It was 2009. Lincoln made a luxury compact concept called the Lincoln C. It was different. It was never heard of again.
The Lincoln C was introduced by now-Ford-CEO Mark Fields at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. The compact luxury car market was pretty small at the time, and perhaps Lincoln was on to something by introducing an efficient, affordable and clean-looking design. Too bad Lincoln never did anything with it.
The Lincoln C had a 1.6 liter EcoBoost with 180 horsepower and torque, and could achieve a claimed 43 MPG. It also had a table for a dashboard. It was intended to be marketed to a younger luxury buyer who, with iPhones and pocket cameras, was used to quality luxurious products in smaller sizes.
Nowadays the comapct luxury car market is on the rise, with Audi dominating with the A3/S3, BMW catching up with the 2 Series and a rumored Gran Coupe sedan thing, Mercedes introducing the CLA and GLA, Infiniti stealing the GLA and making it the QX30, and many more on the way.
And it’s all too bad, because I like how different the Lincoln C is. Its boxy shape is unusual and its smooth, deep-cutting body line has me feeling some type of way.
Somebody remind Lincoln that it’s OK to be different. Being normal isn’t really working for them right now.