased manufacturing in 2011, and which is now too old to qualify for Uber and Lyft's luxury offerings - or, in some major cities, their standard level of service."

Lincoln introduced the Town Car as a trim option in 1976. Beginning in 1977, the Town Car acquired its distinctive mock-Rolls-Royce grille. It sold like spare electrical parts at a British car meet. Lincoln sales rose from 101,843 in 1975 to 191,355 in 1977. More importantly, it gained Lincoln market share against Cadillac. Lincoln's sales continued to grow and, in 1988, it actually outsold the Cadillac brand. The Town Car made no pretensions of being a Mercedes or a Bentley. It was America's idea of sensible luxury. It was built to a price using Ford's versatile Panther platform, the same one that underpinned Crown Victorias, whether they were passenger cars, cop cars or taxis.

I rented many a Town Car during my travels from the mid-1980s to mid-90s. They were comfy cruisers even on beat-up urban streets and lent a certain slightly-gauche presence wherever you went. Often it was cheaper to rent a Town Car than a large full-size sedan because places like Budget offered special deals on Lincoln Town Cars. In the '80s, they rented for as little as $119 per week.

In 1992, I acquired 'The Barge' - a huge, last-of-the-big-Lincolns 1979 Lincoln Town Car. The model I bought was the Williamsburg Edition which had special paint and trim. It was painted light silver over dark silver and had a deep-red leather interior. With its opera lights and other gewgaws, it was as gaudy as Liberace's Christmas decorations. The '79 rode and drove wonderfully and the big 400 cubic inch V-8 engine never missed a beat. It was a one-owner car from Montana and was in excellent shape. We took it everywhere, including two trips to Canada.

The Barge was the roomiest car we've ever owned. Of course, at almost 20 feet long, it was a bear to park and it sucked gas like there was no tomorrow - 12 miles to the gallon on regular unleaded in the city and the exact same on the highway. Nevertheless, it was a comfortable and pleasing Interstate cruiser and we kept it for almost three years. It was no sports car - on curvy roads, it rolled and gimbaled like a ship's compass in a storm. Sometimes referred to as "BarcaLoungers on wheels," Town Cars always offered a smooth, comfy ride.

Global Warming Alarmists hated Town Cars; they considered them more heinous than smoking an unfiltered French cigarette within three miles of a day-care center. Which, for me, only added to the joy of driving one. Or owning one.

Seely wrote, "Curiously enough, when Uber got its start in 2009 as UberCab, it was primarily a black-car service that relied heavily on Lincoln Town Cars. But with the dawn of UberX, the cheaper service, the company's hybrid-heavy fleet effectively ate its dad." (posted 12/12/19, permalink)

Music Of Your Life: The new Lincoln Aviator, which made its debut at the LA Auto Show, has warning and alert sounds played by members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Russian Blue: In the latest issue of The Connector, the newsletter of the Pacific Northwest Region of the Lincoln & Continental Owner's Club, Kris Sundberg related a story which links the Russian election hacking with a vintage Lincoln Town Car.

Roger Clements is a well-known collector and restorer of Lincolns. Several of his cars have won top trophies at LCOC meets. Roger once owned a powder-blue 1979 Lincoln Continental Town Car on which he performed "an extensive, multi-year, no expense spared restoration."

Kris wrote, "Robert Mueller's recently released secret grand jury indictments of 13 Russian agents who hacked our 2016 election, involved one defendant with a very likely connection to the PNWR. Defendant Yevgeny ('The Chef') Prigozhin, a wealthy Russian oligarch and reputed close confidant of Kremlin strongman Vladimir Putin, was the subject of a full-page profile in The Seattle Times." According to the indictment, Prigozhin "ran the Internet troll farm where 12 Russian agents, working for him, were allowed to hack our election through fake tweets and postings to Facebook."

Yevgeny Prigozhin is also a car enthusiast. The article revealed certain aspects of Prigozhin's outrageously lavish lifestyle, including his ownership of a "vintage powder-blue Lincoln Continental," said to be Prigozhin's "favorite car." If you don't know what a 1979 Lincoln Continental Town Car looks like, I've posted photos of my old Town Car here.

