Lincoln has new growth as luxury brand

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Buoyed by a rediscovered brand identity, Lincoln has become the fastest growing luxury brand in the United States. Company officials are gearing up for even stronger sales with the all new MKS luxury sports sedan aimed at the "Gen X" crowd.In 2007, retail sales for the year were up 15 percent over 2006, thanks to the strength of sales for the MKX crossover and MKZ sports sedan, said Michael Sprague, group marketing manager for Ford Motor's Lincoln-Mercury division.Year-to-date sales for the MKS are up more than 30 percent, and the MKZ sales are up by 20 percent.Lincoln officials said they are targeting people in their mid-20s to around 40 because that group is more nonconformist and haven't developed the firmly embedded attitudes about domestic products that baby boomers have. Lincoln officials concede that baby boomers probably would be a much harder market to crack because of that group's preference for European and Japanese brands.In addition, Lincoln officials say, Gen Xers are much more likely to appreciate the wealth of technology included in the MKS, and also may appreciate the MKS' subtle elegance.But while industry analysts almost uniformly praise the MKS, they wonder if all that subtlety might not be lost in a highly competitive market."I like the way it looks, and the styling is nice. But it's not a head-turning kind of car, and it looks a little bit like a lot of other cars that are out there," said Rebecca Lindland, associate director of the automotive group at Lexington, Mass.-based Global Insight."In today's market, with buyers being so distracted and so negative about the industry in general, you have to give people a reason to buy your car. I don't know if this car, like many other vehicles out there, will give consumers enough reasons to buy it."Jack Nerad, Kelley Blue Book's editorial director said: "I've seen the car and am impressed by it. But it will be interesting to see whether they bring the brand along to match the car, because it's quite a different product. It will be their flagship, and it's a significantly different flagship than what we are used to seeing from Lincoln. It's smaller, and it's more European-influenced."As for the styling, he said, "It stands out, but not for being anything weird. It's just distinctive, pure design."Jim Farley, group vice president for marketing and communications at Ford, identified several groups of buyers that will be important to the MKS.First, there's what he called "diversity customers" who are looking for something new and different in their next luxury car. African-American and Hispanic buyers would be targeted as well. "They represent a huge opportunity for us as well," he said.Longtime Lincoln owners who have been waiting for a new flagship car also will be important for the MKS, Farley said.Some analysts say that the fact that Lincoln has now moved ahead of Mercury in sales casts further doubt on Mercury's future."I think Lincoln would like to move in the same direction in which Cadillac has moved -- to something more young, urban and contemporary. And Lincoln now has a more distinct brand image than Mercury does. It certainly is more upscale. I don't think it's happenstance that so much of the success for Lincoln has also meant a lack of success of Mercury," Nerad said.As a result, he said he expects to see a "broadening of the Lincoln brand in the future. You could go down the price scale a bit if Mercury disappears. Lincoln could then go to some smaller, less expensive models."He said he would like to see Lincoln "do something like a smaller sporty luxury coupe, a halo car that would give the brand some traction in the market place. I think they have the talent and the sense of where to go at Lincoln to make that happen."E-mail Don Hammonds at dhammonds(at)post-gazette.com (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)