In a bit of a shock move, Lincoln will reportedly kill off the newly introduced Lincoln Continental after the current-generation car runs its lifecycle, sources told our sister publication, Ford Authority. It will leave General Motors as the only American automaker fielding a full-size luxury sedan with the 2018 Cadillac CT6, though its most direct competitor, the XTS, will also likely exit production.
The decision comes after Ford invested $1 billion to bring the tenth-generation Continental to market following its departure from the market in 2002. Our sources would not say why Ford will pull the plug, but it likely has something to do with the tepid sedan market as crossover and SUV sales surge. The Continental has only been on sale for 18 months, and the large luxury sedan has sold 18,846 units through February 2018.
The source told Ford Authority there isn’t a good scenario for a successor at the moment, which will leave Lincoln with the mid-size MKZ and a slew of crossover and SUV models.
Photo: Scott Downing for Cadillac
Cadillac, however, will restructure its sedan portfolio and bring two new cars to replace three sedans. The two sedans will put more distance between one another as direct replacements for the compact ATS and larger CTS. As mentioned, the XTS will exit production in the coming years and leave the CT6 as the brand’s largest sedan offering.
Comments
Saw that coming.
Not a bad car but not a great car for the segment. Compared to the CT6 it is weak.
Add in the SUV and CUV sales and it is not surprising a Taurus based luxury car is going away.
This car should have been on the Mustang platform to start even then the weak sedan segment was going to be tough.
This will not be the last of a Luxury maker dropping their cars line if the market continues as it is.
I fully agree with you, I had somehow incorrectly assumed that when the new Conti was announced a couple years ago, it was surely RWD. They had the new mustang platform; why not! Even though I’m not a big ford fan, any RWD car is still something good to have in the market and I think the car LOOKS cool. I was really disappointed when it was released on a “glorified Taurus” transverse FWD/AWD platform. I seem to recall magazine reviews were luke-warm on it, and in such a hot SUV market, I think the writing is on the wall.
The ancient Chrysler 300 offeres more bang for buck. I think styling has equal bling.
Wow. I actually liked the look of these. Must not have done well in sales. I know cars are less popular, but they still sell.
A bit wrong, it’s being replaced by a rwd version.
Link?
Unless he works for Ford and knows more than everyone else, here is all we have:
The only possible salvation for the Continental is for the full-sized sedan to be replaced by a vehicle on Ford’s next-generation D6 platform. The next-generation architecture is rumored to be highly flexible, as it could be configured for front-, rear-, or all-wheel-drive applications. Alas, our source wasn’t optimistic about this scenario taking place, entitling us to ask: “SUV buyers: what have you done?”
Read more: http://fordauthority.com/2018/03/lincoln-continental-to-be-discontinued-after-current-generation/#ixzz59pPSm5Q9
Ford lost its special line of presidential vehicles when production of the large sedan were stopped, thus all present Presidential vehicles are GM based. Ford and Lincoln need to return the large sedan production again, instead of letting the foreign brands take over.
Aren’t the Taurus and Continental considered full size sedans? And Cadillac One is based on the Kodiak frame.
Lincoln builds a Continental still? hmm. Don’t think i have seen one in person. 😉
This just means the Navigator will take on the full role as flagship for Lincoln, as it should have. The Continental did one good thing for Lincoln: it opened up a design language that people actually liked. However, this could have been done with just the Continental concept, rather than actually bringing it to production. IMO, it should have stayed a concept to inspire the rest of Lincoln, especially when they didn’t dedicate the proper means to bring it to market (RWD, refinement).
To add, the big shake-up due to Mark Feilds being fired and the new CEO speed-projects that was on ice by Feilds, one was apparently the CD6 platform.
Incorrect, it’s actually the MKZ that is going away at the end of the current gen, which is soon. The Continental will be around for a while longer. That being said, it probably won’t go much further unless they can increase sales
This might be a major scoop for “Ford Authority” but as of now it’s confirmed nowhere else (it’s only on other sites that quote “Ford Authority”. If it is true, maybe Johan should drop plans to end the XTS.
The Continental was a good idea on paper but has some poor execution. The pinwheel style wheels are a bit ridiculous for a luxury sedan (might work on a “cute” cheap car) and the Conti doesn’t ride as softly or with as smooth an engine and transmission as it should have. It’s also too expensive for what it is, especially with the optional trims.
elvis is leaving the room. that velvet(leather) blue interior reminded of the king.
i guess “american luxury” that some people were screaming for didn’t work out for ford. i’d take a cts/ct6 over this any day.
Should have been RWD / AWD.
The word’s could be RWD/AWD chassis, not it will be RWD/AWD chassis.
A lovely car, but the design is too tame and the price is too high for what it is. Were it priced like the Buick LaCrosse, instead of starting around $45k and topping out around $80k, and with a more interesting design, I’m sure it would have done better.
I’m a lover of big American sedans, so I would be sad to see it go. Looking at Lincoln’s current direction, I think a next-generation model could have been impressive. The new Navigator definitely impresses. Kudos to Lincoln for even green-lighting the car in the first place. Odds are they’ll replace it (along with the MKT) with a sub-Navigator (Aviator?) crossover.
I think a next-generation model could have been impressive.
In my country 2018 Cadillac CT6 Platinum 3.0 TT is sold for 290k SAR with 4 yrars free maintenance and 5 years or 1 million km warranty, while 2017 Lincoln continental black label sold for 335k SAR with no free maintenance nor extended warranty
Ford killing Continental speaks to the company having no plans to build a next generation platform fit for the segment. Word of a midsizer living on speaks well for a future Fusion, however.
Continental was at best a Buick buster and, at worst, most worthy of taking on the geriatric FCA twins—give me a 300 any day.
The large car market is dead, what’s left is FCA turf. Should gas prices rise, as predicted by Triple A, maybe models like Impala will once again stand a shot. Personally, I don’t see sedans going away and predict more Sportbacks.
Ford just does not know how to sell cars anymore. They make so much money from pickups and old SUVs, they have given up or forgotten everything else. The Conti is a little small but very nice. When was the last add anyone saw for it? What does Lincoln even stand for anymore? A fancy Ford? Overpriced Expedition? Caddy means something still, the V’s are outrageous and the C6 very elegant. Just wish they had real names. A high end Fleetwood package would be killer. 60 Special anyone? The alpha bet soup names are confusing. But the product is there.
Sounds like Ford is just giving up on cars in general. It is just getting bleaker and bleaker for us car fans that don’t want a damned SUV or truck
And yet there are cries when people go to European or Asian cars.