Is Lincoln Ditching Dealers Or Are Dealers Ditching Lincoln?

Ford’s arduous Lincoln turnaround is having another one of those awkward moments, as Ford and its dealers seem to once again be at odds about how to go about fixing Lincoln. And though it’s tough to tell what exactly is going on in Ford’s fandango with Lincoln dealers, it’s easy to see that it ain’t good. For starters, last week, Automotive News [sub] ran a blog item that noted

In just a few weeks, a group of Lincoln dealers will converge on Detroit for an invitation-only brand meeting with Ford Motor Co.

Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, promises that the meeting in early June will spell out some specifics about Ford’s plan to reignite its luxury brand.

But some dealers have put their invitations in the round file.

One says he won’t “waste” his money on airfare, adding that when Ford has “actual future product to show us, then I’ll go meet with them.”

One Lincoln dealer with a stand-alone store did not get an invitation, but he doesn’t care.

So, clearly things don’t sound happy in Lincoln Land. And what does Ford have to say to the non-attending and uninvited dealers? Ford’s Alan Mulally personally delivered a response the next day at Ford’s annual shareholder’s meeting…

Wards Auto reports that Mulally addressed The Lincoln Situation by calling it “an important transition,” by which he meant “dealers, hold onto your shorts.”

The plan is to right-size the Lincoln distribution network to increase throughput. The second part of the plan is a new set of Lincoln products.

Got that, dealers? You can not come to Detroit and not get a Coney Island dog and not get in on this product-led turnaround, because Ford doesn’t need you anyway (for throughput reasons). And you know what you’re going to miss out on? According to Wards

Mulally says Ford’s management team is seeking feedback from Lincoln dealers on the future direction of the brand, including what the luxury lineup should look like.

“Dealers are pleased,” he says. “Over the next year as products come to market and the distribution network gets right-sized, we’re going to be successful. But it is a transition period.”

Wait, isn’t that going to take time… considering that some dealers don’t even want to come to Detroit for a meeting that AN’s Jamie LaRue describes as being aimed at “reassuring Lincoln dealers that the automaker is committed to fixing Lincoln”?

So, assuming Ford gets the dealers it wants to come to Detroit and gets the dealers it doesn’t want to go away, then what? What does Ford have lined up for the lucky and patient dealers who share the true Lincoln faith in the face of declining sales? According to LaRue

Inside Ford, a team dedicated to rebuilding Lincoln is scrambling to develop distinct new or improved products, I’m told. Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s global product czar, has said that one of those products will be shown later this year.

One product, later this year. Probably either a compact sedan or a compact crossover. Check out the interior of the Lincoln Concept C (top) for clues (and let us know if you find any). Sounds like the right-sizing-to-increase-throughput step is going to be the easy one…