From the day of his birth, Lincoln seemed to have been stumbling and growing, but fortunately his luck was not bad. After being rescued by Ford when it was on the verge of bankruptcy, founder Henry Leland was "expelled", it was carefully cared for by Edsell, and gradually developed into the world's premier high-end luxury car brand. Just when everyone thought the brand was about to usher in its own golden age, the outbreak of World War II once again interrupted its development. What is even more sad is that Edsell, who devoted his life to Lincoln, unfortunately got cancer... How will the newly thriving Lincoln react to sudden changes?
After the success of the Lincoln Continental, The Health of Ford Prince Edsell became increasingly worrying. However, because he has been busy with the company's affairs, he did not choose to be hospitalized. It wasn't until the end of 1941, when Edsell went to the hospital again for a physical examination, which confirmed that he had stomach cancer, that he realized that death was already beckoning to him.
Limited by medical technology and coinciding with a special period such as World War II, Edsell did not take the illness to heart, but insisted on working in his post. Puzzlingly, the eccentric Henry Ford did not seem to have worried about Edsell's health, believing that Edsell was to blame for his own self-inflicted and alcoholism.
In 1943, Edsel fainted again, and the doctors decided to perform another operation. Unfortunately, Edsell's cancer has spread throughout the body, and doctors can't do anything about it. Henry Ford rushed to Edsell's house when he heard the news, and when he saw his skinny son in the hospital bed, he could no longer suppress his sad emotions and burst into tears. He smashed all the bottles he saw like crazy, and Henry Ford thought they were the culprits in Edsell's death.
Edsell, who was weakened, didn't even have the strength to speak, but he kept going because he wanted to wait for his youngest son, William Clay Ford, to return. William Clay was the youngest of Edsel's four children and the most gifted in design, so he was beloved by Edsell. During his tenure at Ford, William Clay served as chairman of the company's design department and the company's executive committee.
When Edsell saw the tennis championship trophy and diploma that William Clay had brought back, although he did not have the strength to speak, there was still a smile on the corner of his mouth. He held William Clay's hand tightly and used his eyes to communicate silently with his favorite young son. The next day, On May 26, 1943, Edsel officially passed away at the age of 49.
Edsell's death was a disaster for both the Ford family and the Lincoln brand. Despite his many disagreements with Edsell in automobile manufacturing, the loss of his son was a time depressing to Henry Ford, a reality he was reluctant to accept for a long time.
After Edsell's death, Henry Ford returned to the position of the top head of Ford, but at the age of nearly 80, he could not carry out high-load work physically or mentally. Apparently, after the death of his only son, Edsell, he desperately needed to find the next generation of ford successors. Eventually, his successor was Henry Ford II, Edsell's eldest son.
Compared with his mild-mannered younger brothers, Henry Ford II seems to have a leadership temperament from an early age, and at a young age he has a dominant tone over others. Thankfully, the other children of Edsell did not value the supreme power of the family, and the sadistic affair of fratricide was not staged in the Ford family.
Henry Ford II made a request to Henry Ford to take over: he would accept the appointment only if he was free from any constraints and could reform the company at will. Apparently he did not want to have a name and no real power like his father Edsell, which annoyed Henry Ford, who did not expect that his grandson not only did not show gratitude, but instead told himself the terms.
Henry Ford II's inauguration was a new era for Ford, and the young president, who was less than 30 years old, was bold and showed an age-inappropriate sophistication in management, and he even recruited a lot of management talent from General Motors. Henry Ford II created an image of daring to pioneer himself from the beginning.
After the shocks of World War II and the death of Edsell, Lincoln is about to usher in a new era. In 1946, after four years of discontinuation, Lincoln finally revived the production line of luxury cars, and the successor of the Lincoln brand was Edsell's second son, Benson Ford, who was also responsible for the management of Mercury and was arguably Henry Ford II's most trusted assistant.
Although there are no dazzling new cars, in fact, Lincoln has long been thinking about launching a new generation of Continental. However, the development of new cars could not be rushed, and in order to maintain the extraordinary style that continental has always had, Lincoln decided to abandon all previous model designs and create a new one.
On May 9, 1950, Johnny Mantz drove Lincoln Capri to the first stage of the Carrera Pan-American Highway Rally, surprising everyone. Because in people's minds, Lincoln doesn't seem to have anything to do with words like "racing."
