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Lincoln Luxury Car Leaves its Mark

26 January 1998

Lincoln Luxury Car Leaves its Mark

    DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 26 -- Lincoln Mark VIII luxury coupe
production will be discontinued in June 1998 at Ford's Wixom Assembly Plant as
the plant prepares to produce an all-new luxury sports sedan, the Lincoln LS6
and LS8.  Mark VIII is built on the Thunderbird platform, which was
discontinued in 1997.
    "Customer demand for personal luxury coupes is declining, while sales for
luxury sport utility vehicles like the Lincoln Navigator are taking off," said
Jac Nasser, president of Ford Automotive Operations.  "The growth is also in
the luxury sport segment where we intend to compete with the Lincoln LS6 and
LS8."
    Since its introduction in 1993, Lincoln has sold more than 110,000 Mark
VIIIs in total: 31,852 in 1993 and 26,830 in 1994.  Mark VIII sales declined
to 17,433 in 1995 and hovered around 16,000 during the last two years.
    Lincoln LS6 and LS8 are all-new luxury sport sedans, which are scheduled
to appear in showrooms in early 1999.  Both will be added to the Lincoln
luxury line-up and will be built at the Wixom Assembly Plant in Michigan,
where the Lincoln Town Car and Continental are also assembled.
    "This is a positive business decision for the company, dealers, employees,
shareholders and most of all, our customers who increasingly are looking for a
luxury sports sedan," said Nasser.

SOURCE  Lincoln-Mercury Division