Continental and Eldorado Head For The Scrap Heap In The Sky

Days Are Numbered for Continental and Eldorado...(Lawrence Ulrich, Detroit Free Press) The Lincoln Continental and Cadillac Eldorado, among the industry's longest-running luxury cars, are headed for the big car lot in the sky, victims of changing consumer tastes and automaker strategies. Lincoln officials familiar with product plans, who asked not to be identified, said Ford Motor Co. will discontinue the Continental after the 2002 model year. General Motors Corp. is expected to pull the plug on the Eldorado coupe in summer 2002. Sales of the Eldorado peaked at more than 71,000 in 1983, but the moribund model has managed barely 3,000 sales so far this year. Sales of the Continental, which dates to 1940, reached a high of nearly 63,000 in 1990, though that number was heavily supported by fleet sales. The Continental sold about 26,000 units last year. Rather than sustain brands for tradition's sake, Cadillac and Lincoln are determined to develop models that can hold court with the new luxury kings from Germany and Japan.