Lincoln was known for his design and luxury, but his endurance and speed were unknown, and Capri in the early 50s was famous at the Carrera Pan American Circuit. Johnny Mantz's victory began Lincoln's reign in the "world's most dangerous event," a glorious journey that lasted until the end of the race in 1954. Lincoln driver Chuck Stevenson is also the only driver to win the race twice.
Although the four-way electric adjustment of the seat is no longer a high-end, novel technology, it was first introduced to the world when Lincoln launched its product in 1953, when only Lincoln Capris and Cosmopolitans models were equipped with this function.
The birth of the four-way electric adjustment seat was one of Lincoln's development milestones in the 20th century, and today the Lincoln MKZ has a ten-way adjustable electric driver's seat with a waist-back memory function, and an ergonomic front seat with Active Motion massage function.
William Clay joined lincoln Continental Mark II development
Long after Henry Ford II took over for Ford, he wanted to resume production of the Lincoln Continental and invested $1 million in 1946 to design and build a model of the new Lincoln Continental. But the results were not ideal, and they did not meet the expectations of Henry Ford II. Later, Edsell's youngest son, William Clay, joined the development of the new Lincoln Continental.
In the previous article, we have already introduced William Clay's love of car design, and since he was a child, he liked to watch his father paint beautiful car watercolors around Edsel. He had a different affection for lincoln continental, and he knew how much effort and energy his father had put into the model.
It should be noted that William Clay studied mechanical engineering during his time at Yale University and did not have formal design training, but he has a very unique perspective on design under the influence of Edsell for a long time. On the clay sculpture of the new Lincoln Continental, there are many traces of William Clay's immaturity, as well as many notes of his apology.
In 1953, after four years of eager anticipation by fans and Lincoln's long-term careful planning, the development of the new Lincoln Continental was officially put on the agenda and named it continental Mark II. Ford wants it to be a model that can compete with high-end brands like Cadillac, Chrysler and even Rolls-Royce.
When William Clay presented his proud work to Henry Ford II and The Ford management with great joy, he did not see the expected expression on everyone's face. At that time, people preferred to see a model with gorgeous design elements than the classic charm in front of them, so Henry Ford II initially refused to invest in it.
William Clay describes the charm of the Continental Mark II this way: "Abandoning rough design and pursuing exquisite details is not found in today's American cars." Just as his father, Edsel, lobbied Henry Ford to buy Lincoln for his ideals, Continental Mark II represented William Clay's ambition to let his dreams slip away.
Not only did William Clay proudly show off his work to his brother, who had not supported the project, he also had the Continental Mark II transported out of town in a truck, carrying his mother, who had always supported him, for a spin. This scene can't help but remind people of the birth of Lincoln Continental, Edsel also almost overwhelmed the picture.
To show the importance attached to the upcoming Continental Mark II, on the eve of lincoln's board meeting in 1955, the directors asked for a new logo for the Continental Mark II. No one realizes that this new logo design means the birth of Lincoln's classic brand logo.
Robert Thomas, the chief assistant designer in charge of the logo' design, drew a simple doji pattern on the drawings and found that any embellishments were superfluous. The next day, this simple and elegant design was unanimously adopted by everyone and became the Lincoln logo we are familiar with, which has been used to this day.
On June 24, 1955, the first production model of the Continental Mark II was officially rolled off the production line. The new Continental Mark II was then revered around the world as a classic at the time, and soon became the new favorite of the elite celebrities in the United States.
The Continental Mark II was unquestionably superior to the first generation, when it brought a whole new perspective to the car's exterior design. The Continental Mark II has low and slender side lines. More importantly, it does not follow the trend, does not use the pompous design that prevailed in the fifties, and does not rely on chrome, two-tone spray paint and sharp shape to enhance the beauty of its body. Obviously, it wants to lead the trend with a unique style.
In fact, the metal surface alone took 60 hours to treat and paint, more than the time it took for other so-called "luxury cars" to assemble the whole thing. The interiors are made from Bridge of Weir leather leather from Scotland, and their ranch does not use wire fences to ensure that there are no scratches on the leather produced. Even the crosshead screws on the Mark II windshield are locked by hand to ensure that their crosses are precisely aligned vertically and horizontally.
Historically, the Continental Mark II is considered one of the prettiest car designs of all time. Undoubtedly a landmark classic, it set a new benchmark for luxury cars at the time and became a source of inspiration for designers around the world. In short, Lincoln did not disappoint the world!
