- 21,286
- GR-MI-USA
- YSSMAN
- YSSMAN
Everyone shares the blame in the fall of the LS my friend. Not only did Ford not push the car in public ad campaigns, but they also ceased to update a car to keep up with the competition. Not only did Ford remove the more attractive low-end models, they manged to increase the price on the car steadily over the years because the LS had slowly become the "flagship" of Lincoln. Thusly the cars like the 3-series and C-class that it could have made an aggressive run against were forgotten about, as Lincoln had managed to position the car against the far-better 5-series and E-Class. Simply put, the competition got better (no matter what you put it against) long before Lincoln could have made any changes for the better, and thusly people lost-out in the end.
...And we can't forget about how the press had pretty much shunned the car after its changes. Once the V6 was dropped and the car went completely automatic, there wasn't a single automotive magazine that would touch it. Beyond that, without coverage in the press, people tend to forget about certain cars after a short period of time. Ford didn't advertise for the car, and thereby people didn't buy the car.
Too bad really, as it could have been a lot better if Ford continually updated the car for the American market. I think there is a striking similarity between it and it's platform mate, the Jaguar S-Type which was for the most part applauded upon arrival, but slowly was killed-off by poor product planning. The good news is that the idea of a "sporty" rear-wheel-drive Lincoln isn't dead, and we saw that in Detroit. Ford should, no, MUST build the MKR to maintain a respectable reputation for Lincoln not only in America but around the world. With Cadillac parading around popping shots off at the world's best, and Chrysler doing their own distinctively American thing, Lincoln is left with over-styled sedans and crossovers that do little to excite the spirit of the company and the driver.
