Put Away Your Derringer Mr. Mulally, You're Not John Wilkes Booth

"Blake Noble" (no-bull) 04/13/2014 at 13:20 • Filed to: Lincoln, Automotive Design, History, Presidents

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Almost 149 years have passed since John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Today, a different but related Lincoln faces a similar fate.

Part One: Lincoln and Lincoln (A History Lesson You Can Skip, But Might Want To Read)

It was April 14th, 1865. Our nation's horrific and only Civil War between the Confederacy to the South and Union forces to the North was mere days away from finally reaching its terminus. The night had barely lapsed into its adolescence when, amongst a crowd of over 1,000 people, a stage actor and Confederate sympathizer named John Wilkes Booth fatally shot and assassinated the 16th President of the United States and the man responsible for leading the Union to victory, Abraham Lincoln, with a single-round Derringer pistol at Ford's Theatre in the nation's capital.

Tomorrow marks the 149th anniversary of President Lincoln's assassination. And while almost a century and a half's worth of sand has vanished from the hourglass since that fateful Spring night, Lincoln is still revered as an American icon and hero today; his legacy still lives on. Although it came at an extremely high cost, Lincoln's successful agenda to abolish slavery in the US brought our nation out of a dark period in its history and arguably laid the framework for the Civil Rights Movement that would transpire some ten decades later. Clearly, if it wasn't for Abraham Lincoln, the social and political landscape we know today wouldn't exist.

And through the years, because of his remarkable achievement, monuments have been constructed in his honor. His likeness has been minted on US currency and even carved into the side of a mountain. He's been the subject of countless books, feature films and cartoons. His name can be even found on a car.

When former Cadillac boss Henry Leland founded the Lincoln Motor Company in 1917, he named the firm in the honor of the 16th President whom he had first voted for in 1864. Initially building aircraft engines for the first World War, the Dearborn based company would soon break into the realm of luxury cars when the war ended.

Sadly, Leland and Lincoln's first batch of cars weren't well received and the firm only lasted for only six years before it was forced into bankruptcy and subsequently purchased by the Ford Motor Company for the equivalent of $109 million dollars.

Under Ford's ownership though, Lincoln flourished for almost 50 years. Some of its greatest cars were introduced during this time and they include the Zephyr of the '30s and the handcrafted 1956 Continental Mark II, which unbelievably put Lincoln in the same realm as Rolls Royce. In 1961, Lincoln revealed what is now known as its pièce de résistanc : the infamous fourth-generation Continental that would, unfortunately and in a fit of terrible irony, serve as the Presidential limo in which the 35th President of the US, John F. Kennedy, would be assassinated in.

Its tragic political connections aside, the fourth-generation Continental with its rear-hinged suicide doors, chrome-trimmed slab sides and electric shaver grille was truly one of Lincoln's greatest masterpieces. It had charisma, it had presence, it had class. While competitor Cadillac was building massive finned tyrannosaurs festooned with vulgarity and wholesale amounts of chrome, Lincoln had built something leaner and a little bit cleaner. The '61 Continental was the anti-Cadillac and still managed to be just as successful as one, if not more: Continental sales for 1961 were almost double that of Cadillac's Sixty Special that year.

And here's where we cut today's history lesson short. As I'm sure you well know, when the '70s usurped the '60s, Lincoln's reputation as a luxury brand went with them thanks in part to an oil crisis, import automakers and badge engineering.

Part Two (aka What You Came Here To Read): Lincoln's (Not The President) Assassin (Not Booth) Quietly Lurks In Ford's Theater (Not "Theatre")

For over 40 years now, Lincoln has continuously floundered, building some of the most irrelevant cars on sale today. I only have to mention the name "Town Car" or "MKS" for you to get what I'm on about here.

Four years ago, Ford finally became aware of Lincoln's problems (unbelievable it took that long, I know). In 2010, seeing that Lincoln sales were absolutely through the floor and desperate to reverse course, they hired former Cadillac designer Max Wolff to come in and establish a new look for the brand, appointing him as the brand's design chief. In 2011, Ford pledged that it was going to the extra mile and spend a billion dollars of its own money to restore Lincoln to its former glory.

They believed that good design and good money would help fix Lincoln's problems. After all, it worked for Cadillac so why wouldn't it work for Lincoln? They've even been realistic and have said as recent as last year the process would take a decade to complete.

I have my doubts. Personally, I think the Ford Motor Company has a would-be assassin lurking in its theater with the Lincoln brand set dead in his sights. Conspiracy? Who knows. What I think, however, is that this is going to amount to one hell of a dog and pony show when it's all said and done.