No one ever doubted the success of the Continental Mark II in design, inheriting the fine simplicity and classical charm pursued by Edsel, and compared with the cookie-cutter body shapes on the road at that time, the Continental Mark II showed its own detachment, which instead catered to the taste of unique socialites.
The Continental Mark II was hugely reverberated when nearly 500 journalists attended the new car preview in Ford Rotunda, which received 700 orders on its first day on the market.
Dealers in New York don't have existing cars to sell, so they arrange for interested rich people to fly to Detroit to test the car. No dealer would be bothered, because for every Continental Mark II they sold, they could make more than $2,000, which was a staggering profit.
Happiness comes too suddenly, and it is always easy to forget to cherish. The sales of continental Mark II have overwhelmed dealers, who boast to the outside world: "I will not sell this noble car casually, even if the customer is very rich." However, they were "punished" in less than a few months.
For the four-door version, William Clay believes that it is relatively focused on business and family use, and the rich and celebrity who buy the Continental Mark II are mostly people who know how to enjoy, and they may prefer to sit in the back seat elegantly and comfortably, leaving private drivers to drive. Unfortunately, a single category could not meet the diverse needs of customers, and the Continental Mark II was treated coldly.
In fact, Ford never wanted to make it a profitable product, even at the initial price of 10,000 yuan per vehicle, it still had to lose $1,000. It can be said that the Continental Mark II is a bit of a loss of money and money. When it has to cut prices, you can imagine what it is about to face.
Although only about 3,100 units were produced, it is undeniable that the Continental Mark II did a good job of raising Lincoln's brand image, and its owners include Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, and members of the Iranian royal family.
● Wixom, half a century Lincoln manufacturing center
Due to the increase in production capacity, Lincoln's assembly center in Wixom, Michigan, was officially opened on April 15, 1957. A few years later, the assembly plant expanded to 440,000 square meters, making it one of Lincoln's largest assembly and manufacturing sites.
Over its 50-year operating history, the Wixom Centre has produced 6648806 cars. On May 31, 2007, with the completion of the assembly of the last white Lincoln Town Car, the center also drew a successful conclusion and officially announced the completion of its historical mission.
The continental Mark II officially ceased production in 1960, so who will carry the Lincoln flag? The answer is the new Lincoln Continental. This generation of models is remembered by history not only as a good product per se, but as the exclusive car of President Kennedy, who was assassinated on the Lincoln Continental.
Innovative central folio door design makes it easier for rear passengers to get in and out. The new Lincoln Continental, with its distinctive and understated elegance, became a model of design in the middle of the last century.
This generation of Lincoln Continental, powered by a V8 engine with a maximum power of up to 300 horsepower and the first 12-month or 12,000-mile warranty, helped it quickly achieve market success, and it also won the American Industrial Design Research Association Award. To this day, this model is still one of the best in the car.
President Kennedy's car is codenamed SS-100-X by the U.S. Secret Service. The car was built on the $7,347 Lincoln Continental and modified at the request of the Secret Service, and after the modification was completed, the U.S. government paid $200,000 for the car.
People know that the assassination of the president has nothing to do with Lincoln Continental's equipment, so after Kennedy's death, the model he was riding in at the time was not immediately retired. After the assassination, the car was remodeled, the body turned black, a new interior was replaced, the air conditioning system and other electronics were improved, titanium armor, bulletproof glass and a fixed bulletproof roof were added, and the puncture-proof tires were upgraded.
Before the new Continental, there was another Lincoln model that became the car of the President of the United States, and it was the Lincoln Cosmopolitan Convertible. The Lincoln Cosmopolitan Convertible can be said to have taken over the class of the Sunshine Special and continued to serve the president.
In 1954, Dwight Eisenhower, who succeeded Truman, was out in a storm and realized that rain would pour into the car, so he ordered the Lincoln Cosmopolitan to be modified and equipped with a "transparent bulletproof cover" canopy. Since then, this Lincoln Cosmopolitan has been nicknamed "Transparent Bulletproof Cover". It served the President of the United States until 1965, and after its retirement it was also in the collection of the Henry Ford Museum.
● Contemporan "little-known" Lincoln models
From World War II to the 1970s, Lincoln's two brightest jewels were the Continental Mark II and the new Continental. However, don't think that Lincoln did not develop other models, but they are not as dazzling as the two stars mentioned above.
Brands like Lincoln never blindly expand models, which is doomed by brand pursuits. Especially in the early stage, its models are very few, each launch of a new car is like a bet, each car is a piece of history, so this also makes each model behind the extremely intriguing story, it can be said that the history of this brand is strung together by the story of each model.
