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GM design boss Welburn says Lincoln isn't a Cadillac rival [w/poll]

General Motors Vice President of Global Design, Ed Welburn, had some dismissive words for a certain cross-town luxury brand during an interview with Car and Driver. When asked about his thoughts on Lincoln, Welburn deflected, before saying, "I don't consider Lincoln to be a competitor for Cadillac."
"They're not a global luxury brand. I don't consider them a competitor. Are they a competitor for Buick? Quite possibly. But not for Cadillac," GM's head designer explained. Welburn, who's been at the helm of GM Design North America since 2003 and is the first to hold the position of VP of Global Design, has been instrumental in the styling renaissance at GM, so predictably, Car and Driver's interview with him focused on the design aspect of cars.
During the interview, Welburn explicitly denied plans for a reborn Cadillac XLR, even as a new Chevrolet Corvette is hitting the market and strides are being made with Cadillac's V-Series performance arm saying, "We have a lot of cars that we're working on for the Cadillac brand. The XLR is not one of them right now."

Lincoln 'not true luxury' yet, says Ford design chief

Lincoln is "not true luxury," according to Ford's design boss, J Mays. His statements come from a story in The Detroit News that saw candid language on the issues facing Ford's troubled premium brand. Notably, there's a need for a strong character, with Mays saying, "Every brand needs to have a DNA and a unique selling point and things in the vehicle that make you think, 'That's that particular brand.'"
With a range of rebadged Fords, it's not hard to see why that DNA is missing. Mays hinted that a full recovery for Lincoln will be a ten-year process, that's been kicked off with the MKZ sedan. While that car is still largely a Ford Fusion under its extremely pretty wrapper, it's the first Lincoln in some time to inject its own unique take both through the exterior styling and through interior features, such as the vertical, pushbutton gear selection.
Some analysts weren't so certain about Mays' 10-year estimate. Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics thinks it'll be more like 30 years before Lincoln can show a true return to form. The issue, as Hall explains it, is that, "luxury has a degree of exclusivity," that Lincoln just doesn't have. Michelle Krebs from Edmunds adds, "it's definitely a wanna-be luxury brand," comparing the troubled American brand with Infiniti and Acura, two other brands that have struggled to find their place in the luxury market.

2017 Lincoln Continental garnering strong interest

According to Automotive News, Lincoln has a list of about 40,000 people who have expressed interest in the brand's upcoming Continental sedan. While that may sound paltry next to the 250,000 people or so who have so far put deposits down for a Tesla Model 3, it's great news for Ford's luxury brand. "This is the most buzz I've seen in a long, long time," says Dan Marks, chairman of the Lincoln National Dealer Council. Lincoln is riding a wave of increased interest in 2016, having topped 100,000 sales last year. Prior to that, the last time that milestone was passed was way back in 2008. As is the case with most automakers, though, much of Lincoln's sales boost can be traced back to strong demand for crossovers like the MKX and SUVs like the Navigator. That makes 2017 an interesting time for Lincoln to be relaunching the Continental sedan. We can expect to see lots of marketing leading to its launch. "Extensive prelaunch activities" are planned, Matt VanDyke, director of global Lincoln, told Automotive News. We'll have to wait a little while longer before we know whether all that pent-up interest leads to actual sales. Or, put another way, whether the 2017 Continental will be a mic drop moment or a big flop.