Lincoln Doesn’t Want Visual Link to Ford

In recent years, Lincoln has worked hard to change its image and it’s just the beginning.

In an interview with Automotive News, Ford and Lincoln’s design boss Moray Callum spoke about the company’s focus on differentiating Lincoln’s design from Ford as the company continues to reinvent itself. One issue Lincoln has had in the past is looking too similar to existing Ford models, a problem that occurs with luxury brands based on mass-market platforms similar to Nissan and Infiniti. “I don’t think there should be a visual connection between Lincoln and Ford,” Callum said. “With some of the other companies it looks like the designs are coming out of the same studios. That’s why we have a separate Lincoln studio, so there’s no cross-pollination.”

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Callum admitted that in the past, Ford and Lincoln models looked similar but believes Lincoln’s recent models such as the MKC and MKZ are unique because they don’t share any sheet metal with Ford models. In other words, Callum is focused on making sure Lincoln’s designs don’t resemble Ford counterparts, especially since the automaker plans on investing at least $5 billion to the brand. So far so good as Lincoln saw its sales rise 15.6 percent in 2014 compared to the previous year.

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[Source: Automotive News]

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