Full text summary:
After World War II, Lincoln, who lost Edel, did not sink there, but burst out with amazing energy. In less than 20 years, two classics, continental Mark II and Lincoln Continental, emerged, especially the former, which once attracted celebrities and tycoons and successfully established Lincoln's leadership position in American luxury cars. Although the Lincoln Continental is not as shocking in design as the Continental Mark II, the name of the presidential car is enough to make it go down in history. Taken together, the two cars together made Lincoln feel the unique charm of Lincoln during that period.
In addition, we can also see that Lincoln actually "played" racing during that period, and the results were very good, which is indeed a bit surprising. As for technology research and development, the birth of the four-way electric adjustment seat was one of Lincoln's development milestones in the 20th century. It seems that everything is very good, but sometimes I still wonder if Lincoln would be better if Edsell was in good health. But history has never had an "if", we can only follow the footsteps of time to continue to move forward.
Above we talk about Lincoln's development from World War II to the 1970s, when Lincoln launched the Continental Mark II, the new Continental and the Series series, which were classic models in the history of many cars, and became a brand of politicians, celebrities and film stars. After entering the new era, in the face of opportunities and challenges, Lincoln once became the number one luxury car sales brand in the United States, but the subsequent development has been declining, and gradually fell into a "niche" brand. In the face of such a decline, Lincoln, who has been stuck in his own hands, has finally stepped out of the North American market to meet the challenge, and China has naturally become one of its most important markets. It is always difficult to explain a piece of history in three words, so let's tell it one by one.
The 1960s were considered Lincoln's most glorious years, and its beauty continued into the 1970s. The highly sought after Lincoln, in addition to stealing scenes on the screen, also became the inspiration for the singer's creation. In June 1972, "Hot Rod Lincoln," written by Charlie Ryan, topped the Billboard Music Chart, the first car song to become a hit and make it into the top ten of the Billboard charts.
After "Hot Rod Lincoln" swept the United States, the Lincoln model appeared on another stage, this time the movie it "starred in" was the famous "The Long Goodbye". The Long Farewell is a classic film noir, and the so-called film noir refers to a special style of cinema that belongs mainly to detective films or crime films, often focusing on moral corruption.
On March 7, 1973, the film The Long Goodbye, directed by Robert Altman, was released in the United States. The 1970s were widely regarded as a renaissance period for American filmmaking, and Robert Altman broke with the conventions of various genres of filmmaking with his sensational, original shooting style, and The Long Farewell was one of his masterpieces of that period. When the Lincoln Continental, with its unique design style, appeared in this unique film, it had a special flavor.
● Encountered an oil crisis and was forced to move to the mid-size luxury car market
In 1973, when the Fourth Middle East War broke out, the Organization of arab petroleum exporting countries announced in December of that year that it had withdrawn its right to price oil, which more than tripled the price of oil and triggered the worst global economic crisis since World War II. In this crisis, the first and foremost is naturally the industrial power of the United States, which has fallen by 14%.
To alleviate the inventory crisis, or simply switch to small cars, many U.S. automakers have closed their factories. According to statistics, nearly 250,000 workers in the United States were laid off at that time, and although the crisis signal was lifted in 1974, the American auto industry still did not slow down for a short time. While Ford, GM and Chrysler were hit hard, Toyota and Volkswagen were welcomed by the American people.
Oil shortages and U.S. government demands to improve fuel economy forced Lincoln to rush the ill-prepared Versalles to the luxury mid-size car market in 1977. Built directly on the basis of Ford Granada and Mercury Monarch, versalles was not recognized by American consumers, and only 50,156 units were produced in a short production cycle of 4 years. By comparison, Cadillac Seville sold 45,000 units in 1977 alone. For Lincoln, Versailles was not a good memory.
After the launch of the Lincoln Mark V in 1976, Lincoln recruited a large number of designers from the high-end fashion field to participate in the design, designers from Cartier, Versace, Valentino and other top brands. In the face of a sluggish environment, Lincoln hoped to attract customers in this unique way, and the success of the Diamond Jubilee series also shows that Lincoln's efforts were not in vain.
Following the second oil crisis (1978) and the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War after 1973, global oil production plummeted from 5.8 million barrels per day to less than 1 million barrels per day. Oil prices began to skyrocket in 1979, from $13 a barrel to $34 in 1980, a crisis that became a major cause of a full-blown Western recession in the late 1970s.