If you're confused by the 'Continental' designation, you're not alone. Lincoln slapped the Continental name on much of its product line from the 1970s to the mid’80s. My 1984 Mark VII coupe was badged as a Lincoln Continental Mark VII.

It appears that car is most likely the one Roger Clements owned and lovingly restored. In 2002, Roger agreed to sell the car to a party in Finland. "Shortly thereafter, a large UPS package was delivered to Roger's unlisted post office box in Auburn, WA. The package contained brand new, unmarked $100 Federal Reserve bank notes. Roger then delivered the car to Boeing Field in Seattle, where the car was put into a special cargo plane for overnight shipping to Finland." Finland is, of course, right next-door to Russia. Roger and Kris are convinced that the Russian Lincoln is Roger's old Town Car.

Every old car has a story. This Town Car has a very unusual one with a distinctly Slavic flavor. (posted 8/6/18, permalink)

Rare Sighting: In Chapter 13 (titled: The Wizard’s Challenge) of the 15-chapter movie serial, 'Batman & Robin', a 1941 Lincoln Custom makes an appearance, driven by the bad guys. The Custom was a special model - limited-production, long-wheelbase version of the Lincoln Zephyr. The Custom featured a large notched trunk instead of the fastback style of the Zephyr sedan.

Riding on a 138-inch wheelbase (13 inches longer than the standard Zephyr), the Custom was offered as a seven-passenger sedan or limousine with a glass divider between the rear-seat passengers and the chauffeur. The Custom was priced 75% higher than the regular sedan. Less than 650 were produced in 1941; 355 were seven-passenger sedans. The example in the movie is pretty dusty and worn and is missing its rear fender skirts. I've seen restored versions of these cars - they are handsome and elegant:

As to the movie itself, the low-budget serial was produced in 1949. The Batmobile was a stock 1949 Mercury convertible. (The Green Hornet had a much cooler car - a customized Lincoln - in his 13-chapter, 1940 serialized flick.) Made by Columbia Pictures, 'Batman & Robin' featured no big-name stars. The plot revolved around the villainous activities of a hooded character named the Wizard. He possessed an electrical device which allowed him to do all sorts of mischief, including taking control of cars and trucks. Eventually, the Dynamic Duo prevailed and all ended well ... as serials tend to do. (posted 4/10/18, permalink)

The Model Name That Keeps Dying: The first Lincoln Continental was a 1940 model. It was killed off by Ford's Whiz Kids after the 1948 model year because of poor sales. The Continental Mark II was introduced as a '56 model and was killed off in 1957 because of poor sales. During the 1958-60 period, the Continental nameplate was the top-of-the line Lincoln model but didn't sell well. See a pattern here?

In 1961, all Lincolns were badged as Continental models - this pattern continued until the 1980s. A mid-size Lincoln Continental sedan was introduced in 1982 to compete with the Cadillac Seville. It did not sell well. For 1988, a Ford Taurus-based front-wheel drive Lincoln Continental was introduced. The model was updated for 1995 and received a V8 engine. The Continental was discontinued after the 2002 model year because of declining sales.

In 2017, the Continental name was revived and is based on a stretched Ford Fusion/Lincoln MKZ platform. Now - 19 months later - "sources intricately familiar with Ford Motor Company's future product plans" for the domestic luxury brand say the Continental will again be discontinued. Weak sales - a problem with many sedan models - are cited as the cause. The 2018 Continental currently sells at a rate of 800 sedans per month or so. Part of the problem may also be a six-cylinder motor and FWD on an $80,000 vehicle.

My idea: Bring back a big V8 model with AWD - a sedan version of the Lincoln Navigator with lower ground clearance. Call it a Town Car. It should be noted that the current Presidential limousine is described by General Motors as a "Cadillac Escalade sedan," so there's precedent. (posted 3/16/18, permalink)

The Return Of The Luxo Coupe: The American personal luxury coupe is an automotive market segment that began with the introduction of the 1958 four-passenger Thunderbird. Luxo-coupes like the T'Bird had bodies which were different and distinctive from those of the sedans and hardtops of the same brand.

