DEARBORN, Mich. —
Ford’s lagging Lincoln line, searching for a return to relevance, is dusting off the old Continental model name that had its heyday in the “Mad Men” era and was favored by President John F. Kennedy.
Lincoln will present a new Continental sedan at the New York International Auto Show this week as another new direction for a brand that’s been seeking redemption for decades. The Continental concept features a “new face,” with a rectangular chrome grille replacing one that evoked eagle’s wings and alienated some buyers, said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas.
The big, broad-shouldered Continental is trimmed in large slabs of shiny chrome and has a silhouette that sweeps back to sleek LED taillamps. The opulent rear seat features a champagne bottle holder and a pop-up touch-screen tablet. The substantial sedan is Ford’s latest attempt to reverse a 59 percent sales slide since Lincoln’s 1990 peak.
CEO Mark Fields is investing $2.5 billion on four new Lincoln models, including the Continental, which arrives in showrooms next year.
“Lincoln Continental is an iconic name,” said John Wolkonowicz, an automotive historian and analyst in Boston. “It conjures up pictures of Jack and Jackie Kennedy in Camelot.”
The Continental is part of a parade of luxury cars debuting this week at the New York show, the traditional showcase for high-end automobiles. General Motors’ Cadillac will also unveil a flagship sedan, the CT6, while Toyota’s Lexus line will introduce a new version of its top-selling RX sport utility vehicle.
Lincoln has had success selling SUVs such as the big Navigator and the compact MKC. Sedans, though, remain a hard sell. Overall, Lincoln ranks eighth among luxury auto brands in the U.S. Lincoln discontinued the Continental in 2002.
Ford, which is introducing the Lincoln brand in China, hopes reviving the Continental name will highlight its history.
When Lincoln first ordered a new look for the slow-selling MKS large sedan, the initial renderings were uninspired, Fields said. “When we decided to call it Continental and we told the team that in a design review, everybody’s head snapped,” Fields recalled.
“Our initial research in China was kind of stunning,” Fields said. “They knew Lincoln as a car brand because they remembered newsreels of presidents and movie stars riding in them.”
Lincoln is off to a fast start in China since sales began late last year. Three of Ford’s 11 Lincoln dealerships in China are already among the brand’s top 10, Fields said.
China may eventually surpass the U.S. to become Lincoln’s largest market, Fields said. Ford plans to have 60 Lincoln dealers in 50 Chinese cities.
In the U.S., the Continental is aimed at traditional luxury buyers — professionals in their 50s and 60s who make more than $200,000 a year, said Lee Jelenic, Lincoln’s U.S. marketing manager. Ford isn’t saying yet what the price will be.
A symbol of luxury
The Continental was the pinnacle of luxury in the 1950s and 1960s. Babe Ruth had one; so did Elvis.
• The Continental was born in 1938, when Henry Ford’s son Edsel commissioned a convertible he could use on his spring vacation. Thrilled by the reception he got as he drove the sedan around Palm Beach, Edsel made it part of Lincoln’s lineup.
• Warner Brothers gave Elizabeth Taylor a 1956 Continental with a custom paint color to match her eyes.
• It drove presidents from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan. Kennedy was riding in the back of a 1961 Continental convertible when he was assassinated in Dallas.
• Continental sales peaked in 1990 at 62,732.
The Associated Press