Caldwell's main focus after taking office was on Ford, which was in a state of sluggishness at that time, not only financially tight, but also very passive in the market. Caldwell has a heavy responsibility for turning things around, and every decision is made cautiously. Under Caldwell's leadership, Lincoln also followed the trend steadily.
The first-generation Lincoln Town Car was developed on top of Ford's Panther platform, which was also used by Ford and Mercury's larger cars. At that time, Town Car launched a two-door version and a four-door version, but due to the poor sales of two-door luxury cars, in 1982, the Town Coupe (two-door version) announced the discontinuation of production, and the four-door version of the Town Car continued to stay on the front line, until 2011, Town Car launched a total of three generations of models.
Compared to any pre-Lincoln model in the 90s, the Mark VII is undoubtedly the most visually dazzling, which is not unrelated to its focus on aerodynamics. Extremely sloping front windshield and wedge-shaped rear window glass for a clean and dynamic look. To boost its market performance, mark VII continues lincoln's high-end designer collection, from which special editions designed by fashion celebrities Bill Blass and Versace are from.
For Lincoln, the entire 1980s was a steady transition period, with sales of 200,000 vehicles in a single year at an all-time high. The Town Car, mark VII, and the new Lincoln Continental, introduced in 1988, were all very sought after models of that era. But Lincoln's good days soon came to an end, because with the aggressive attack of Japanese car companies, American consumers began to choose a large number of affordable Japanese cars.
In 1990, Lincoln's global sales peaked at 230,000 units, ranking first among American luxury car brands. What cannot be ignored is that Lexus, which has landed in the North American market, has shown super strength, of which the Lexus LS400 has sold more than 160,000 vehicles in the first year after its launch, instantly detonating the US market.
In fact, in the late 80s and early 90s, both Ford and Lincoln were very good. Ford, in particular, surpassed GM in profits in 1986 to become the most profitable auto giant in the United States, and by 1990, the profit amount reached $10 billion. During this period, Ford acquired Aston Martin, Jaguar and the Associated Company. But with the arrival of Japanese brands and European car companies, Lincoln had to accept the challenge.
The Mark VIII, which entered the market in 1993, makes many exciting changes to the previous generation. Although the body size is larger than the Mark VII, it is lighter in weight. The excellent explosive power makes it accelerate 0-100km/h nearly 1 second faster than the Cadillac Eldorado. It should be noted that the Mark VIII is the finale of the Lincoln Mark series, and its successor is the mid-size car Lincoln LS that followed.
In the face of aggressive opponents, Lincoln's market response and product layout are still unhurried. Of course, any move by Lincoln must be approved by Ford, and Lincoln's good and poor performance can also reflect Ford's emphasis on the luxury car market from the side. Judging from the performance of the entire 90s, Lincoln did not have many highlights, only the first SUV model, the Navigator, was commendable, and the new car sold 4400 units in its first year of launch, which was a good result.
Lincoln and his European cousins
Since acquiring Aston Martin in 1987, Ford has acquired a number of European luxury car brands. On March 19, 1999, Ford Motor Company formed the Chief Automotive Group (PAG) to oversee the market operations of Ford's high-end brands.
However, as the first car group (PAG) luxury brands were gradually taken off, Aston Martin was sold to a consortium dominated by British capital in 2007, Land Rover was sold to Indian car manufacturer Tata Group, and Volvo was acquired by China's Geely Automobile Company. After leaving Ford, the brands of the former chief automobile group rose and fell in the market, and only Lincoln continued to move forward with Ford's support.
Entering the 21st century, Lincoln first launched the sports sedan LS, which marked Lincoln's first entry into the highly competitive luxury sports car market. The significance of the Lincoln LS launch is to attract young consumers and compete with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus for a share of the luxury sports market.
At the beginning of the new century, Lincoln changed his previous unhurried state and significantly increased the release schedule of new cars. It first released the luxury sports sedan LS to attract young consumers, the market performance of this car is remarkable, in the entire production cycle of LS (7 years), a total of more than 260,000 units sold. In addition to LS, Lincoln also upgraded the Navigator's configuration and power equipment in 2003, and launched a large SUV Aviator in 2002, but its sales (an average annual sales of less than 15,000 units) were not ideal, so it announced production in 2005.
In the first year of the zephyr (MKZ's original name), Lincoln's sales performance increased by as much as 9 times, and its advent once again made the world look at Lincoln's unique design, Lincoln believed that such a unique model should have its own name: Lincoln MKZ.