The first of Mr. Wolff's efforts as design chief, the 2013 Lincoln MKZ, went on sale in January of last year. While it hasn't been a runaway success by any means, the MKZ is a nice looking car and is doing fair for Lincoln, even managing to help the brand regain lost ground. So you'd think Ford would be adamant about keeping Wolff around for a little while longer, right? To see what he could do next?

Wrong. In fact, Ford silently canned Wolff back in December and put a 15 year company veteran in his place, a man named David Woodhouse. That move is part of a bigger picture, and a concerning one at that.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally supposedly wants Lincoln to grab a bigger slice of the luxury car pie, that's why Ford is dumping money into the effort of revitalizing Lincoln. But, according to a recent Bloomberg piece concerning Ford's replacement of Wolff, Mulally wants to accomplish that without violating the "One Ford" plan that requires models, sold both here in the States and abroad, to share parts, platforms and other major items to cut costs.

That's why the MKZ has a major Achilles heel that is preventing it from being a real success: peel away the sweeping bustle-backed bodywork and you'll find its absolutely no different or any more luxurious than a new Ford Fusion in Platinum trim. There is no substance to back up its style, nothing that justifies the MKZ's greater asking price. While you might think it was Max Wolff that failed the MKZ, it was actually Ford.

According to the article, Wolff was trying to push for greater differentiation between Ford and Lincoln products, something Lincoln desperately needs other than good styling. Such an idea, however, would be in violation of Mr. Mulally's business plan. It was probably why Ford let Wolff go.

And here we find Lincoln Motor Company's would-be assassin: it's none other than Mr. Alan Mulally himself. Sending Wolff — who was an outsider that refused to fall in line with the FoMoCo way of doing business and chose to stand up for what Lincoln really needed — packing and replacing him with a company man means that no one will be around to question Mulally's ridiculous goal for the brand that will ultimately be its downfall.

It means future Lincolns will still be badge-engineered Fords. It means Lincoln will fail, Ford will waste a billion dollars of its own money and they'll kill the brand off, saying that they didn't understand what happened while knowing damn full and well someone had pointed the problem out to them.

John Wilkes Booth could've only wished to have gotten away with his assassination of President Lincoln as cleanly as Alan Mulally will in assassinating the Lincoln brand should he choose to continue to force it to adhere to the "One Ford" idea, effectively killing it off.

Sure, the "One Ford" plan has helped to save the automaker and the Ford brand. I totally understand where it stems from too. But if Ford is serious about reviving Lincoln, it's going to have to leave "One Ford" at the door. If Lincoln is supposed to be a success in ten years, I'm going to have to apologize here. At this rate, I can't see Lincoln finding any success within the next fifteen or twenty.

What a shame. Lincoln has built some truly wonderful cars in its 97 year history and there's no excuse for the brand not having another '61 Continental around. In fact, that's the car Lincoln needs right now. It needs to build a new world-class anti-Cadillac. They might even be able to accomplish that with a "One Ford" type of plan if they regroup, study and can actually manage to understand the relationship between VW and Audi.

If Mr. Mulally can't be bothered to commit to what really needs to be done at Lincoln it will be his biggest failing during his tenure as CEO of Ford. I also shouldn't have to remind anyone out there the Chinese will snap Lincoln up the first chance they get. And what an even bigger shame that would be: the name and legacy of one our greatest Presidents slapped on the name of a car built in Beijing.

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Ike > Blake Noble 04/13/2014 at 14:39

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great article! Maybe the problem isn't that they are being forced to share platforms, maybe the problem is the platforms the have to share, the new(15) mustang platform would be a great one to build a m3 competitor on, even taking a flex or large platform from a 150 or alike(v8 up front rwd out back, put a nice large car body on it, they are going all aluminum with the 150s; I think the problem might not be the platform sharing but the platforms it has to share right now. Just my 2 cents but I'd take huge high riding 2017 zepher based on a 2015 f150 platform.

Mercury is gone so long live Lincoln

Maxaxle > Blake Noble 04/13/2014 at 20:11

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...Is this supposed to look impressive or something? It looks meh from front to back.

Blake Noble > Ike 04/14/2014 at 01:46

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Thanks! :) I went back and made a few late-hour tweaks to it, though. I felt that there were a few areas that could've been better considering this piece ran longer than usual. ;)

Agreed that Ford needs to consider a bespoke or a least a premium version of its mainstream platforms to use over at Lincoln. It's almost as if they haven't learned anything from what GM did to Cadillac back in the '80s and '90s. It's actually almost as if they believe they're still competin g with Cadillac from the '80s and '90s.

