2009 lincoln c concept 008

2009 lincoln c concept 008

The announcement of a new small car for the Lincoln brand was part of the announcement from Ford this week that they would be closing down the Mercury brand. The car new c-segment car that is now going to become a Lincoln was originally bound for Mercury, but with its demise the R&D is being moved to the luxury brand. This is most likely because Ford has a pretty rounded out line with the new 2011 Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus. So what will it look like? That really does seem to be the question.

2009 lincoln c concept live 07

2009 lincoln c concept live 07

Lincoln Concept C Reveal - Detroit

Lincoln Concept C Reveal - Detroit

The only thing we can even point to right now is the Lincoln C Concept that debuted at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Ford’s group vice president of Global Product Development, Derrick Kuzak, was tight lipped about the new c-segment car, but did say that the C Concept was being considered. For those whom aren’t familiar with the Lincoln C Concept, it was a four-door hatchback based on the fairly successful Ford Focus platform. Since it was a Lincoln concept it had suicide doors and was supposed to be powered by turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a front wheel drive transmission setup. Basically, the engine setup is the EcoBoost idea on the C Concept.

Bottom line—Lincoln isn’t saying much now, but we are sure details will be forthcoming since they also announced that no less than seven new or significantly revised Lincoln vehicles will come to market over the next four years. Hopefully Lincoln won’t go down the GM road of making the Cavalier/Cimarron mistake or the Caterra for that matter.