Personal luxury coupes were usually offered with the top-of-the-line engines and higher-quality and more opulent trim. These luxo-coupes added a bit of class to the car line and were priced at the top of the brand's product offerings - the '58 Bird cost almost twice as much as the base-level 1958 Ford.

In the personal coupe biz, the Thunderbird was followed in 1963 by the Buick Riviera, in 1966 - the Oldsmobile Toronado, in 1967 - the front-wheel-drive Cadillac Eldorado and, in April of 1968, by the 1969 Lincoln Continental Mark III. By the end of the 20th Century, the personal luxury coupe market had become mostly extinct.

In a recent Road & Track article, Jack Baruth suggested that Lincoln make a Mark IX luxury coupe.

"It would be easy to style. Thanks to Euro pedestrian regulations, we are well and truly back in the era of the bluff-faced front end. Instead of hidden headlamps, you could have electrochomic tinted panels that seemingly vanish in front of a set of quad round lights. Make it look like a modern Mark III. The interior should be black and chrome, with top-quality leather in a streamlined motif. Spare no expense. Real crystal, real leather, real chrome, real aluminum.

It's a no-brainer to give it the 400-plus-hp Ecoboost variant, but if Ford really wanted to shoot for the stars, it could offer a Coyote-ized version of the modular V10. Six liters, 500 hp, an electric exhaust valve to let it roar at full throttle the way a 460-powered Lincoln of the Seventies did.

Now for the most important part: the price. It should cost exactly $100,000. That price should be front and center in every advertisement. Your neighbors should know that your new Mark Nine cost $100,000. There should be no guessing. Think of all the free advertising Lincoln would get. "The Hundred Thousand Dollar Car." Make the price part of the story. That's the smart way to do it. Cadillac does the opposite with the Escalade; in my mind and the minds of my neighbor, an Escalade costs about 50 grand, but in fact they run well above 90 with the right equipment. The Mark Nine, by contrast, should embrace its six-figure price tag as a true exemplar of a revitalized American luxury aesthetic. The same person who spends $800 on cordovan Alden boots and $5500 on Chicago-sewn Oxxford suit will sign right up.  If 40 grand of the price is pure profit ... well, then you only need to sell 25 thousand of them to recoup a billion dollars' worth of development."

Great idea! I'd love to see an American-branded, production luxo-coupe make a showroom comeback. (posted 3/28/16, permalink)

Basic Black: Back in 2009, after looking at photos of Lincoln's new MKT (described by Ford Motor Company as a full-size luxury crossover), I wrote, "The Lincoln MKT is apparently for those who think not all hearses should carry a Cadillac emblem."

It turns out I was right. It does make a good hearse as this photo of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's funeral shows:

The MKT, which shares its platform with the Ford Flex, has never been a good seller. In 2015, sales averaged less than 400 units per month. (posted 2/23/16, permalink)

Showing Signs Of Life: Maybe the Lincoln brand really is coming out of its coma. The 2017 Fusion-sized Lincoln MKZ has new styling - featuring the grille from the Continental concept - and a 400 horsepower 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 engine. All-wheel drive will also be available.

This Caught My Eye: The Lincoln Motor Company commissioned Automotive Fine Arts Society president, Ken Eberts, to create a piece titled 'A New Star is Born', to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the original Lincoln Continental, and the creation of the 2016 Continental Concept. Ken used his own 1956 Continental Mark II in the piece.

Ken's white Continental Mark II in the background sure brought back memories for me.

Take a moment and compare the Continental Concept to the Aston Martin Lagonda sedan exhibited at Monterey Week. The Continental is elegant, positively soigné. By comparison, the ultra-expensive Lagonda is soulless and derivative. (posted 8/20/15, permalink)

Dead Letter(s): Lincoln is killing off its flagship MKS sedan after the 2016 model year. Hopefully, the Continental will replace it soon after. The MKS never sold well and its styling was not particularly distinctive. The typical MKS buyer is 63 years old; the average luxury car purchaser is 52.