Blake Noble > Maxaxle 04/14/2014 at 01:49

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I see a little Rolls Corinche coupe in the side profile. Which is impressive considering the Lincoln came out in the '50s and the Roller came out in the '70s. ;)

Mathos101 > Blake Noble 04/14/2014 at 02:13

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A couple of weeks ago we had the Lincoln dealers conference at the hotel I work at and I asked one of the people in charge if we were going to see a rear drive platform in the line up and she said "You don't have too long to wait."

Blake Noble > Mathos101 04/14/2014 at 02:18

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That's good news then. I really do hope I'm wrong on this. A new rear-drive platform not only means the Taurus may turn out to be an acceptable replacement for the Falcon in Australia, but it more importantly means there's a chance Lincoln will get proper Lincolns.

That said, Ford needs to do something to make the platform stand out a little further for Lincoln versus Ford. Perhaps a greater use of aluminum or maybe carbon fiber?

Mathos101 > Blake Noble 04/14/2014 at 18:01

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I think the Mustang sits on Fords only remaining rear drive car platform which in turn is a highly modified version of the LS platform. Unless they have a new platform in the works, we may be coming full circle on this. I really want something to compete with the M-sedans and V-cars of the world.

JR1 > Blake Noble 04/15/2014 at 18:17

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If you look at the sales figures for the previous few years. Lincoln isn't doing terrible . Lincoln has always shared platforms with ford since essentially WWII. Some of their greatest successes have been from Ford platforms. The 1961-1969 Continental didn't sell wonderfully however. What Ford wants is money, Lincoln's brand identity has nothing to do with it. They are making more money selling fancy Fords than they ever would selling unique Lincolns. The Mark II and Mark 3-4-5 were all putting the company in the red. I love Lincoln but history says they cannot work as their own company under Ford management.

abgwin > Blake Noble 04/15/2014 at 18:47

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You've missed that the 1961 Continental was a 'hail mary', as Lincoln was nearly shut down after trailing Cadillac in sales and Imperial in terms of styling and engineering throughout the 50s.

If Lincoln was saved by one successful design that changed the public's perception of the entire marque, then consider the same accomplishment 40+ years later when the Cadillac CTS singlehandedly made people remember that GM once produced The Standard of The World without laughing out loud.

If Lincoln is to survive, then it's time for another groundbreaking name to appear. It can't be an alphanumeric mess or an alliterative play on L, it needs to be as classic and timeless as Engel's Continental. I just don't see Ford producing that car right now, as they don't see interested.

BigGatorChris > Mathos101 04/15/2014 at 19:41

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Sadly, I think it's more likely to be a rebodied truck.

webmonkees > Blake Noble 04/15/2014 at 21:03

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Aiming right at BMW with just a touch of Ford foulup. This is obviously not my day job.

Hunter Gayan > Blake Noble 04/15/2014 at 21:28

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I like Ford, but I hate Alan Mulally. Mercury could still be around if not for him. If he wasn't in power Lincoln would be doing better and he has single handedly killed Lincoln by not letting any differentiation happen.

leftingvt > Blake Noble 04/15/2014 at 22:01

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Every time I see a Lincoln on the road, I think, "You bought that ?" I don't know what they are like on the inside, but nothing on the outside makes me want to know. I mean, if the people who designed such a fat, ungainly thing as that are involved, there's no point. The car company any American car company should want to beat is BMW. If not that, Mercedes. They'll never come close with those awful grilles, and fat rear ends. The post was right to refer to the '61 Continental. Elegance. Just elegance. It's what people with money and brains want.

Blake Noble > leftingvt 04/15/2014 at 22:58

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I don't think Lincoln should be directly aiming itself at BMW or Mercedes. Cadillac already targets BMW and Mercedes and has actually become compelling American alternative to those brands. If Lincoln also directly targeted those brands, I'm afraid it would be edged out. I don't see a point in having an alternative to the alternative, so to speak.

Like I briefly hinted at in this post, I think Lincoln should be aiming straight for one brand: Audi. That should be where the bar is set. Audi is the more understated, elegant European luxury brand out there today. The A8 is sort of like their '61 Continental. If Lincoln set out to build three cars that would seriously challenge the A4, A6 and A8 while simultaneously bringing a distinct and serious American flavor to the scene, the brand would have a chance. (With that said, I'd still like to see Lincoln do that using a rear-drive/all-wheel drive platform.)

Blake Noble > webmonkees 04/15/2014 at 23:03

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That's a decent rendering, but it unfortunately reminds me of this ...

