Ford's Plan for Lincoln Starts to Emerge

By John Rosevear – Sep 1, 2013 at 8:30AM

NYSE: F

Ford Motor Company

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$51B

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(0.43%) $0.06

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$12.94

Price as of April 23, 2024, 10:42 a.m. ET

Comments from a Ford executive this week made it clear: The company's plan for its Lincoln brand is a long-range effort.

Last year's Lincoln MKC concept was a preview of Lincoln's next move, a compact SUV based on Ford's Escape. It should hit dealers next spring. Photo credit: Ford Motor.

Ford's (F 0.43%) shining success on most fronts in recent years have made its stop-again-start-again efforts to revive Lincoln, its old luxury brand, a huge puzzle. Is Ford really serious about turning Lincoln into a top-notch global luxury brand? If so, why isn't the company making the same kind of big-bucks effort that rival General Motors (GM 4.70%) has been making with Cadillac? And if not, why not?

Ford's leaders have been fuzzy for a while about their plans for Lincoln, but a little bit of clarity emerged this past weekm when Ford design chief J. Mays shared some insight with the Detroit News. In this video, Fool contributor John Rosevear puts Mays' comments in context -- and explains what he thinks Ford really has in mind for its old luxury brand.

Fool contributor John Rosevear owns shares of Ford and General Motors. You can connect with him on Twitter at @jrosevear. The Motley Fool recommends Ford and General Motors and owns shares of Ford. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.