It's
no secret Lincoln has been floundering for several years, with a lineup
of products that are little more than tarted-up Fords. But with a hip
new design team in place and a reported $1 billion pledged to fix its
ailing luxury brand, Ford is confident it can reverse the slide.
The
revival was launched in November, when Lincoln showed the restyled MKS
sedan and MKT crossover at the Los Angeles auto show. And now, at the
2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Lincoln is
rolling out the MKZ Concept, a future vision Ford is trumpeting as the
vanguard for the brand's resurgence.
"With
the Lincoln MKZ Concept, we are not introducing a new car. We are
essentially introducing a new brand," proclaimed Ford global product
kingpin Derrick Kuzak in the statement announcing the MKZ Concept. "The
MKZ Concept is the next step in the reinvention of Lincoln, something
we've been quietly, but aggressively pursuing." Bold words indeed,
Derrick. It remains to be seen if Ford's new approach will resonate with
the discerning luxury crowd.
The MKZ Concept features a revamped version of Lincoln's bold
dual-opening front grille that the automaker says is a more refined
interpretation of the split-wing mug from the iconic 1938
Lincoln-Zephyr, with horizontal bars replacing the classic car's
vertical slats. A single piece of chrome wraps around each grille and
headlamp flank, and both the front headlamps and the full-width
taillamps employ LED technology.
