Death Of An Icon: Lincoln Continental Production To Cease By Year End

This was Darringer's assessment when it was launched:

<<As for the Lincoln, it is selling rapidly because of the intense interest in the product. Ford has done a much better job of disguising their Super Fusion than Honda has done with the Super Accord Acura RLX. It wouldn't surprise me if Cadillac's decision to continue the XTS rather than kill it as was planned has to do with the enthusiasm surrounding the Continental.

The build quality is nice and overall it is a package worthy of luring people away from the played-out Audi A6 and the all-new-still-old-looking BMW 5 Series.>>

You'd think a self-proclaimed genius industry insider couldn't possibly be wrong 100% of the time, but this guy manages to pull it off!

You're psychotically fixated.

The fact is that we were sold out for our first three months allotment at that point.

The second fact is that the Continental was amazingly successful in reasserting Lincoln's identity.

The XTS staggered and certainly did not win the race.

Initially, the Continental did attract conquest sales because it was the new thing.

It ushered in the transformation that has Lincoln appropriately moving forward again.

But, as for your comment diving, you were probably that fat whiny boy on the playground that everyone HATED because he was such a pansy, sniveling little bitch to always ran to the teacher to tattle.

It must gall you that I am so much more successful in life than you are. You envy is over the top, as usual.

Once again, YOU LOSE.

He just doesn't know what he's talking about and should stick to selling cars. Knowing the history behind this car, it was virtually DOA. D544 as an MKS originally on a newer, longer version of Fusion CD4 FWD architecture.


Any aspirations of moving the Continental to CD6 failed when Hackett cost cut out the modularity of the architecture. It cannot be adapted as is for cars. Just like Flat Rock Assembly can only build low-roof vehicles like this and Mustang, and not utility vehicles.

He canceled at least five programs for CD6. New 2020 Zephyr, 2021 Town Car replacement, Continental redesign in 2023, all new 2021 Mustang, and rear wheel drive Taurus replacement by 2023. Only U625 and u611 went into production.

CD6 is only crossover capable until 8th gen Mustang.

Many times since the 1980s, attempts have been made to study & invest in a company wide unibody rear-wheel-drive platform.

MN12 was created in the 1980s for the over budget 1989 Thunderbird & Mercury Cougar (December 26, 1988), and potential 1990 Lincoln Mark VIII (became MY1993, 12/26/1992). The sales success of the 1990-97 Town Car (sold Oct 1989 - Nov '97) discourage management from abandoning the Panther BOF (since 1978).

RWD DEW98 was developed from 1993 for midrange Jaguar (X200) and Lincoln LS launched in 1999. A unibody replacement for the Town Car was ordered for the late 1990s, being delayed in 1994 to accommodate a major update for 1998 (Nov 1997) and ultimately canceled by 2001 in favor of a higher end Continental on a new global RWD architecture shared with Ford Australia.

By 2006 that global RWD was shuttered by Alan Mullally and fully dead by 2008. Panther replacement became FWD D3/D4. Then after everything recovered during early 2010s One Ford and he retired, CD6/D6R came to fruition under Mark Fields. It all comes full circle with J.H. canceling everything in 2017.

Continental had no chance thanks to a select set of people over the years. This car was really a renamed second generation MKS, originally for the 2016 model year. Delayed and moderately revised as the 2017 "Continental".

As someone who simultaneously is employed to do top-secret engineering at Ford, FCA, Lexus, and JLR as you have claimed, you know best.

Lincoln kinda has a history of abandoning cars on the sales floor. They give a great push when they debut and after a year... oh yeah we still have it.
IMO the continental should have had the suicide doors from the jump. They should have made it the tech showcase for Ford/Lincoln. This should have been the 1st car with self driving capability not the F150.

The Continental sold well and first and the people at Lincoln gave each other the high-5 and forgot about the Continental. Then when they killed the updated CD4 Fusion with it went all support of the Continental. Ford's announcement cratered the sales of the Fusion and Continental. When the CD6 Mustang was delayed in favor of a revised S550 along with it went any notion of a speedy successor to the MKZ/Continental on CD6.

Codename CD714 was an all new Lincoln Town Car replacement on CD6, in development since 2014, per Mark Fields orders for an all new Bronco (U725), new stopgap Ranger (P375N) & replacement (P703), Generation Y crossover (CX430), EV compliance utility (CX727), state-of-the-art Lincoln crossovers (U611, CX482), RWD Explorer, and T3 based Navigator.

Upon his ascension to CEO, Mark Fields wanted to reimagine Lincoln (like a kid in a candy shop) at the cost of (mainstream) Ford brand and EV investment. He only cared about luxury, flagship, or halo vehicles.

Ford family wasn't having it with stock decline, not to mention a bunch of other foibles of Fields' they and the shareholders weren't okay with.

Next generation Continental was going to take on more of a midsize role in 2023 on CD6, Zephyr was the smaller RWD MKZ replacement due in MY 2020. Fusion sedan was going its separate ways, moving to FWD C2. CD4 is being phased out.

A lot of good stuff got killed by J.H. back in 2017, including an all-new Mustang on CD6 in February 2021. CD6 Mustang will not arrive until 2026, if at all. 2023 model year is a heavily revised CD5.

The D544 is nothing more than a renamed gen II MKS, with new front and rear clips, moved to extended CD4 from old D3.

The so-called D544 Continental was designed as 2016 MKS, only getting some very quick attention at the last minute in 2014 to be the flag bearer of the new design language for MY 2017. Most of the D544 Continental design (neè MKS) was set in 2013 under Max Wolff.

Good interior, but overall execution of Continental was lacking. American luxury buyers are not as dumb as you think, even if most have become badge whores or CUV maniacs.

They know what an American luxury sedan should be.

But millennials love it?!?!?!

The Continental began Lincoln's buyer demographic trending younger.

In December 2018 I bought my mom a new car. I really wanted to buy her the Continental. I drove it and took my kids with me to be objective. I had always been a Lincoln fan at heart and wanted to like the Conti. But I didn't. It was way too small, and it felt like a lower end mid-size car with some leather and fancy seats. It even looked small on the road. It was a zero for me. Had it surfaced with tall slab sides, suicide doors, and a V8, I would have been all over it. But as a Fusion, I was out. The Navigator and Aviator are both stars. The Continental was a series of mistakes for me.

It couldn't have surfaced the way you wanted. There was no appropriate platform.

Ford was looking at Lincoln imploding under a dumb naming scheme and ugly styling by Max Wolff and they decided to do s Hail Mary. They lengthened the MKZ/Fusion hastily, stuffed in a really good Ecoboost, and covered in handsome styling by David Woodhouse. The speed at which this occurred taught Ford a lesson a very valuable one.

The Ford EV crossover was nearly frozen for production when Ford decided to start over and recast it as a Mach E. They had to move at lightning speed as on the Continental to get the job done.

When you factor in how fast the Continental was done, it's pretty impressive. It put Lincoln back on the map with names and great styling. The loaner I had for several months was an excellent long-distance car. Good car and I'm sorry to see it go.

Once again I'm carless because the Explorer I was driving got sold as a CPO last week.

A big, cushy sedan would be a delight.