Ford Hopes to Attract Young Buyers with Navigator

01/03/97

Reuters says that although one automotive industry analyst calls Ford's Lincoln Navigator calls the "Lincoln Town Truck," Ford's executives prefer to think that the new their new full-size sport utility vehicle, represents the future direction of the Lincoln brand by aiming for younger (although still rich) buyers.

Ford based the Navigator on its enormously popular Ford Expedition. The vehicle, says the company, combines four-wheel drive mass and utility with luxury car finery. Analysts and dealers who have seen the vehicle say the interior, with its plush leather seats and walnut trim, derives from Lincoln's flagship, the Town Car. On the outside, a special grill with the Lincoln logo located smack dab in the middle distinguishes the Navigator from the Expedition.

Ford has slated the Navigator for sale next summer, when it will be sold as a 1998 model year vehicle. The company will officially introduce the vehicle on January 7 of this year, at the North American Auto Show in Detroit.

Although Ford has not set prices for the Navigator as of yet, it is expected to sell in the mid-$40,000 range, which puts its base price below the 1997 Lexus LX 450 and Range Rover, the two high-end sport utilities that promise to be its competition.

The Navigator arrives as the first non-car entry in the Lincoln lineup, thus marking a milestone for Ford's domestic luxury brand. Lincoln, like General Motors' Cadillac division, has until now missed out entirely on the sport utility vehicle craze.

Import SUVs have taken a bite out of Lincoln's share of the luxury car market, and, although the Mercury Mountaineer (an upscale version of the Explorer from 1996) helped, Lincoln-Mercury dealers are looking forward to having a new luxury SUV to sell.

Billy Vaughn, general manager of North Park Lincoln-Mercury in San Antonio, Texas said, "I think there's going to be a tremendous demand for the Lincoln Navigator based on the fact there is not a domestic high-end sport utility on the market."

The biggest challenge facing Ford's Lincoln marque in the near future will be whether it can revitalize its image. Town Car sales currently comprise over half of Lincoln's sales, and they are most popular with older male consumers. During the first nine months of 1996, Town Car sales were off 6.4 percent. They fell almost 16 percent in 1995.

Susan Jacobs, president of industry consultant Jacobs & Associates Inc., said, "the issue at the moment is that none of the domestic makes have demonstrated an ability to pull upscale buyers out of Japanese models."

Lincoln-Mercury General Manager Jim O'Connor argues that the Navigator will attract rich baby boomers who otherwise would have bought a luxury import sport utility vehicle.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel