Ask The Best And Brightest: Does Lincoln Need More Than A New Designer?

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Lincoln’s recent styling direction has certainly generated its fair share of controversy here at TTAC, and certainly Lincoln’s sales need to improve if dealers are going to swallow the loss of Mercury. Accordingly, Ford has hired Max Wolff, former head of exterior design for Cadillac to reshape the look of Lincoln. Which is an interesting choice considering that Cadillac’s exterior designs, though distinctly superior to Lincoln’s of late, have not been without their controversies. Besides, what are you supposed to expect from a designer who’s been sticking to Cadillac’s Art&Science playbook for years? But there’s a bigger question here: is Lincoln a mere makeover away of success in the brutally competitive luxury space? Would an MKS in a freshly-tailored suit be a real threat to the E Class or 5 Series? And if not, what should Mr Wolff be wrapping in his Cadillac-sharpened sheetmetal?

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Slance66 Slance66 on Dec 02, 2010

    How are these cars distinctive? Each one looks exactly like its Ford counterpart except that it has an uglier grille. The Ford grilles are ugly too, Mercury had the best looking front ends. They need to deviate the overall sheet metal more, and preferably go beyond that and make the platforms RWD on some models. I don't think they need to go to the German level, but if they can match Lexus and offer a nice FWD rebadge job (like an ES350) along with a sporting RWD sedan (GS and IS), that would be a huge step. The Taurus cannot be the platform for the sporty RWD car, or not the only one, as it is too big. I would suggest a smaller 3 series/C class competitor with no Ford counterpart and two engine options. That would put Lincoln on the map with younger buyers. I can even see the ad featuring the classic tune "Hot Rod Lincoln". Then those younger buyers may consider trading up to something bigger within the brand.

  • Domestic Hearse Domestic Hearse on Dec 02, 2010

    By restyling their vehicles, Lincoln will give up the niche they're competing directly with Acura for -- the buck-tooth, eye-watering, can't-be-unseen, ugly premium segment.

  • Carve Carve on Dec 02, 2010

    That car in the pic...the MK-Flex (lets call 'em what they really are. It's easier than remembering the right suffix), is the most hideous vehicle since the Aztek. The grille is pure baleen whale, and the rest of the proportions are smooth, bulbous, and whale-like as well. Then it has the hips that look like a fat woman who stuffed her fat ass into 3-sizes too-small tights. But hey- at least it lets them put uselss, ill-proportioned rear side windows on the thing. It also has FWD proportions that'll just never hold a candle to an ML, X5, or even a Q7 (which manages to be well proportioned due to a longitudnal engine and some transmission cleverness) It really just makes me want to gag. I actually kind of like the Flex though. It has clean, simple styling and makes no bones about being a roomy, practical, A to B transportation module. The names...they shouldn't all start with the same two letters. Divide by MK and just leaveing a one letter name would be an improvement. Real names would be nice for a change, but the old names like Contenintal and Town Car sound Geriatric. In fact, so does "Lincoln" itslef, as do/did Buick, Oldsmobile, and Buick. "Lincoln" rings of a man who died 150 years ago and Nebraska. Acura, Infiniti, Lexus, and Audi just sound modern...clean...sharp...classy. BMW and Merceds are kind of a mouthful and very old names, but they still have a nice ring because of their great track record.

  • TriShield TriShield on Dec 02, 2010

    Ford has done a masterful job completely destroying this brand by removing it's classic American style, it's classic names it was known for and anything that made it unique from Ford or other luxury cars. Lincoln doesn't even really compete with Buick and Chrysler anymore let alone Cadillac. Hyundai builds nicer comfy cars in the Azera and Genesis. They can start by getting rid of the horrid grilles. Then they can take a look back at the 50s and 60s to see what a real Lincoln should look like. While their at it they can rename everything back to the names Lincoln is known for like Continental, Mark VIII, Town Car, etc. Kind of like what Ford did back in the early 00s with all their retro-modern and proper Lincoln concepts. Then Ford can look under the sofa cushions for money to start making production Lincolns look like that. Then they can give Lincoln a bespoke platform or two, perhaps based on the Australian Ford Falcon which itself is the basis for luxury variants like the G6E which Alan Mullaly was reportedly extremely impressed with.

    • SVX pearlie SVX pearlie on Dec 03, 2010

      On the plus side, Max has a pretty "clean sheet" to work with - it's not like he could screw things up any worse than they've already been screwed. Name-wise, I wouldn't be adverse to Lincoln letter-naming the Town Car, either "LTC" for Luxury TaxiCab, or "TCP" to match the livery designation as it's commonly used. Getting serious, what Lincoln needs right now is a "proper" RWD Continental that seats 5 in utmost comfort. A good Continental is the car that will get people seeing what Lincoln should be.

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