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Lincoln Outstrips Cadillac In Luxury Sales
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| Updated |
Jun 3, 2004 17:14:10 |
| Rating |
 38 ( -6 -15.78% ) |
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Description:
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ford's Lincoln division has just made history. For the first time in Lincoln's 78-year history, Lincoln has overtaken Cadillac in luxury sales. Ford's recent efforts to make Lincoln a smaller company within their company, seem to be paying dividends, as Lincoln sales were up 63% through March. About 1/5 of those sales were for the Navigator SUV, and Caddy doesn't yet offer a sport-utility. Cadillac sales were up a mere 2.9%, putting them in second place. And Lincoln may pull even further ahead--last week they unveiled their new LS model (meaning "luxury-sport") at the New York Auto Show.
Both Cadillac and Lincoln have lost market share of late, as younger baby-boomers with new-found money have opted for German and Japanese luxury cars. Some wonder how the new LS model will fare against the BMW 5-series, the Mercedes E-Class, and the Lexus ES300. Lincoln wants it to be competitive, but Cadillac's Catera hasn't made a huge impact since its introduction last year. Lincoln was smart to offer this younger, more affluent group of buyers a trendy SUV. 77% of the Navigator owners surveyed said they never would have bought a traditional Lincoln. If Lincoln's appeal had narrowed to an older crowd, the Navigator changed the brand's image successfully. Cadillac has hurriedly decided to play catch-up, and will debut a new Cadillac Escalade SUV, which is a luxuriously redone GMC model. The Escalade will come out this fall. The goal for these two domestic luxury plates will be to retain their older, more traditional buyers, while attracting new ones. Lincoln's SUV has helped them overtake Cadillac--but the Cadillac version is right around the corner. |
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