In January 2006, the Lincoln MKX was unveiled at the Detroit North American Auto Show, a model specifically launched for the fast-growing SUV market. Subsequently, Lincoln launched MKS and MKC models respectively to enrich the product layout. But this is somewhat of a dead sheep (market) repair feeling, because Lincoln is already in a passive state in the luxury car market. Why passive? We can find out from its development in the Chinese market.
● Lincoln's Regret: Missing the Golden Express of China's Automobile Development
Lincoln's official entry into China dates back to 2005, when China allowed U.S. automakers to export a certain number of cars for domestic sale, under a bilateral trade agreement signed between the United States and China at the time. Against this backdrop, Ford introduced the Lincoln Navigator to the country, but only sold it in Ford's showroom.
In 2007, Lincoln did not continue import sales due to the expiration of the bilateral trade agreement. In 2008, Lincoln announced its withdrawal from the Chinese market. At a time when many luxury car brands are scrambling to divide the Chinese market, Lincoln not only came late, but also did not show ambition, and it is reasonable to be abandoned by the Chinese market.
Lincoln's malaise is largely due to the fact that Ford executives have long focused on Ford, especially after Mullari took office, implemented the ONE FORD strategy, sold multiple brands, and focused on the development of a single Ford brand. Reduced investment, coupled with over-reliance on the North American market, has led to a shrinking Lincoln market share. In 1990, Lincoln sold 230,000 vehicles a year, and by 2000, when everyone was improving, Lincoln had sold only 193,000 vehicles in the United States, and after 2012, this number had fallen to 82,000 vehicles. Especially after exiting the Chinese market, many people regard Lincoln as a regional brand limited to the North American market, rather than a world brand.
● Lincoln returned, will the Chinese market still give it a chance?
After selling Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo, Ford unloaded its baggage and went light again. However, for such a century-old brand, it is obviously impossible to make no achievements in the luxury car market, so Ford decided to revive the Lincoln brand and use the Lincoln brand to participate in the competition in the luxury car market.
In 2014, Lincoln held a brand launch in Beijing, at which Lincoln announced the development strategy of his brand in China. By 2016, Lincoln will introduce 5 models to China. In addition to MKC and MKZ, lincoln will introduce a medium-sized sedan, a medium-sized SUV (MKS) and a Lincoln navigator to the country by 2016.
With the launch of MKZ and MKC, Lincoln has opened dealerships in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou. By 2016, Lincoln's independent dealer network in China will lay out 60 dealer stores in 50 cities across the country to accelerate channel construction. According to the goal set by Ford, Lincoln plans to reach 300,000 vehicles worldwide by 2020, and the Chinese market is its most important market outside of North America. At present, the competition in China's luxury car market is not as relaxed as it was a decade ago, and in the face of old rivals such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lexus and Cadillac, what are Lincoln's chances of winning?
As this chapter comes to an end, our introduction to Lincoln, a nearly century-old brand, has come to an end. In the course of a century, Lincoln has always been synonymous with luxury, and the "presidential car" is both a business card and a supreme reward for it. Personally, I will divide Lincoln's development into two stages, the first stage is from birth to the 90s, this stage of Lincoln despite occasional setbacks, but always good luck, under the ford prince Edsell and William Clay's painstaking management, Lincoln has repeatedly produced epoch-making good products, becoming the object of socialites and aristocrats. It can be said that Lincoln of that period can not be overstated.
After entering the 90s, in the face of increasingly fierce market competition, Lincoln gradually could not keep up with the pace, the product lacked competitiveness, and the market response was even more sluggish. Of course, this is largely related to Ford's lack of attention to Lincoln, which directly leads to the Lincoln brand influence is not as good as before. In 2005, Lincoln has entered the Chinese market, the time is almost the same as Cadillac (2005), Lexus (2004), but because Ford put its energy on Changan Ford, Lincoln finally had no choice but to delist in 2008.
Now that Lincoln is back, will it still have a chance? Judging from the recently launched MKC and MKZ, the models are still very competitive in the same class, and the new product planning and release rhythm are all on the agenda (click to see Lincoln New Product Planning). In addition, Lincoln's channel construction is proceeding in an orderly manner. Most importantly, of course, Lincoln's strategic position in Ford is more prominent than at any previous period, and revival is expected. Although many public opinions are looking down on Lincoln's development in China, everything is man-made, and we may wish to pay more attention to Lincoln, who has already taken steps in the Chinese market. Maybe a surprise is coming.
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