When it was introduced as a 2009 model, the MKS received lukewarm reviews, even from MotorWeek - a show that likes almost everything. Comparing MotorWeek's road test data with Motor Trend's numbers from 1995, the 2009 MKS was pretty much the same as a '95 Continental. The 0-60 dash, quarter-mile times and 60-0 braking were almost identical. MW remarked that the handling of the MKS was "lethargic and understeer pronounced." That understeer was the bane of the old front-wheel drive Connie, too.

MotorWeek reported 20.4 mpg on their test loop. That's about what my wife's old '96 Continental pulled - and it had a real V8 motor, unlike the V6 which is the only engine offered in the MKS.

Not much had changed in two decades. No wonder the MKS isn't selling well.

"Until the end comes for the MKS, however, consumers could find huge deals on the luxury sedan, whose price of admission already starts at under $40,000. Whether they decide to pull the trigger is another story: 3,304 units left the showroom over the first five months of 2015, down 19.1% over the same period in 2014." (posted 6/19/15, permalink)

Name Game: Whatever you think of the recently revealed Lincoln Continental Concept, exhibited at the 2015 New York Auto Show and allegedly a thinly-disguised preview of the 2016 production version, give props to Lincoln for daring to replace its confusing MK Alphabet Soup model designations with a familiar model name adding some heritage to its new flagship. Dare greatly, Lincoln.

I like the overall shape of the concept car, although the grille is a bit too blingy for my taste. Power for the Continental comes from a 3-liter EcoBoost V6. I only wish it had suicide doors and a V8 engine.

Now that Lincoln's using model names again, how about reviving the Town Car moniker?

I sketched this concept over 19 years ago. (posted 4/3/15, permalink)

Lincoln Doesn't Know Shit: Last week, my wife received a promotional offer in the mail for the new Lincoln MKC, the compact utility vehicle based on the Ford Escape. Since she purchased her last Lincoln 19 years ago, it doesn't reflect well on Lincoln's mailing list management.

Prospective purchasers are being offered a "Lincoln Makers Gift with purchase or lease." It's a Shinola watch.

Shinola was a brand of shoe polish introduced in 1907; it gained popularity during World War I and World War II. Many of my generation are familiar with the old colloquialism, "You don't know shit from Shinola." As Wikipedia delicately puts it, "Shinola was a once-popular brand of shoe polish, which had a color and texture not unlike feces." Not a good tie-in for a luxury car, eh?

The resurrected (2011) Shinola Company specializes in watches, journals, bicycles, and leather goods.

The brochure noted that "your Lincoln Curator" - apparently the firm's novel name for a car salesman - will assist you in selecting the suitable style and type of watch. Perhaps curator is a good term, since Lincolns are becoming such a rarity on the road.

Remember when Lincolns were associated with more elegant things? Think of those Designer Edition Continentals with style touches by Bill Blass or Hubert de Givenchy.

Lincoln also offered Gianni Versace, Emilio Pucci and Valentino designer models during the 1970s and 1980s.

Now it seems they're just offering shit. (posted 10/28/14, permalink)

Geezermobile: IHS Automotive reported that in 2013 Lincoln buyers had an average age of 61, the oldest of any brand in the industry. That was unchanged from 2011. While the Town Car, with an average customer age of 67, has been discontinued, the typical MKS buyer is now 63, up from 61 three years ago.

The average luxury car buyer in 2013 was just under 52 years old. Lincoln is not replacing older buyers with younger ones, which has been among its stated goals.

Then there's this via Autoblog: "Lincoln fans might want to give incoming Ford CEO Mark Fields a pat on the back for having a hand in saving the brand from the chopping block last year. He's among the people spearheading the rejuvenation of the division away from its stodgy image to appeal to younger customers.

According to two unnamed sources speaking to Bloomberg, CEO Alan Mulally was ready to kill Lincoln last year. Following the slow production ramp-up of the MKZ combined a with a costly ad campaign, Mulally was frustrated and openly suggested dropping the brand. However, Fields and Jim Farley, Ford's marketing boss, convinced the CEO that the brand was worth saving. They also created a plan to prevent similar problems for new models in the future."

