Surprisingly, the answer is “yes”—at least if you believe Jim Farley, Ford’s group vice president of global marketing, sales and service. Farley was providing some hints about Lincoln’s future direction in a recent Automotive News interview, and he had plenty to say about how the loss of Mercury will be Lincoln’s gain.
The focus will be on providing stronger differentiation between Ford and Lincoln products, a longstanding and ongoing problem exemplified today by a quick comparo between the division’s crossover cousins, the Edge and the MKX. Even with the 2011 models, with their vastly different grille treatments, there’s no disguising their shared roots. And the situation with the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ isn’t that different. (Note that in the accompanying photos, I’m showing a 2010 Fusion and a 2011 MKZ; it was oddly (?) difficult to find similar profile shots of each from the same model year.)
2011 Bentley Continental GT Photo Gallery
2011 Dodge Durango Photo Gallery
2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid & MKX
2011 Lexus IS Photo Gallery
2011 Hyundai Equus Photo Gallery
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