President Abraham Lincoln is hot this year, and Ford is hoping the car brand can also make a comeback.
In a first-on-cable interview on Morning Joe, Ford announced the rebooting of its Lincoln brand Monday.
The first car in Lincoln’s snazzier, sexier re-launch is the MKZ, a sedan.
“It’s a Lincoln; it’s beautiful to look at, elegant, understated—that's what’s made Lincoln special all these years,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s head of global sales and marketing and the newly appointed chief of the Lincoln revival.
The MKZ, a hybrid, will be the most fuel-efficient luxury sedan in America according to Farley. “Fuel efficiency is the number one purchase reason in the United States” Farley said. “For Ford to really be known as an innovator, we have to lead.”
A new ad campaign will accompany the car, featuring the president for which the brand was named, . And the car company’s first Super Bowl ad is in the works.
Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally said Ford has sold off all of its other luxury brands, including Volvo and Jaguar. The company hopes to boost Lincoln to be a larger portion of Ford’s overall sales. It's currently 3 percent, down from 8 percent in the brand's heyday, according to the Times.