Bringing his experience heading Lexus with him when he defected to Ford, Jim Farley's got his eye on some premium-Toyota style brand growth. Ford's past party line has been that the Lincoln nameplate is strictly for North American consumption, but Farley's been conferring with other Forders like Peter Horbury about taking Lincoln worldwide. Lexus is enjoying rapid growth in markets like Russia and Saudi Arabia, so it's not a new concept for Farley, and Horbury has previous global-brand experience, as well. Whether Ford intends on turning Lincoln into an American Lexus (whatever that might mean) isn't clear, but our domestic luxury marques sometimes enjoy a better reputation elsewhere – witness Buick's stature in China (Counterpoint: witness Cadillac's stature in Europe). The newly unveiled MKS is a good weapon to shoot across the globe, riding on a platform that originated at Volvo. We don't think Lincoln will swipe customers from Volvo, as they're likely different groups of buyers - so what it really may mean is more potential buyers to snap up Ford's production capacity.
Thanks for the tip, throwback!
[Source: Auto News - sub req]
First Drive: 2009 Honda Fit Sport
Officially Official: Honda unveils updated 2009 Civic
Facelifted 2009 Honda Civic sedan gets scantastic reveal
Monterey 2008: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport
Infiniti G37 Convertible revealed ahead of L.A.![First Drive: 2009 Corvette ZR1 [w/VIDEO]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/08/zr1-1st-drive-1280-46_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
First Drive: 2009 Corvette ZR1 [w/VIDEO]
First Drive: 2008 Range Rover Sport
Woodward 2008: Monday morning recap
VIDEO: Corvette ZR1 does epic burnouts, we have proof
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
NYChic @ Nov 15th 2007 10:03AM
This is a huge improvement for Lincoln, but they're still a long way from being on the same level as Honda, and Toyota. Come to think of it, I think they need to aspire to get up to the level of Hyundai, and Kia, before they can move up the ladder. The design is almost interesting though.
Eric L @ Nov 15th 2007 10:19AM
Are you serious? What exactly is the same level as Toyota, Honda, Kia, and Hyundai? If you mean blitzkrieging the general public with claims of great gas mileage and bland vehicle stlying, I'm sorry to disappoint. The Lincoln name has a certain aura asssociated with it. It represents everything that IS American. Bold styling, opulent interiors, etc... The same reasons Buick is rocking crotches in China is the reason why Lincoln needs to make the leap across the the globe. I do, however, think it would fail miserably in Europe. Times are good right now economically in China and the people feel like they can afford a little opulence and get out of the tiny hatchbacks and vanilla sedans they've been forced to buy for decades. It's time for Ford to make the global shift and I think Lincoln could be responsible for shifting the opinions of FoMoCo's brands overseas, especially since they are losing the street cred of having LR and Jag in Europe.
As for me, I've already picked out my MKS. Your Hyundai is jealous.
John P. @ Nov 15th 2007 10:32AM
Amen Brutha Eric! :p
more money than. @ Nov 15th 2007 10:09AM
I bet the newMKS would be a big hit in China.
Tagg @ Nov 15th 2007 1:16PM
I agree, this car would do very well in cities like Shanghai and Beijing where there is alot of money. Having studied business while living in China for three months I can tell you that there are many people that would buy this car. It would undercut the price of many luxury cars sold there now and would give Ford a much bigger presence in China.
John P. @ Nov 15th 2007 10:13AM
It's about time!!! I've been saying this for years. Lincoln needs to do two things to survive. Go upscale, and Go Global. These two things will increase volume and profits. That new MKS is a great start.
Now, Save Mercury by giving us some good Euro Fords, thus filling the gap between Ford and Lincoln.
k.w.a @ Nov 15th 2007 10:26AM
Lincoln going global and probably selling better overseas? interesting...i guess it'll be the "Buick" of Ford. hey, whatever helps
Eric L @ Nov 15th 2007 10:27AM
I absolutely agree. The Ford products from Europe and Australia are hot. Let's bring them over as Mercurys. It would give customers a reason to buy Mercury. Mercury would have its own products instead of those shared with Ford and Lincoln. I believe one fo the major concerns with bringing Ford Europe products to NA is that the vehicles do not share a common design theme (three-bar grill) with current products. Why not simply start shipping Ford Europe products over to America and replace the grills and such with the Mercury Waterfall grill. Mercury Mondeo anyone? Better yet, fire up the Wixom assembly plant again and start cranking those suckers out. New products, new jobs, new customer opinions. Everyone wins out.
Tool @ Nov 15th 2007 10:45AM
File this under ridiculous.
Ford can't even get Jaguar, Land Rover, or Volvo right and now Jim Farley is trying to get this bland brand Lincoln to go global.
Perhaps you should focus on getting the branding right and the products right before you start the magical thinking.
Tool @ Nov 15th 2007 10:53AM
Oh, and Farley ran Lexus for less than 6 months--the shortest tenure ever for a TMS Divisional General Manager--before Ford hired him as their Global CMO.
It's a little crazy for him to be drawing on his 'wealth of experience' at Lexus when he probably didn't have any impact there.
Tagg @ Nov 15th 2007 1:15PM
Whats wrong with Volvo and Land Rover? Last I saw both are doing well and Land Rover increadible growth under Ford's managment. Thats one of the reasons they are packaging it with Jaguar along with the fact that Ford feels Land Rover has reached its peak in sales.
mohd @ Nov 17th 2007 3:36PM
actually ford has done wonders with LR/jaguar and volvo i mean just look at the xk,new xf, and the whole LR range...... besides ford already sells licolns in the middle east...
SherbornSean @ Nov 15th 2007 10:49AM
MKS does not share a platform with the S80. It shares a platform with the Taurus, which is derived from the previous version of the S80.
Dan Roth @ Nov 15th 2007 11:26AM
Whoops! You're right, the D3 is what the MKS rides on, not the EUCD. Fixed now, thanks for the catch!
Beavis & Butthead @ Nov 15th 2007 11:05AM
He said "rocking crotches"!
Throwback @ Nov 15th 2007 11:35AM
Forget about bringing over Euro Fords as Mercurys. Bring them over as Fords! The Mondeo can be the new Fusion, the Verve the new Escort (love that name)the Focus the err Focus. While they are at it bring over the S-Max too. I don't know what to do with Mercury, reposition as a green Scion competitor?
Gregg @ Nov 15th 2007 12:36PM
Lincoln doesn't have any models to export. The MKZ would be seen as a joke overseas. The MKS would fall in the five meter luxury sedan category...except it is nearly 10" too long (that long front overhang is ridiculous). Design something Europeans might want and then try. The lineup right now is a joke.
Tagg @ Nov 15th 2007 1:16PM
Farley has said that Europe wouldn't be the main target but the emerging markets of China and Russia would be. Going global doesn't mean just Europe, in fact you can do without Europe seeing how the markets are exploding in southeast Asia.
Rafa @ Nov 15th 2007 12:59PM
Good thing, probably will make the brand improve.
Robert @ Nov 15th 2007 2:50PM
not bad you see tons of lincolns in dubai so they should sell in saudi