The Auto Writer

Lincoln Finally Gets A Car It Can Brag About

Lincoln long ago was relegated to its current position as America’s “other” luxury brand, having ceded its fight with Cadillac to be the top domestic mark. A quick glance at the current Lincoln line up and you can see why Lincoln is a distant second — three fancy Ford models being sold as thinly disguised Lincolns. The Lincoln sheen is gone and with it went tens of thousands of luxury car buyers.

Clearly, Lincoln’s tarnished image has sullied the brand, sending buyers and their deep pockets elsewhere. Busy with maintaining its premium brands Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo, Ford didn’t have the time or the money to invest in Lincoln.

Time To Concentrate On Lincoln

Now that Ford is free of three of its four luxury marks (only Volvo remains) the future is beginning to brighten for the automaker. Tough times including high gas prices, shifting customer demand from trucks/SUVs to smaller cars, and strong competition still weigh heavily, but Ford appears to be in a good position to move forward.

This summer, Lincoln’s first all-new car since the LS made its debut ten years ago, will be introduced in the form of the 2009 MKS, a large sedan developed for today’s luxury car buyers. Unveiled at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show last November, the MKS will start at just over $38,000.

Advance Orders For the Lincoln MKS Running Strong

Perhaps the most significant point about the MKS is that advance orders for the car has topped 8600 units nationwide. Some dealers are reporting strong sales even without having a car to show to customers. The Detroit News is reporting that Varsity Lincoln Mercury in Novi, Michigan, has already received 60 orders for the MKS with a dealer in Long Beach, California reporting 30 orders.

A big part of the MKS’ early sales surge can be attributed to pricing information and package options being made available when the MKS debuted at the L.A. auto show. MKS customers have been able to price and build their sedan at www.lincoln.com and immediately send their order to their local dealership. In addition, many months before the MKS’ late June release, the automaker has been educating salespeople through a special dealer training program. For the 300 top selling Lincoln Mercury dealerships, they’ve had the advantage of being able to preview pre-production model first hand.

The MKS shares the same platform powering the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable, but nothing else about the car is similar to these models. A new 3.7L V6 powers the MKS with an EcoBoost V6 joining the line up in 2009. This latter engine will offer power equivalent to a V8 engine, which will not be available for the MKS.

Winning Back Lost Lincoln Owners From Cadillac

Lincoln expects that the average age of MKS buyers will be about 45 compared to 72 for current Town Car owners. With the replacement for the full-sized Cadillac DTS still about two years away, Lincoln could possibly win back luxury car owners who ditched Lincoln in favor of Cadillac.

(Source and Photos Courtesy, Copyright the Ford Motor Company)