What Lincoln needs to succeed

"scdjng" (scdjng) 08/08/2015 at 20:38 • Filed to: None

4

11

This past Saturday I spent the day (six hours!) at the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! near Kalamazoo, MI. For anyone that lives in southwestern Michigan, or near the area, it is definitely worth the drive to go the museum. Their collection is quite expansive, as they have over 300 cars spread out in 12 different buildings, each housing a specific marque/genre. Some of the collections include; Piece-Arrows, Franklins, Model A Fords, Cadillac-LaSalles, and Lincolns. They even have a few standout cars like a 1948 Tucker, a 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car, a 1929 Duesenberg J-111 Dual Cowl Phaeton, and a 1916 Packard Twin-Six Racer. Not only is their collection expansive, but almost all of their cars are not roped off, meaning you can get up-close to examine the finer details.

Photo credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

During my visit two things happened. The first is I spent approximately an hour looking at the various Lincolns in the Lincoln Motor Car Museum. These included many prewar cars, various Continentals, Mark cars, and a few Town Cars. The second thing that happened while I was at the museum, was there was a Lincoln car gathering happening on the campus grounds. There were over 50 Lincolns ranging from post WWII Cosmopolitans, fourth generation Continentals, various Mark cars, and Town Cars. During this time, I got to speak to some of owners and hear a few stories about their cars.

After spending time around these cars and reflecting on the Lincoln brand, it occured to me that if Lincoln want to succeed, then they need to be unconventional. They need to stop chasing the Germans, Asians, and even Cadillac, and create a class of their own.

Photo credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

When walking into the Lincoln Motor Car Museum, the first thing people see is the blue 1932 Lincoln KB Type 241 Convertible Sedan featured below. It is also parked next to a new MKZ. I heard many people comment how they did not like the looks of the MKZ. Instead, people turned and fixed their gazes on the 1932 Type 241 Convertible Sedan (how is that for a name?). I stood and stared at the car for over ten minutes, and during that time, there were around ten others doing the exact same thing. I heard one gentlemen say that standing in the same room as the 1932 Lincoln made him feel like he was sharing the same air with someone of high importance.

Photo credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

The thing about the rest of the cars in the Lincoln Motor Car Museum (excluding the current production cars), is all of them have this type of charm that resonates class and dignity. These cars catch your eye and makes you stop and stare at their beauty. The cars in this collection represent the best of the brand. While some may argue that my heart was merely won over due to the lighting and showroom quality of these cars, the cars outside of the museum held the same prestige. Many of the cars at the Lincoln gathering are driven on a regular basis and (some) are not in showroom quality. Somehow a 1939 Zephyr with faded paint and a worn interior still has more prestige than a 2015 MKZ.

Photo credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

1939 Lincoln Royal Canadian Tour Car built for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth when the visited Canada. When was the last time the royal family had a custom Lincoln built for them?

Seeing fourth generation Continentals and 30’s Zephyrs in motion allows one to see that those cars evoke a sense of high status. Standing on the museum grounds, people stopped in their tracks to watch these cars move. They catch your eye and make you think about how the people riding in the car have class and you standing on the street do not. These were cars that were exclusive and earned to be driven. The first generation of Zephyrs were a car that people asked Ford to build after seeing Edsel Ford’s personal custom Zephyr. Lincolns of today do not offer that same feeling. I would even argue that the fourth generation of Continental was the last car produced by Lincoln to offer this feeling.

Photo credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! argues a similar point, and after spending time with the cars that put Lincoln on the map, I agree 100 percent. Lincoln cannot be like their rivals. They need to create a product that is exclusive, different, and makes a statement. Think about it. Rolls Royce and Bentley are two brands that do not follow the norms of the automotive society and they are seen as THE premier luxury car. It should be noted that I am not arguing that Lincoln should become the American Rolls Royce/Bentley, but they should be unconventional. They need to not make the fastest, best handling sedan on the market, but rather a car that people earn to be driven in/drive. Luxury is suppose to be about exclusiveness. Seeing pictures of the new Continental and hearing industry experts talk about the car makes me think that the needle is moving in the right direction. I only hope the finished product does not lose any of its charm and that the automaker is able to spread that sense of class to the rest of its lineup.

Photo credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

The cars featured in this post are just a few of the cars in the Gilmore collection and honestly, the photos do not do them justice. These cars are works of art and Lincoln needs to recapture this idea. I hope the new Continental succeeds, because Lincoln has too much legacy and pride for the brand to die.

