Lincoln Should Not Build a RWD High Performance Car for Enthusiasts

"Robert Jones" (thealtarbo) 01/22/2015 at 05:28 • Filed to: None

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Disagree with me after you ponder this question: If Ford were to release a luxurious, RWD, performance car this year, would they sell more of them as Lincolns or Fords?

Ford is an international brand, with history, existing performance cars, a racing pedigree, and a rabid fan base that will happily explain to you what a horrible mistake your Chevrolet purchase was. Lincoln is exclusive to North America. Lincoln has a history stained by Henry Ford's initial betrayal, John F Kennedy's brains, and the late 90's Continental. And the majority of Lincoln fans are now dead.

The Ford GT recently generated a feedback loop of applause at the "North American International Auto Show" that drowned out everything else. The Ford GT will surely be pricey, far pricier than the MKX that Lincoln unveiled to unified cheers of, "oh, well that's okay, I guess." Don't get me wrong, the MKX was nice and it will surely be quick . Lincolns are all quick, because consumers demand luxury vehicles to be quick; but they're only quicker than base model Fords. I'll now unfairly compare the two sportiest Lincolns to high end Fords. The chart below shows zero to sixty times of the highest trims I could find times for:

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In addition to the Mustang and the coming GT, Ford also has the Fiesta ST, Focus ST, Focus RS, and the trucks. Lincoln's current MKZ is actually surpassed in quickness both by the retired Lincoln Mk VIII (which inspired the EmKay naming scheme) and the Lincoln LS. Whatever enthusiasts want Lincoln to make, would sell better as a Ford. The GT is proof that common sense about what Lincoln needs to do: is wrong. The deafening screams of joy that the GT ignited would have been quieted by making it a Lincoln, and would have caged the beast into North America. Before I begin to sound like I'm trashing Lincoln: Speed is not everything. Today a luxury automobile needs to be quick and handle well, but Lincoln paradoxically can't compete on those virtues. While Lincoln has to build cars that handle well, nobody will ever choose a Lincoln over a BMW due to handling. While Lincoln has to make cars that are fast, no one will ever choose a Lincoln over Audi due to speed.

Lincoln has to compete on other virtues, and they know it. Take a look at the descriptions to the side. These are pulled from the main headings on the Lincoln Motor Company official website. Ignore the fact that even Lincoln can't figure out what the point of the MKT is and notice that performance is never even implied. Performance is only mentioned on the Navigator's page, and considering what the Navigator is, Lincoln must mean something other than reckless driving on winding roads. The MKC has "style" and the MKZ has "class" but Lincoln knows that they haven't had a "performance" vehicle since they killed the LS. There's still no follow up to the Lincoln LS for a good reason: every year of that sedan's life the LS was badly outsold by the couch-on-wheels Town Car.

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This is why Lincolns now come standard with panoramic sunroofs. When a car is being designed to handle well, none of the engineers ever suggest, "hey, let's cut a great, big hole in the roof," because that makes the chassis floppier. But with the lesser handling come benefits. A large sunroof makes the interior brighter, airier, and more like a Tennessee front porch.

This is why Lincoln thinks they want to sell to the younger generation. Other auto manufacturers are moaning about how "kids these days" don't appreciate the billions they've squandered on making $30,000+ appliances that break the speed limit before they red line. Lincoln recognizes that these younger generations want something that BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus, and Cadillac aren't offering. Lincoln just hasn't quite figured out what that something is yet.

Lincoln can't beat the Germans at their game, but Lincoln doesn't have to play it. Lincoln has to do three things to succeed:

Figure out what a Lincoln is. They must identify the positive qualities that Lincoln currently has and can have in the future, especially positive qualities that the Germans have neglected. Then they have to distill down the essence of Lincoln into one word. A mantra, a goal, a verb. If IBM solves and Volvo saves, what does Lincoln do?

Build the best Lincoln they can. They don't need a mustang with a body kit, they need flagship and halo cars that build on the best qualities of the MKZ, MKC, and recently departed Town Car. They need erotically comfortable interiors, spaceship features, and no roof. They need a something lust-worthy that doesn't make sense as a Ford or even a BMW.

Convince the public. The biggest obstacle to Lincoln's success will be convincing the public what a Lincoln is. The Volkswagen Phaeton died a brutal death because Volkswagen refused to put Audi or Bentley or badges on it. Most people spending the money on a luxury car want not just the metal, but the prestige that goes with it. Cadillac has been building great cars for over a decade now, but their revolving door of ad agencies in disagreement have done only one thing consistently: fail to communicate to the general public what a Cadillac does.

