Photo: Lincoln
Starting today, the Blue Oval's harnesses are in the hands of Mark Fields, who replaces Alan Mulally as the Ford Motor Company's chief executive officer and elected member of the directors board. Mark is also the man responsible for saving the Lincoln brand from extinction after Mulally suggested last year that Ford would be better off without the unprofitable brand.
Two company insiders told Bloomberg that Lincoln was on the brink of being axed by Alan Mulally after a painfully slow production ramp-up of the Lincoln MKZ sedan and an over-the-top costly advertising campaign. To put into perspective just how much Lincoln has hit the other side of successful, just take into consideration that the brand's Stateside sales dropped 65 percent since 1990, a.k.a. the Blue Oval's biggest money pit.
Even if times are tough and Lincoln barely shows signs of rejuvenation, CEO Mark Fields and marketing boss Jim Farley are making efforts in saving the brand by churning out all-new products specially designed to attract the younger audience Lincoln never had. Even the chief designer of the brand was replaced with a younger David Woodhouse that previously worked far Caddy, so the intentions are more than relevant.
Those new products we've previously mentioned come as the result of a four-year $1 billion investment. Starting with the redesigned MKZ, Lincoln has also introduced an all-new Navigator, the MKC crossover and presented the MKX Concept at the 2014 Beijing Auto Show, showing a strong intention to develop a global mid-size premium SUV in the near future. Speaking of which, a sporty 2015 Ford Mustang-based Lincoln model is also in the cards along with a revamped MKS sedan, while an all-new flagship sedan has also been taken into consideration.
As things stand right now, Lincoln's sales volume resurrection will most certainly start in Asia, not on American soil. Specifically, Ford's luxury arm is prepping for a grand offensive in China, the world's largest new car market, sometime this fall. If China doesn't answer favorably to "the new Lincoln," then you won't actually get to see United States customers flock to dealer showrooms over the new batch of Lincoln models.
Even if times are tough and Lincoln barely shows signs of rejuvenation, CEO Mark Fields and marketing boss Jim Farley are making efforts in saving the brand by churning out all-new products specially designed to attract the younger audience Lincoln never had. Even the chief designer of the brand was replaced with a younger David Woodhouse that previously worked far Caddy, so the intentions are more than relevant.
Those new products we've previously mentioned come as the result of a four-year $1 billion investment. Starting with the redesigned MKZ, Lincoln has also introduced an all-new Navigator, the MKC crossover and presented the MKX Concept at the 2014 Beijing Auto Show, showing a strong intention to develop a global mid-size premium SUV in the near future. Speaking of which, a sporty 2015 Ford Mustang-based Lincoln model is also in the cards along with a revamped MKS sedan, while an all-new flagship sedan has also been taken into consideration.
As things stand right now, Lincoln's sales volume resurrection will most certainly start in Asia, not on American soil. Specifically, Ford's luxury arm is prepping for a grand offensive in China, the world's largest new car market, sometime this fall. If China doesn't answer favorably to "the new Lincoln," then you won't actually get to see United States customers flock to dealer showrooms over the new batch of Lincoln models.
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