Lincoln USA Sales : 1985-1999

The Lincoln marque is Ford's answer to GM's Cadillac. Chrysler also had the Imperial brand but that ended in 1975 so the contest was down to two as far as US companies went. Sales grew strongly through the 1980's and ended in a 200,000 sales high.

1985-1989:

Town Car: It was introduced in 1981 and became a stand alone model rather than a trim option for the Continental. It was a good move as it sold strongly.

Continental: By this time, this model had been downsized to give a broader coverage to the range. Until 1987, it was the 7th generation and then became the 8th incarnation.

Mark VII: This was a luxury coupe introduced in 1983 and lasted until 1992.  Sales weren't huge but that reflected its specialist body style.

Model	1989	1988	1987	1986	1985
Town Car	119,254	121,674	126,009	133,175	117,606
Continental	56,441	47,424	27,119	23,780	19,853
Mark VII	24,620	22,526	12,909	20,629	27,679
Total US Sales	200,315	191,624	166,037	177,584	165,138

The 1988 Continental

1990-1994:

In 1990, over 230,000 sales were achieved, a record that stands right down to today. That wasn't sustained but overall it was a positive situation for Lincoln. It wasn't that far behind Cadillac as the second best selling premium marque in the US.

The new model Town Car that was released in 1990 proved extremely popular. The Continental went from 1988 to 1994 and sales fell as it aged. The Mark VIII came in 1993 and it improved its sales remarkably, although not a big selling model.

Model	1994	1993	1992	1991	1990
Town Car	120,191	110,046	115,075	116,900	148,689
Continental	32,145	31,746	38,458	52,450	62,732
Mark VII/VIII	26,830	31,852	8,115	9,351	20,239
Total US Sales	179,166	173,644	161,648	178,701	231,660

1995-1999:

For the 1998 model, the Town Car went for a more rounded shape. Sadly sales barely fluctuated as you would expect with a new model. The Mark VIII soldiered on until 1999, when it was replaced by the LS sedan. It was only a replacement in category size but not body style. A new Continental model came out in 1995 and sales took a bit of a spike as a result. 

The Navigator was a large SUV that took Lincoln into new territory and it sold in reasonable numbers. It was necessary as in 1999, Lincoln was bumped out of second place by both Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. The imported premium marques were increasing sales speedily.  

Model	1999	1998	1997	1996	1995
Town Car	84,629	97,547	92,297	93,598	92,673
Navigator	39,250	43,859	26,831
LS/Mark VIII	26,368	10,505	16,023	15,859	17,433
Continental	26,246	35,210	31,220	32,019	40,708
Total US Sales	176,493	187,121	166,371	141,476	150,814

The 1998 Town Car

For the 2000-09 period, just click here.