With Some Very Good Vehicles, Why Can't Lincoln Define Their Brand?

I never thought I would drive a Lincoln... before I retired. Yet here I am, the proud pilot of a Lincoln MKS AWD. In fact, I like it so much, I'm going to register a complaint with the brand.

I've owned an MGB GT, a Datsun 280Z, a Mustang GT and Mustang Cobra, A BMW 5 series, and three Jaguars (so as not to seem snooty BTW, none of the Jags were new and they cost me thousands in repairs). Okay, admittedly I'm getting a bit long-in-the-tooth after all these years and, previously, Lincoln sort of catered to an older crowd, with comfy, floaty, pseudo-luxury vehicles that were very American, but not really comparable in quality or technology to some of the brands I just mentioned. 

Honestly though, to a great extent, all that has changed. Like rival Cadillac, Lincoln, under the Ford umbrella, has upped the ante with some pretty cool vehicles designed to take the brand younger. 

It's fair to say that almost every car and truck Ford has out there these days is heads and tails above the vehicles they produced even four years ago. That's one of the reasons they didn't have to take a bailout. A re-dedication to quality and refinement, and better understanding (or aknowledgement) of what customers need and want (two very diferent things) has resulted in some truly outstanding offerings. But while Ford has done a pretty good job differentiating and positioning Ford brands, their marketing of Lincoln is, in my opinion, is a different story.

Now that Mercury is gone, Lincoln alone represents Ford Luxury. But the brand is diluted by the MKZ, a gussied up, barely disguised version of the Ford Fusion, The MKX, a gussied up, barely disguised version of the Ford Edge, and the MKT, a butt-ugly re-interpretation of the Ford Flex (our family also drives a Flex and agrees is outstanding). I won't even mention the Town Car or the Navigator, because Lincoln basically doesn't any more. Don't get me wrong, these are all actually really nice vehicles with beautifully executed interiors... nicer by far than their Ford counterparts. But they are still derivatives of another brand, and that dilutes their unique attributes and appeal.

Cadillacs, on the other hand, have nothing obvious in common with their GM brethren, and therefore don't suffer from the kind of negative comparisons Lincoln gets in the press... a distinct brand advantage.

Despite that, I have to say that the Lincoln MKS is one of the best vehicles I have ever had the pleasure to drive. It's quieter than any of the Jags I've owned, as smooth on the road, and has more technology for the the money packed into it than many of it's rivals. It also has a pretty fantastic interior design; warm, comfy and inviting. On top of that, the "Ecoboost" version of the MKS boasts enough horsepower and 0 to 60 prowess to equal a BMW M5 and many other high performance marques in the luxury sedan category.

So how come I don't get this from their advertising? Lincoln does a good job of touting their technology. But, unlike Cadillac, they do a terrible job of establishing a flagship for the brand. Cadillac promotes performance through the CTS, the gorgeous CTS Coupe, and the truly remarkable CTS V... a rip-snorting, fine-handling race car for the road, tuned on Germany's famed Nurburgring race track. Perfomance can make an entire brand sexy!

As far as I can tell, Lincoln doesn't promote the Ecoboost version of the Lincoln MKS at all (with the exception of their website). And honestly, the word Ecoboost conjures up an engine that runs on corn oil or re-constituted garbage. It hardly embodies a powerplant that can propel the MKS to kick the ass of most cars it will come accross on the average U.S. road. Just like BMW drivers are proud to drive a lesser version of the M5 or M3 perfomance variants, I would be proud to drive a lesser version of the MKS Ecoboost... if only it wasn't called that.

In my opinion, Lincoln has some very good offerings, but some very muddled marketing strategies and advertising. They clearly have the vehicles to tap into a younger market that could help them take the brand back to the top of American luxury choices. As a driver of the MKS, I'm a fan. It is truly a great vehicle. It's not perfect, but it is very good.... fun to drive (paddle shifters rock!), comfortable and solid. Yet it still doesn't have the cachet of a Cadillac, or some of its european and japanese rivals. And that's a shame, because I think it's almost that good. The right marketing should be able to change that.

Make no mistake, I love my Lincoln. I'm  astounded that it rivals some of the luxury brands I've driven before. But to get the brand back where it belongs, I believe Lincoln needs to define the MKS Ecoboost as its performance and technology flagship and hang its other offerings under the MKS umbrella. To do that, they need to  lose the Ecoboost descriptor. It's boring. And if Lincoln really wants to change it's image, it needs to permanently romove boring from its marketing equation. The same engine is in the Taurus... not the Taurus Ecoboost, the "Taurus SHO", for Super High Output. Now that's sexy. Get with the program Lincoln. 'Cause Lincoln drivers like sexy, too!

That's my opinion. What do you think?

 

 

Comments

[car finance]

Your sentiments are valid. It's rather odd why Lincoln cars don't have the same backing as other brands when quite a lot of people would rather drive a Lincoln than anything else.

[Second Hand Cars]

Well BMW is the best brand for sedan as i own one and it is giving a good performance i would say lincoln sould sort out there problem as soon as possible or it will not be good for their brand

[Name Withheld]

Shh, Russ! It's not "Greg" it's "Name Withheld!" And thanks for the use of the three-letter acronyms! At least these I know because they are in common use. But I don't think too many people know that MKZ stands for Mark Zepher, whatever the hell that means. (Yes, I know the "Zepher" name has a rich history with Lincoln-Mercury, but what the hell is a Mark Zepher?)

Signed,
MNS (Mark Name Withheld)

[Name Withheld]

Well, YOU know about the naming system, but someone forgot to inform the buying public!!! Gee, when I go into a showroom, I don't stop and think, "Oh, they WANTED to name it the Mark S but they changed their minds" -- all I know is I have to try and remember a three letter acronym that means nothing to me. Now if they want to mount an advertising campaign that explains their names, fine. And yes -- that would be a waste of money, and thus my point. Why not name them something more consumer-friendly so that there is no "learning curve" or so that I don't have to read the internal memos about what the vehicles should have been called.

[Russ Tate]

Hey Paul.

Thanks for the comment and the clarification. I wish I had the Ecoboost version... must be a blast. But I still think the name (Ecoboost) doesn't do it justice - especially in marketing and advertising. It needs something that reflects the PASSION you have for the car (and me). I think the right marketing of power, performance and sexiness of the MKS Ecoboost could help "boost" the entire brand - trickle down.

[Paul Richards]

There IS rhyme and reason to the naming system. The S is for sedan, the Z is for Zephyr, the X is for crossover and the T is for touring. Originally, they were going to have the MKS pronounced Mark S but then they changed their minds. But make no mistake, they DO stand for something as I pointed out above. I have no problem with the naming system nor do I have an issue with the MKS Ecoboost which I own by the way, and like the author of this article, I love it as well.

[Russ Tate]

OMG Greg! WTF. You're AOK... LOL.

[Name Withheld]

MKS, MKZ, MK...M&M's, E-I-E-I-O!! I love the Lincoln products, but I can never remember which one is which -- it's alphabet soup. So I call the crossover the Lincoln Edge, the smaller sedan the Lincoln Fusion and the big sedan, the big Lincoln. There is no rhyme or reason to the naming system. Shouldn't Z be better/bigger than "S"? At least BMWs with their numbers, you know the lower numbers are the smaller cars and the bigger the numbers, the bigger and more expensive the car. Lincoln's letter system is...confusing! A confused consumer is not a buying consumer.