Lincoln has been walking away from performance for a long time, if they run back now they'll be forever chasing the BMW on the horizon and never close the gap. Lincoln can't compete with BMW any more than Land Rover can, but Lincoln doesn't have to compete with BMW any more than Land Rover does. Lincoln can find success in carving their own path. If Lincoln does decide to build the Right Wheel Drive, V8, turbocharged, manual transmission, corner carving, monster that enthusiasts think they want: that car will be loved. That car will become a collectible classic remembered as fondly as the Marauder on Mercury's tombstone.

itschrome > Robert Jones 01/22/2015 at 07:01

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in the year 2000 everything you just said could have been and was said about cadillac. And look at them now!

shop-teacher > Robert Jones 01/22/2015 at 07:34

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Lincoln needs some unique product. The fact that everything they have, can be bought as a Ford (because the Ford will sell more units!), is exactly what's keeping the brand down. Well, that and no cohesive direction.

If they want to build the Lincoln brand, Ford needs to eschew volume, in favor of exclusivity.

Also, the MK naming scheme goes back decades.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Robert Jones 01/22/2015 at 07:40

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About the LS sales:

1. They weren't really ever marketed, like at all really.

2. They didn't have fleet sales like the Town Car (which accounted for most of the sales).

3. Ford let it wither and die with only one batch of updates for 2003. The rest of that market existed on a faster refresh cycle.

4. The automatic transmission in them is abysmal, which probably turned a lot of people away from it.

Robert Jones > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/22/2015 at 08:01

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I actually agree with most of those sentiments. If Ford were to simply Lincolnize a Mustang like they did with the S Type: what do you feel they'd have to do to get decent sales?

Money going into the hypothetical Lincoln's advertising and refreshes would be taking away from the Mustang. Also a higher tier of Mustang would bring more desire/prestige to the base Mustang. Would the Lincoln have the same effect on Fords?

And a caveat: In 2002 the Town Car still had a majority of private buyers; it didn't get type cast as a limo until a few years later.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > itschrome 01/22/2015 at 08:04

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Agreed.......but then again when cadillac did it, the other BMW competitor was Audi and to a lesser extent, infiniti. Now that even lexus is getting into the performance luxury game, there is not a lot of room left. Doubly so for a "has-been" like Lincoln.

JR1 > Robert Jones 01/22/2015 at 08:06

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I don't agree with your global argument. Ford only needs to rebadge a Lincoln as a Ford abroad if they really are worrying about brand recognition. Or better yet make it a solid brand in the USA before they even think about conquering the world. (Much like what Cadillac is doing.)

BigBlock440 > Robert Jones 01/22/2015 at 08:13

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2. Build the best Lincoln they can. They don't need a mustang with a body kit, they need flagship and halo cars that build on the best qualities of the MKZ, MKC, and recently departed Town Car. They need erotically comfortable interiors, spaceship features, and no roof. They need a something lust-worthy that doesn't make sense as a Ford or even a BMW.

That's the car that needs to happen. It's just that many think that car is a RWD performance car. I don't think it even needs to be performance, they just need to make a land yacht again.

Carl (@stuffcarlsays) > Robert Jones 01/22/2015 at 08:30

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I, for one, say Lincoln should not stop the action. I sat in a lot of their cars this past weekend at the Boston Auto Show and couldn't think of a bad thing to say about any of them. The MKS, for being a gussied up Taurus, checked a lot of boxes for me in what I'd like in a daily driver. The best part about it is that I didn't feel as though I was channeling my inner octogenarian whilst in the soft leather bosom of the MKS - it felt like a proper luxury sedan that could have come from Europe.

itschrome > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/22/2015 at 09:48

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I like to think of them as a "could-be" rather than a has been. Mostly I think of them as a shit or get the off the pot company. they either need to go do it, or ford needs to shut them down.. or admit they are a Buick competitor at best

Depressoiscool > BigBlock440 01/22/2015 at 09:52

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exactly. A land yacht would be something that separates them and makes the Lincoln a clear step from a Taurus. Give it way more room than it needs, enough power to get moving without any notice to the occupants, and an interior that is fresh and comfortable, not flashy. Hell take the flex and make it a giant coupe that has a bigger back seat than what seems realistic. Aspiring to Bentley would be better for them. Take the space that Buick gave up

Depressoiscool > Depressoiscool 01/22/2015 at 09:53

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side note, I still miss my park avenue, was fast enough to cruise, suprisingly efficient with the 3800 and way too damn comfortable and gadgety.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > itschrome 01/22/2015 at 10:30

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Well there used to be a time when Lincoln was truly who we had to represent American Luxury.......until the 1970s happened and lincoln just gave up and did the cadillac strategy of building big, floaty cars on the corporate platforms. The difference is where Cadillac redid everything from the ground up by getting products like the escalade, CTS, and XLR (along with a LeMans and touring car program to boot), Lincoln just did the LS and kept everything else basically the same. The one thing they did right was the navigator. But they're a washed up company in the rest of the world's eyes.

wabbalosthiskey > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/22/2015 at 11:16

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5. They were built with the same cheap materials any other Ford is, and when compared to it's theoretical competitors for similar money this was obvious.

