Lincoln Plots New Models, Rebadged Mustang Possible

Stephen Elmer
by Stephen Elmer

A brand reinvention is underway at Lincoln, and new products are in the works to help bolster the American company’s efforts.

Exactly what kinds of vehicles will be added to the Lincoln lineup are unknown, as the brand is still weighing all of its options. “We know we need added nameplates,” said Matt VanDyke, global head of marketing, sales and service at Lincoln. “We know that we need to get into other segments with other vehicles.”

A Mustang-based Lincoln has been a rumor for a long time, so its no surprise that the company is considering it. “We won’t rule anything out,” responded VanDyke when asked about the Mustang-based rear-drive luxury car.

Lincoln has already introduced two of its new-generation vehicles with the MKZ and MKC, and the brand will roll out a new MKX midsize crossover in 2015 and a new MKS sedan sometime in 2016.

As for other new models, VanDyke says that Lincoln is still considering which type of cars will be added to the lineup. “We don’t think that four new products in four years means that we can sit back, take a break and rest. It is absolutely the beginning, it is the foundation,” he finished.

[Source: Edmunds]

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Stephen Elmer
Stephen Elmer

Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>

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 4 comments
  • Perry F. Bruns Perry F. Bruns on Jun 11, 2014

    Oh, good. I was wondering where I'd get a less-reliable Mustang with more chrome and a rubbish sunroof for $4,000 more. Seriously, the road (heh) to profitability for the Lincoln Motor Company has two stops: 1) less alphabet-soup naming, and 2) most importantly, truly original vehicles based on the global platforms instead of just blatant badge engineering. Rebadging killed Mercury dead, along with competitors Pontiac, Plymouth, Saab, and Saturn. (Saturn did have some semi-original content at its time of death, as did Saab, but both were strangled by virtually unchanged versions of vehicles that didn't sell all that well under other brands.)

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    • Perry F. Bruns Perry F. Bruns on Jun 12, 2014

      A Lincoln luxury coupe/grand tourer could be just what the company needs. However, the only way I see a Lincoln coupe working is if they use nothing from the Mustang parts bin except for the engines (perhaps retuned and with added NVH suppression) and an extended-wheelbase version of the S550 platform underpinning the 2015 model. It would need a completely new interior (as you hint), and a suspension that screams Concourse d'Elegance, not Talladega. The problem remains, however, that Lincoln, like many other stablemates of larger companies, has lost sight of what it wants to be. Right now, every model it offers except for the MKT and MKC (and seriously, the MK-series alphabet soup has to go) is almost exactly like its Ford counterpart. And even the MKT and MKC bear striking resemblances to their platform-mates, the Flex and the Escape respectively. As it stands, Lincoln is Ford's Oldsmobile.

  • Yo Yo on Jun 26, 2014

    lincoln will never make it with this current design theme. EPIC FAIL

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