Just 12 years ago, according to Crain's, Lincoln was the peak selling luxury brand in the U.S. with sales of 187,121. Last year, it sold just 82,847 cars, putting it in seventh place, way at the back the luxury leader, Lexus, who sold 215, 975.
To add insult to wound, consumer awareness of the domestic auto business is at an all-time high thanks to the bankruptcies at Chrysler and GM and the bailout program. Prior to 2007, I would contend that possibly half of U.S. consumers did not know that Cadillac and Saab were owned by GM or that Ford owned Lincoln, much less Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin. But today, those numbers have to be much higher, which isn't probable to help the domestic carmakers, as even more consumers associate Cadillac’s with Chevys and Lincolns with Fords.
To add insult to wound, consumer awareness of the domestic auto business is at an all-time high thanks to the bankruptcies at Chrysler and GM and the bailout program. Prior to 2007, I would contend that possibly half of U.S. consumers did not know that Cadillac and Saab were owned by GM or that Ford owned Lincoln, much less Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin. But today, those numbers have to be much higher, which isn't probable to help the domestic carmakers, as even more consumers associate Cadillac’s with Chevys and Lincolns with Fords.
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