Stan Honda, Getty Images Peter Horbury, Ford's executive director of design for the Americas, introduced the Lincoln MKR Concept car at the North American International Auto Show.

By Don Hammonds
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Lincoln, Ford Motor Co.'s luxury make that many industry analysts believed would perish, is on the road to a comeback.

The brand, which has been enjoying some sales success with its popular midsize MKZ sedan and positive press for its new MKX crossover, is basking in a glow of praise being lavished on its new MKR four-door coupe concept car unveiled at the North American International Auto Show.

It is one of the most talked about concepts to come to the biggest show in the auto business in quite some time. Rumors are surfacing that the car may well be produced -- albeit in slightly different form -- within a couple of years.

"It's really a combination of what Lincoln used to stand for -- an alternative to the more brash ostentatious look of American luxury," said Ford's Peter Horbury, executive director of design for the Americas. "Lincoln always had a subtle, discreet look that was reflected in its customers -- self-made men and women who didn't want to shout their success, but enjoy it."

All of the hoopla over the MKR is not a moment too soon for the storied brand. Since hitting 193,009 units in 2000, Lincoln sales have been on a steady downward slide, reaching 107,670 last year through November, according to J.D. Power's Power Information Network.

This has prompted the honchos at Lincoln to come up with a freshly minted survival plan and a new styling philosophy designed to give some consistency to its future models.

Planning for Lincoln's design future got under way in earnest in April.

A team investigated "how luxury had changed in America," Mr. Horbury said, by visiting Southern California and looking at clothes, housing, hotels and other elements there. "It was a good exercise, and we came up with strong pointers as to which way we should go."

During the search for Lincoln's design DNA, a decision was made to reject any plans for future Lincolns that would be nothing more than glorified Fords, he said.

In fact, a crossover based on a future Ford model was soundly tossed out.

"Many people told us, 'Thank goodness you didn't do that design,' " Mr. Horbury said.

It was replaced by a design that bore absolutely no resemblance to the Ford model.

Journalists who saw it at an invitation only showing of future Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models several weeks ago pointed to it as one of the more successful Lincoln designs they'd seen in some time. It could hit the market in the next couple of years.

The MKR embodies seven styling elements identified by Lincoln designers as being key themes to be used on future Lincolns. According to Mr. Horbury, four of those elements will be required for all future Lincoln models:

Thin horizontal taillights that run the full length of the car.

A prominent, powerful beltline.

Smooth, clean flanks below the beltline that are devoid of ornamentation.

A split grille design that harkens back to the very first Lincoln Continental in 1939. That design is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful of all time. The grille design also was seen on the Lincoln Zephyr of the 1930s and on several later Lincoln Continentals of the 1940s.

One or more of the following features, though not required, also could be used on future Lincolns:

A powerful cantrail -- the point at which the roof and A-pillar come together on a car.

A surface "break line" that appears on the side of the car just below the window.

A cantilevered roof with a wide Lincoln C-pillar.

All of these features have appeared to one degree or another on most Lincolns, dating back before World War II.

"But we were not going to do a retro design. That was said from the word go," Mr. Horbury said. "What we did do this time that was different from how things were done previously is look at a number of models over history. We then picked out elements that were unique to the history of the brand, and we put it all together."

He said that when people see future Lincolns, there should be "a subconscious recognition of what the brand was, now presented in a very modern way."

To go along with its new look, Lincoln has a new plan to guide it into the future that basically has the brand going its own way without regard to what Cadillac -- the other major American luxury brand -- is doing with its lineup.

While Cadillac, generally regarded in the industry as a more flamboyant, daring make intent on conquering world markets, Lincoln will emphasize "guilt-free luxury" with designs that have a classic, gracious, yet American look about them -- no dramatics, excessive ornamentation or gimmicky styling tricks.

In a sense, it will be aimed at the "fortunate few," so to speak.

"The people who drive Lincolns of the future will know why they chose it, and the only opinions they'll care about will be that of other Lincoln owners," Mr. Horbury said.

If all that comes to pass, it truly reflects Lincoln's past.

Lincoln, which was founded by Henry Leland -- coincidentally, he also founded Cadillac -- was an ugly duckling of a car before the brand was purchased by Henry Ford in 1922.

Mr. Ford, according to historians, bought the firm as a gift to his son Edsel -- or, as auto industry wags of the day gossiped, as a "toy" to keep Edsel occupied and out of the way of his father, who reportedly had his share of disagreements with his son.

But, under Edsel Ford's influence, Lincoln quickly became a maker of beautifully crafted, low-slung classic automobiles, such as the 1932 KB models that many say personified the golden age of auto design.

Edsel Ford, an elegant, well-traveled man with a deep sense of aesthetics, loved understatement and classic lines, and that was reflected in the first Lincoln Continental in 1939. A real show stopper, it was worked on jointly by the late designer Bob Gregorie and Edsel himself.

But by the 1980s, Lincoln was struggling, and its styling became ordinary and, some would say, confused, with too many elements spread across its model lines.

That is why Lincoln, with its MKR concept, is trying to follow the path Cadillac blazed a few years ago -- use the styling elements of a few well-received auto show cars to design all-new models and ignite renewed prominence for the brand itself.