Time will tell whether the Lincoln brand survives. (posted 6/14/14, permalink)

Badge-Engineered Luxury: Recently, I watched the 1989 James Bond flick, 'Licence To Kill'. It wasn't the best of the Bond films and Timothy Dalton may have been the worst James Bond ever. Nevertheless, the car Bond was driving, a Lincoln Mark VII coupe, looked handsome and was shot from several flattering angles. Of course, I'm partial to Mark VII's, having owned a 1984 model.

The late '80s were Lincoln's best days, saleswise. In 1986, Cadillac reduced the size of their vehicles and offered styling which - from a distance - was hard to distinguish from its lesser stablemates, Buick, Pontiac and Oldsmobile. Lincoln reaped the benefits of this as Caddy's sales dropped by almost 40%. Lincoln outsold Cadillac in 1988 and 1989.

Fast forward to 2014 and there's not much to admire in the Lincoln line-up. Recently, Dan Neil tested the Lincoln MKZ, calling it "an overpriced, badge-engineered, sort-of-premium version of Ford Fusion that is actually less successful, stylistically, than the donor car."

"This is a brand that has raised badge engineering to a high art, selling essentially up-optioned Ford products with dubious/hallucinogenic styling at premium prices. This would be absolutely cricket, except that in one version of overblown rhetoric or another, Lincoln had been promising a renaissance of the American luxury car for years."

Once upon a time, Lincolns were stately cars. Even when the brand was in decline, Town Cars were smooth-riding vehicles with a limo-like look. That's why they were so popular with livery services. And people who wanted a classy, comfortable ride.

Neil continued, "Anyway, the position of director of Lincoln Design is a thankless job and a hopeless task, because the bosses and the board of Ford Motor Co. have made it so. As much as Ford would like a piece of the premium luxury market and the margins it commands, the leadership - President and Chief Executive Alan Mulally and his deputy Mark Fields, by name - won't spend the money it would take to turn Lincoln brand into a serious luxury contender, a near-peer with Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW.

I am sure they would love to, but ROI is just not there. That is not bad management. It is just management."

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.

Will the Lincoln marque even exist 10 years from now? I wouldn't bet on it. (posted 5/9/14, permalink)

Phoning It In: That's apparently the design school cited when categorizing the styling of the 2015 Lincoln Navigator.

Other critics have described it a 'fugly'. Looking under the hood, you'll find a V6 motor. A proper V8 is no longer available to haul this weighty sled. The basic platform on which this mild and lame facelift is based dates back to 2003 or so.

In any case, this is another nail in the coffin of the once-successful luxury marque known as Lincoln. Be sure to see all the 'new' models at your local Lincoln hospice. (posted 1/29/14, permalink)

Lincoln Death Watch: Over at The Truth About Cars, Derek Kreindler tested a 2013 Lincoln MKZ and was not impressed. "Most cars seem to have one redeeming feature that saves them from the depths of vehicular Hades. This has none. It does nothing better than a Fusion, costs as much as a decently equipped 3-Series, and displays the kind of QC issues that one would have expected from a Korean auto maker a decade ago. In such a competitive marketplace, this is a disgrace."

In city driving, the MKZ delivered only 16 mpg. On premium. With a four-cylinder motor. Geez. By comparison, my V8-powered Lexus LS has never delivered less than 19 mpg on a tank of gas. Usually, it's more like 21-22 mpg - 24 or better on the freeway.

The tested MKZ example featured a fuel filler door "that spontaneously pops open every morning and hangs like a limp appendage." There were the usual complaints about the touch-screen controls on MyLincoln Touch. The same kind we experienced with our rental Ford Taurus in earlier this year.

I've yet to see a Lincoln MKZ in person. There aren't many late-model Lincolns on the road around these parts. No wonder. The nearest dealer is in another state and at least an hour drive from here.

On the same day that the MKZ review was posted, one of my Lincoln club buddies telephoned to inform me that another club member had died. The deceased - a very nice fellow - was both a car enthusiast and a Lincoln fan. During his lifetime, he owned over 300 different makes and models, including many trophy-winning Lincolns.

