How Lincoln Needs to Approach its Mustang
Jaguar just this week debuted the new XE, Jag’s baby in its lineup. It’s a handsome car: aggressive where it needs to be — demure in other places … but it honestly has the wrong badge. It should say “Lincoln”.
Now, before everyone gets the pitch forks and torches, hear me out for a second. Jaguar has a bunch of awesome, fast, rear-wheel-drive cars already. They are making beaucoup bucks, and they usually have a slightly better product than, say, BMW. While I applaud them with the restructuring and the resurrection of the brand, this isn’t the car for them. It’s the car for another manufacturer that is struggling to survive. That manufacturer is Lincoln.
Lincoln hasn’t been making any real waves lately. In fact, they’ve been on the verge of collapse ever since the recession. No one wants to buy a more expensive Ford anymore. That’s all Lincoln really is: a rebadged Ford.
What they need is a standalone car. Something they can stick a flag in and show the world what they are really made of. That’s where the XE comes into play. What Lincoln needs is a properly quick 3 Series fighter. Lincoln holds itself as a premium brand, but none of its cars are actually premium. Long gone are the days when a car company can call itself a “premium” just by offering leather.
It’s no secret that Lincoln has been eyeing the Mustang’s platform since it made its debut. They want their own version, but all the talk I’ve heard is that they just want to stick to the same schtick by doing a rebadge. That would be unbelievably shortsighted. What Lincoln and Ford could do is stretch the Mustang’s frame a bit, put a properly good-looking body on it, and keep all of the internals. Make it the XE. Make it something up-and-comers can look at and say, “That looks good, and it’s quick.”
Lincoln needs to capture the hearts and minds of the affluent once again. They need to properly compete with the Germans and the Japanese. Without a car like the one detailed above, I don’t know if they will be able to survive.