What happened to Lincoln Sedans?

[driller]

So many times I see users type, why doesn't the company build that. There are several reasons and they all come down to money. If the consumer doesn't buy that in big enough numbers to generate a profit and be sustainable, Ford isn't going to make it.

My counter to this is the chicken or the egg syndrome. We can't buy it if they don't build it OR they won't build it if we don't buy it.

I'll agree the Panther platform had run its course and the last Continental never got off the ground. But I find it difficult to understand the complete abandonment of any forward thinking. That is nothing short of risk aversion to the extreme.

 

[Action]

I agree. It is risk aversion. And it is intentional! Just like the Lincoln Execs blunt answer noted above.
Ford is doing very well with trucks, SUVs and CUVs. Until the market changes or government requires a change, I would expect more of the same.

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[A Charles 9920]

Not exactly. I mean I do not feel they talk over dinner and say let's let the Lincoln brand go to hell! But their influence on major decisions such as who leads the company in various top level positions as well as in various product design and decisions cannot be overlooked and they have poor judgment IMO. Do you recall...
Billy wanted to name the entire product line (Ford) with words beginning with an "F" Fusion, Flex, Five Hundred, Free Style? How about Funderbird! Dropped one of the best recognized brands, Taurus, for the dud of a "Five Hundred".

As they say, the fish begins to stink first at the head!

 

[Action]

Model names that start with F began in the 1950s.
Fairlane, followed by Falcon, the Fiesta and Fairmont
And the king of all of the F Models the F Series truck that predated all of those.

To Bill's credit he stepped down voluntarily when he recognized he wasn't the man. Bill could have gotten some other Ford to step in. Or a combination of men with the last name of Ford, Alan Mulally was asked and accepted the position to lead the company to change direction in 2006. The search for a person to step in took some months before Mulally was considered and then asked. With Mulally's hand on the wheel the company avoided BK and a bail out unlike GM and Chrysler.

All of that was a couple decades ago. (A very long time ago in the auto world) In my opinion, Lincoln of today has product problems. Not enough capacity to build to the market or market demands and reliability issues which has resulted in higher warranty costs. However the Lincoln Motor Co is profitable even when sales have been declining. Which is what the share holders demand.

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[A Charles 9920]

I am no longer a Ford stockholder but do not recall Lincoln showing profitability outside of Ford's consolidated report so I need proof of that.

 

[Action]

The data is public as Ford is a publicly traded company. You do not need to own stock to get the data.
And I need to correct an error as Lincoln numbers are not reported separately from Ford sales.
I was searching for Lincoln profit numbers and the article I saw was companywide profits for the previous 3 years by quarter.

Ford reports in multiple segments. (In my opinion this is to protect the company should such a segment fail or maybe for reporting)
Ford Blue - traditional ICE vehicles
Ford Pro - commercial sales
Ford Model E - electric vehicles sales
(In addition to Ford Next and Ford Credit)

Ford Blue and Pro bring home the money. They make about that same in total profit. Thy just do it differently.
Ford Model- E not so much. Still showing losses since it's creation in 2022.

Ford and Lincoln sales mostly fall under Ford Blue. The target for unit profit is $2000.
For 2022 the profit per vehicle was $2400. And $2600 in 2024
Ford Pro almost doubles the profit numbers from the ones stated by Ford Blue. There are just less unit sales

For the combine vehicle sales the profit per vehicle is $1876 per vehicle in 2022 and $2262 per vehicle in 2023. (Which is a significant jump)

This and much more is contained in this link. However, one has to drill deep to get some of the data.

Ford Profitability And Profit Per Vehicle Sold | Fundamental Data And Statistics For Stocks

Explore Ford Blue, Ford Pro, and Ford Model e's profit per car sold. Discover also Ford's profit per vehicle in North America, South America, Europe, China, and IMG.

stockdividendscreener.com

This is a recap of 1st quarter 2025 earnings call.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-motor-co-f-q1-070807209.html

To note a dependability improvement by JD Powers. There is a way to look at this as when you are down, the only place to go is up.

Another thing to note is just sales (unit sales) A couple of decades ago was a lifetime and .........
Lincoln achieved its two best U.S. sales years in 1989 (200,315 units) and 1990 (231,660 units)
Compare that to 2023 when Lincoln sold 81,000+ units and half of those were a model it no longer makes. Corsair.

The unit sales thing is difficult to equate to profit. The corporate structure has changed a lot.
In 1990 Ford made a gross profit of $17 billion dollars.
In 2023 Ford made a gross profit of $26 billion dollars.
Between those two are down years

Ford Motor Gross Profit 2010-2025 | F

Ford Motor annual/quarterly gross profit history and growth rate from 2010 to 2025. Gross profit can be defined as the profit a company makes after deducting the variable costs directly associated with making and selling its products or providing its services. <ul...

www.macrotrends.net

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[Chuck Most]

I don't know if it's unique to America, but that's the only perspective I have. And maybe I'm being way too reductive about it, but...

People have been convinced that these bloated minivans with hinged rear doors (crossovers) are the perfect vehicle. And because they're classified as light trucks, there are fewer regulations for the manufacturers and bigger profit margins. So naturally, your traditional sedan falls out of favor, not to mention more niche styles like coupes. Obviously there are outliers, but that's always true.

If "light trucks" that are obviously passenger vehicles were subject to the actual standards and regulations for a passenger car (like being subject to a gas guzzler tax, perhaps?), manufacturers wouldn't push them so much, and the public wouldn't be as interested.

Then again, I know more than a handful of people who use a $70,000 + 3/4 ton diesel pickup truck as the family car, so maybe I have no idea what I'm prattling on about. We live in a world where GMC is an "upscale" brand, for Pete's sake...