Lincoln enjoys Continental lift

A year after the Lincoln Continental came back to life, dealers and company officials say the flagship sedan is not only selling well and steadily gaining market share, it's boosting the fortunes of other Lincoln vehicles.

The return of the Continental nameplate after a nearly 15-year absence drew curious customers into showrooms after its introduction in September 2016. When some decided they couldn't afford the $45,925 base car, including shipping — it's nearly $82,000 for a fully loaded, swanky Black Label variant — they opted to buy an MKZ sedan, MKC crossover or other Lincoln.

"It's become a springboard to selling our other products," said Chris Poulos, general manager of West Point Lincoln in Houston. "When you look at what it does for people coming into the store, it's huge. I think it brought us fully back to relevance. Lincoln is growing because of it."

Lincoln's U.S. sales rose 3.2 percent through the first eight months of 2017, even as the overall luxury industry was flat. Since the launch, Lincoln has sold 13,281 Continentals in the U.S. and 6,319 in China through August.

West Point Lincoln had sold 76 Continentals this year through August. Of those, 13 percent were the high-end Black Labels.

"I think it's reshaped what Lincoln is," Poulos said. "It's catapulted us into a true fight in the luxury marketplace."

Although Continental sales have declined sequentially in each of the past three months, it's outselling the Cadillac CT6, 8,020 to 7,143, in the year's first eight months. Poulos said his used-car lot is full of BMW 7-series sedans that buyers have traded in for the Continental.

"It's been hands down the easiest conversion we've had," he said.

Lincoln President Kumar Galhotra said the Continental's month-over-month market share gains have outpaced those of the Lincoln brand. Through August, it has a 14 percent share of the large luxury sedan segment, trailing only the Cadillac XTS and the Mercedes-Benz S class, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Its predecessor, the MKS, accounted for just 7.2 percent of the segment in 2015, its last full year of production.

"It's been consistently punching above its weight," Galhotra said.

The Continental joined Lincoln's lineup in the 1930s, when it was developed as a one-off vehicle for Edsel Ford. It gained cachet through the 1950s and '60s as it was used in movies, owned by celebrities and served as the limousine of U.S. presidents, infamously carrying John F. Kennedy the day he was assassinated.

Lincoln wanted to tap into its heritage to help bring back customers to the brand. Galhotra said the name itself evoked strong feelings during the car's development.

Originally, designers knew only that they were supposed to create a "large Lincoln."

"For the first few weeks, there really wasn't a standout design," he said. "Then the leadership team told the design team they were designing the next Continental. You could almost see an immediate change in the room. Right there was a very important lesson in the emotion behind the name."

Lincoln picked the 10th-generation Continental as a showcase for some of its most luxurious features.

It includes Perfect Position 30-way adjustable front seats and a Lincoln-exclusive EcoBoost 3.0-liter V-6 engine rated at 400 hp and 400 pounds-feet of torque. The Continental concept that debuted at the 2015 New York auto show gave customers the first look at the brand's new mesh grille, although the grille's production debut came on the MKZ.

While sedan sales have struggled in recent years, Poulos said the Continental has carved out a nice niche.

"All the manufacturers are putting a lot of their cards into SUVs and crossovers right now," Poulos said. "But there still needs to be a car that is a luxury sedan that people see as a 'look at me' car. I really believe the Continental is a 'look at me' car."

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