Lincoln Product Boss Hangs Up His Hat

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

The man who oversaw the development of Lincoln’s current vehicle lineup will retire effective November 1st, the automaker claims. Scott Tobin, a Ford Motor Company veteran who hopped the pond from Europe to the U.S. in 2006, had a hand in developing a wide swath of the company’s current products.

Tobin’s departure comes at an interesting time for Lincoln. The premium brand, having returned from its near-death state in the earlier part of the decade, finds itself in need of volume-boosting new product.

The turnaround point is expected to come with the arrival of the nicely sculpted Aviator midsize SUV next year, a model that capitalizes on the newfound popularity of the revamped-for-2018 Navigator. A renaming (Nautilus) and refresh for the brand’s midsize crossover took place for 2019, with the next-generation MKC expected to carry the Corsair name. Meanwhile, the long-in-the-tooth MKZ sedan appears ready to follow its Fusion stablemate into the grave. The Continental? Things aren’t looking good.

Year to date, Lincoln’s U.S. sales have fallen 9 percent, driven by declines in all models except the high-margin Navigator (it’s up 81.9 percent through the end of September).

Automotive News reported Tobin’s departure Tuesday morning. The automaker, giving no reason for the departure, claims Phil Collareno, Ford’s executive director of North America and global product programs, will take over Tobin’s role until a replacement can be found.

Tobin headed up development of all of Lincoln’s contemporary vehicles; before that, he worked on the current-gen Ford Explorer, Taurus, and the Flex. Beginning his career at Ford in 1989, the executive switched to Lincoln in late 2011, soon busying himself with modernizing the brand’s culture while boosting profits. An effort to provide customers with a more premium experience was also his doing.

[Image: Lincoln Motor Company]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Craiger Craiger on Oct 30, 2018

    A bunch of people who post here on TTAC could do a better job than most of these yutzes.

  • Craiger Craiger on Oct 30, 2018

    Is it Mark T or EmmKayTee? I still don't know.

    • Higheriq Higheriq on Oct 31, 2018

      It's EmKayTee, which is somewhat of a play on the Mark label. The whole MK naming scheme was hatched under Mark Field's tenure (yes, another play on the Mark label). As for the actual names: MKT = touring, MKZ = Zephyr, MKC = compact crossover, MKX = crossover.

  • Lorenzo Heh. The major powers, military or economic, set up these regulators for the smaller countries - the big guys do what they want, and always have. Are the Chinese that unaware?
  • Lorenzo The original 4-Runner, by its very name, promised something different in the future. What happened?
  • Lorenzo At my age, excitement is dangerous. one thing to note: the older models being displayed are more stylish than their current versions, and the old Subaru Forester looks more utilitarian than the current version. I thought the annual model change was dead.
  • Lorenzo Well, it was never an off-roader, much less a military vehicle, so let the people with too much money play make believe.
  • EBFlex The best gift would have been a huge bonfire of all the fak mustangs in inventory and shutting down the factory that makes them.Heck, nobody would even have to risk life and limb starting the fire, just park em close together and wait for the super environmentally friendly EV fire to commence.
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