As part of a sweeping corporate restructuring plan announced Friday, Ford Motor Co. said it no longer would make its Lincoln Continental or three other once-popular makes of cars.
At Laird Noller Automotive in Lawrence, the moves didn't come as much of a surprise. The dealer sold only three Continentals during all of 2001, compared with 19 of the new, sportier Lincoln LS.
Gary Bennett, general manager of Laird Noller Automotive in Lawrence, won't be getting any more Ford Escorts or Mercury Cougars like the ones currently on his lot at 935 W. 23rd St. Ford Motor Co. announced Friday that the vehicle lines would be discontinued, along with the Mercury Villager and Lincoln Continental.
"The customer over the past 20 years or so is looking for a little smaller car," said Gary Bennett, general manager at the dealership, 935 W. 23rd St. "We're getting a lot of customers now who used to buy a Mercedes or a BMW. They never would have bought a Continental, but now they're looking at the LS."
The Continental, a line launched in the 1940s, had blossomed during the 1950s as the "prestige leader for the entire Ford Motor Company," said Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Auto Dealers Assn. in McLean, Va. It mixed power and luxury.
But unlike the Ford Thunderbird, which gained new life last year when reintroduced with classic styling and a limited production run, the Continental is being relegated to the automotive history books.
Ford's Lincoln-Mercury division sold only 20,392 Continentals last year, down 10 percent from a year earlier and ranking as the division's lowest-selling auto.
Corporate officials officially pulled the plug Friday, adding the Continental to the list of vehicles (Mercury Cougar, Ford Escort and Mercury Villager) to be discontinued.
"When Continental was part of the legacy, legend and sex appeal of Lincoln, that might not have happened," Taylor said. "Since it was simply another sedan option, it's gone."
Laird Noller had its second best sales year in 2001,
Bennett said, and looks to build on the momentum as Ford revamps its products and restructures operations.
"Ford is still very strong," said Bennett, who has sold Fords for 23 years. "Models go away and new ones come on. That happens in the car business."
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