During the 25 or so years that I knew him, he always showed up for club touring meets driving the latest model Lincoln, trading it in every two years or so for another new one. Interestingly, his last new car was a Cadillac - because "he couldn't find a new Lincoln he liked," according to my buddy.

RIP to this fine gentleman ... and to a certain once-fine car brand. (posted 7/26/13, permalink)

Couldn't They Find A Real One? A recent television commercial for the redesigned Lincoln MKZ begins: "This is about the arrival of the new ..." as a charcoal MKZ is shown then fast-dissolves to a blue 1956 Continental Mark II: "... with the soul of the past."

The Mark II choice was jarring because:

1. It is not a Lincoln. The Mark II was sold and titled as a Continental. The only item on the car containing the word 'Lincoln' is the label on the glass windshield washer fluid container in the engine compartment.

2. The Continental Mark II is not well known outside the car buff world. The 1960s suicide-door slabside Lincolns are far more iconic and, having been featured in numerous music videos, are more familiar to the 40-somethings who represent the target market for the MKZ.

3. Something looked 'off' about the televised Mark II. Looking closer at it, I realized that the headlight bezels and other trim appeared thicker than on the genuine article. Since I have owned two Mark IIs - a '56 and a '57, I have an eye for details of the vehicle. I soon realized that the car shown in the MKZ spot was not a real Continental. I'm pretty sure that the Mark II in the commercial is a 1:24th scale Franklin Mint model.

Here's what a real, full-size '56 Continental Mark II looks like:

This is the Mark II which I owned from 1992 to 1998. I also have several Mark II scale models including an old AMT promotional model made when the Continental Mark II was still in production. (posted 4/17/13, permalink)

Built By Mexicans, Inspected By Americans: If you haven't seen many Lincoln MKZs lately, there's a reason.

Ford has just stopped shipping Lincoln MKZ sedans from its Hermosillo, Mexico, plant to an assembly plant in Flat Rock, Mich., for quality inspections and repairs. Apparently the new models were plagued with start-up problems.

Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of the Americas said, "We had our own internal issues ... It took us awhile to get our own processes right."

In February, total Lincoln sales dropped 29% to 4,883 units - less than 60,000 units annually. That's a drop of almost 75% in less than 25 years. Lincoln's all-time peak sales year was 1990 with 231,660 vehicles sold. (posted 3/22/13, permalink)

Why Lincoln Is Dying: Once upon a time, Lincolns were stately cars. Even when the brand was in decline, Town Cars were smooth-riding vehicles with a limo-like look. That's why they were so popular with livery services.

Then Lincoln decided to stick the Town Car moniker on the livery version of its ugly MKT crossover. The MKT itself is a marketplace failure, averaging sales of less than 627 vehicles per month so far this year.

Now, in a further move of desperation, Lincoln is offering a livery version with a four-cylinder engine. That's like putting a Pinto engine in a '79 Williamsburg Edition TC.

As a brand, Lincoln is on its last legs, selling a less than 49,000 vehicles - spread over five different models - in the first seven months of 2012. Mercedes, BMW and Lexus sales were over double that amount (138,751, 135,114 and 102,548, respectively) during the same period. Lincoln was handily beaten by Cadillac (87,241), Acura (70,082), Audi (65,055) and Infiniti (54,678) from January to July. (posted 8/7/12, permalink)

Presidential Payback: In a 1999 article by William McElroy published in Continental Comments magazine, the story is told that President Harry Truman was refused a courtesy Cadillac for a planned Florida vacation. The dealership figured that Harry was going to lose the 1948 election, so why bother?

Ford Motor Company stepped up and provided automobiles to President Truman for his vacation as well as various campaign stops.

After Truman's surprise victory in the election, he "told his aide, John Steelman, to have all General Motors products removed from the White House garage. Ford was then asked to provide Lincoln convertibles for the inauguration ceremonies."

Truman and VP Alben Barkley rode in a black 1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible to the swearing-in ceremony. Early in 1950, nine closed limousines were delivered to the White House, as well as a custom parade convertible which was later fitted with a Plexiglas bubble top. (posted 4/19/12, permalink)

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)