Photo credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Photo credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > scdjng 08/09/2015 at 14:23

0

If they actually built a car people look at and want, like the concepts, it would be good. At least here in SF I see one and it’s always an airport ride, I just automatically think it now.

GhostZ > scdjng 08/09/2015 at 14:24

1

MultiplaOrgasms > scdjng 08/09/2015 at 14:26

0

I still think Lincoln should bring back the V12. Design is one part of the equation, backing it up with special technology is the other.

Übel > scdjng 08/09/2015 at 14:45

0

The Gilmore Karmann probably my favorite place, bar none. I’m there at least twice a year, once for the all-German Deutsche Marques, and then again for the 1200-car, all makes Red Barn Spectacular.

x87172 > scdjng 08/09/2015 at 14:48

0

Great write-up. I see the luxury market as divided a bit like this:

Bentley/Rolls/Aston

BMW/Mercedes/Audi/soon-Cadillac

Lexus/Acura/Infiniti/current-Lincoln

One brand that’s kicking ass (at least in California) that I did not list is Tesla. Although a base Tesla Model S costs less than an S-Class, it’s combination of technology & design gives it - in my opinion - even more prestige than an S-Class.

Lincoln needs to start from a totally blank slate (instead of a Fusion platform) and determine what could be improved and what can be stolen from their competitors, then execute through new design and superior technology. For instance, German infotainment sucks. Start from a mindset like that, create something great, then set the pricing later.

If you truly create a superior machine in the luxury market, people will pay. And Lincoln has a damn good heritage, too.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > scdjng 08/09/2015 at 14:50

0

gilmore car museum is amazing. dont go there enough for only being 30 min away

Idiot In The Garage Needs A New CGI Job... > scdjng 08/09/2015 at 15:47

0

I love the Gilmore too. Especially that Blue on Blue Duesenberg. When I become a rich supervillain, that car will be mine!

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > scdjng 08/09/2015 at 17:12

0

The new Continental will help, but honestly I doubt it will set any new standards.

It’s definitely a good start.

But I think what is also needed is a higher end version that takes the ideas in the Tesla Model S, add a small gasoline generator to make the range issue moot and add a hell of a lot of luxury... and I’m referring to Bentley and Rolls Royce levels of luxury.

It would be designed to be the best luxury car in the world.

It would be the best EV (in EV-only mode). It would be the best hybrid (in ‘regular’ mode). It would have amazing performance. It would silent (especially in EV mode)... which is what you want for a pure luxury car.

But to pull that off, Ford pretty much has to make a heavily modified or completely new chassis.

And then there should be a version of the Navigator done in the same way so it would be the best luxury SUV in the world.

And of course it probably won’t sell well because Lincoln doesn’t have the street cred yet to sell a car in the 6 figures... which is what a car or SUV like this would have to sell for.

The root problem with Lincoln for a long time is that their vehicles have been “almost as good” as *some* of the competition. For example... back in the late 1990s and also in 2003, when Ford updated the Town Car, they stuck with the 2 valve SOHC when everyone else had moved on to DOHC 32V V8 engines. Their V8 cars were really only competing against the competition’s 6 cyl offerings.

The last time Lincoln might have been the better car than most or all of the competition was not any more recent than the 1970s... maybe.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > MultiplaOrgasms 08/09/2015 at 17:14

0

It’s never gonna happen for volume as well as fuel economy/CO2 emissions reasons.

It’s more likely there will be a Lincoln BEV than a V12 Lincoln in the future.

MultiplaOrgasms > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2015 at 18:03

0

Does Ford really need to worry about volume in a halo car ? Assuming the Continental concept should ever become a reality I believe a V12 engine based on the 1.0 Ecoboost architecture could be possible . By essentially combining four one-ohs we’d end up with a relatively compact engine with similar torque and horsepower figures to the 4.0 TFSI found in the Audi S8, but with the added prestige and want factor of the Twin-Six. And since the engine is based on the architecure of a Fiesta engine maintenance and spare parts should be very affordable indeed. Finally, as we know the V12-based-on-a-Ford-engine thing already worked out pretty well for Lincoln with the original Zephyr, didn’t it? And yes, it probably isn’t going to happen unless Ford makes me the lead engineer for Lincoln.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > MultiplaOrgasms 08/09/2015 at 22:08

0

I don’t think they have to worry about about volume in a halo car. But they probably do care about the volumes produced for key parts that will go into that halo car. They’re not gonna want to have more bespoke bits than necessary to keep costs in check. And that means to me that a tuned or higher performance version of an existing V8 is doable. But a substantially unque engine is highly unlikely.