Report: Ford to inject lots of money into revitalizing Lincoln

Ford may have been the only lucky automaker to avoid a government-based bailout when the entire American automobile industry went south. But Ford still isn’t exactly out of troubled waters just yet as Lincoln is still lingering in limbo as it continues to struggle to stay relevant.

It still may have the stigma of being a car of choice for the AARP club or the nearest airport taxi union, but Lincoln is trying to up its ante to become more competitive in the luxury market. And to make sure this happens, Ford is investing a healthy and whopping $5 billion into the struggling branch to make Lincoln a competitor to Mercedes-Benz and BMW. And that’s no easy feat.

A fair share of that investment should go towards Lincoln’s new D6 platform, which is set to be the backbone for virtually its entire future lineup. It’ll also be used to further separate Ford from Lincoln since the two have a long history of badgineering (badge + engineering).

Originally, Ford’s former CEO Alan Mulally didn’t believe in investing heavily into Lincoln, and that unfortunately showed so as a result, Ford’s new CEO, Mark Fields, thought otherwise.

“It’s really important for us to have a relevant and vibrant luxury brand,” Fields said in an interview with Reuters. “You need to make the investment and build this brand over time.”

Do you think Lincoln will have what it takes to compete against the top luxury dogs of the mass market?

Let us know in the comments.

– By: Chris Chin

Source: Reuters