For the record, I love the Olds Cutlass. But Lincoln shouldn't be trying to be a modern-day Oldsmobile.

And that also brings me to my next point: they HAVE TO get rid of that split grille design. It's so unoriginal and unremarkable. It's inexcusable.

Nickoli > Blake Noble 04/16/2014 at 02:02

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If done well, the One Ford platform sharing needn't damage Lincoln: VAG's platform sharing hasn't made Audi worthless, the VW Phaeton didn't trash Bentley's image, despite the number of shared parts.

Of course, there's no guarantee it will be done well.

leftingvt > Blake Noble 04/16/2014 at 05:57

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You are right about Audi. I was looking to suggest just what you describe, simple efficient elegance - like the BMW of old. As Audi is today. I would like to see clean lines, and crisp performance.

webmonkees > Blake Noble 04/16/2014 at 06:37

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Oh, agreed. I've ridden in one of those. niice. I was just blending it based on corporate directions, the headlamps are barely changed. I was thinking SVO meets BMW, alas, with a dealer network that expects a profitable barge to lose seniors in.

DMCVegas > Blake Noble 04/16/2014 at 08:49

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Agreed. Because right now when I think of "Lincoln", I immediately associate it with "Rental Car Luxury Upgrade". Which is never a good thing. Mercury was the Hot Rod division, but they're long gone now.

The biggest thing that Lincoln needs to do is get a manly front clip. Get rid of the "upside-down hipster mustache that looks like a girly butterfly" grille. You can keep the two separate grills with the Star in the center partition, but square them up. Once that's done, move onto the headlights, etc. Make them bold. Make the car stand out like the Lincoln LT did.

Along those lines too, I have to admit that I love the idea of a Zephyr built upon an F150 chassis. A long, massive, RWD V8 sedan with a gigantic trunk. It's an absolutely insane idea, but it's the perfect halo car!

East Peoria Softball (EPGFA) > Hunter Gayan 04/19/2014 at 09:43

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But without Mulally, Ford would be in the crapper.... Mulally has done a great job, Does he have all the answers - No. but if you want to hate someone, HATE Nasser - Mulally has done wonderful with the cards he's been delt. Just as Bush did great with the cards he was initially Delt (9/11) . Mercury was nothing more than a Ford with some extra trim Nothing made me want one, other than the Cougar we bought, because we liked the lines on the back window, better than the Nascar swoopy T-bird. And, the Navigator (pre Mulally) is the "Vacation" model family truckster, with 2 ridiculously stupid stuck on reflectors, on the back of an Expedition. Why anyone would ever buy the Navigator for the additional $ is beyond me. Give it time, Lincoln didn't turn to crap over night, and it's certainly isn't going to rebound accordingly. Luxury brands don't have the MASSES that can afford to buy new, like Fords/ GMs etc. and unless Lexus / Caddy / etc make an absolute failure, people aren't just going to jump ship over night when they've had success with a certain make/model.

East Peoria Softball (EPGFA) > Hunter Gayan 04/19/2014 at 09:49

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TheEdge67 > Blake Noble 04/19/2014 at 20:39

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I wish Lincoln would ditch their naming scheme and go with some names that are recognizable and memorable. I'm a Ford fan and really want to like Lincoln, but I can't for the life of me remember what the difference is between an MKZ, MKS, or MKT. I know they make a small, medium, and large car but I don't know which one is which. If they had actual names, I'm sure I would remember them and keep them straight.

Also, I think it would help with referral business. When your friend or neighbor has a nice car and you go talk to them about it, you remember the car's name. With a jumble of letters for a name, nobody is going to remember the car except that it was a Lincoln.

adb12 > Blake Noble 04/19/2014 at 23:19

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Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, so let's get it right...

1. It's a Continental Mark II, not a Lincoln Mark II—Continental was a separate division for several years during the 1950s.

2. The factory models were two-door coupes; only a handful of practically-hand-built convertibles were built, mostly by outside firms

seansverige > Blake Noble 04/23/2014 at 07:02

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For the record, David Woodhouse is no slouch; I was two years after him at Cov and he's one of the guys I remember as being shit hot - definitely one of the stars of his year. In a former life at Land Rover, he was part of the team who designed the Judge Dredd taxi in the original (awful) film.

Surprised you only mention VW once; it doesn't sound as though 'One Ford' is intrinsically bad, just not as advanced as VW's strategy, and Ford could do with the equivalent of an MQB platform. I also think it took longer than 10 years to establish Audi's reputation, it's just that 'cos that's now 20+ years ago it's all but forgotten.