6. The design was practically a 5-series clone, but ill-proportioned and soft. Who is the for exactly?

Kia and Hyundai build less expensive copies of BMW, Mercedes and Lexus, but they aren't trying to compete with them either. Ford did it with the LS, and they wanted to take their inexpensive copy and compete with the originals.

I'm about convinced that the only people who bought these were die-hard domestic/Ford fans who thought they had (or just really wanted) an American 5-series and looked past the styling (you can't tell me, as a Ford fan myself, that the tail end was OK). They did their best at the time to put together what wanted to be a higher end luxury interior, but it was done with the same cheap materials and build quality as a Focus. It was all they knew, and it's a stepping stone in figuring it out. Ultimately this began to show through and it didn't take long; by the time 05-06 cars were around the false sense of quality had worn off and the cars were ridiculous by comparison.

wabbalosthiskey > Robert Jones 01/22/2015 at 11:24

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I think your thoughts are right on.

1. No more badge engineering - you have to actually use better, upgraded materials and finishes, and assemble them for the long term. "Initial quality" is the dumbest term you hear way too often.

2. Don't take every vehicle that Ford builds and try and make a Lincoln out of it, we don't need five different sizes of SUVs. Decide what is best for point #3 and do it well.

3. Lincoln needs to settle on an identity instead of trying to appeal to everyone.

Ultimately #3 may be what causes them to completely fail, the niche they try to fill may not actually exist in the market. Buyers who have the income to buy the car they want Lincoln to be, who want a glass roof and weird spaceship features, are probably pretty limited.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > wabbalosthiskey 01/22/2015 at 11:26

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Well actually a lot of parts came from Jaguar and the materials used weren't the problem. Seriously go sit in a BMW from that era and tell me that the materials are any better.

wabbalosthiskey > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/22/2015 at 11:44

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I've owned more than one of both (and an S type), so that's where the comparison comes from. BMW materials in an E39 are absolutely better. The seats are better, the trim far heavier and finished better, the whole interior is significantly more solid than Ford's cheap, thin painted plastic. The BMW is overbuilt in most respects, where the Lincoln comes off as a minimum effort. An hey, like I said, I'm a Ford guy. I'm arguing in favor of Lincoln pulling its out of the sand, but they have to be honest about themselves.

And S-type was a better looking but still just plain weird car, and kind of a cheap POS underneath also.

Axial > Robert Jones 01/23/2015 at 11:05

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I haven't seen anybody clamoring for a RWD performance car from Lincoln. I've seen plenty of people clamoring for a luxury barge, though.

Me? I actually like the MKZ. Unfortunately, they obviously cut corners with it and it's not as nice as it should be. If they used real aluminum instead of plastic, ditched the dopey push-buttons for something else, and managed to smooth out that V6 exhaust note, it would be a very fine car and I would certainly recommend people take a look at it.

Brian > Robert Jones 09/12/2016 at 23:13

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You obviously are a simpleton when it comes to the automotive sector. Either that, or you had 1 too many martinis and read a short story by Edgar Allan Poe before writing this! I’ve never read such ridiculous drivel in all my 37-years!

In today’s world consumer loyalty is yesterday’s fad... it’s faded, it doesn’t exist. People are looking for the next hot ticket, something new that sets them apart from the crowd, they don’t care who makes it!

Your comment that there exists a “rabid fan base” for Ford’s... really??? Who? The rednecks and their F-150's? The mulleteers and their Mustangs (or Camaro’s - it’s only fair to include Camaro fans when discussing mullets)? The OLD men or limo drivers and their town cars? The gangstas and their over-chromed Navigators that scream, ‘look at me, I used to ride the short bus’? Which of these rabid fan bases are you talking about that would impede Lincoln’s success in the performance sedan market?

What Lincoln desperately needs (you complete idiot) is something that brings new attention to the brand. Stories from your grandfather and documentaries about the Kennedy assassination aren’t going to bring new customers to to Lincoln. Especially while they’re still stacked with baby boomers!

Robert Jones, in the words of the world’s biggest douchebag (Donald Trump), “You’re an idiot!"