Filed under: Lincoln (http://www.autoblog.com/category/lincoln/), Mercury (http://www.autoblog.com/category/mercury/), Earnings/Financials (http://www.autoblog.com/category/earnings-financials/)
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/12/09lincolnmks_09_opt.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/la-2007-lincoln-mks/487639/)
click above image for high-res gallery of the 2009 Lincoln MKS

Ford is reporting that its Lincoln luxury brand will overtake Mercury in sales sometime in 2008. Now, if you replaced 'Mercury' in that last sentence with a word like 'Cadillac' or 'Lexus', then we might have some news to talk about. Instead, this appears to be further evidence that A) Lincoln's sales are improving, but too slow to overtake any of its competitors, and B) Mercury is destined to remain nothing more than a well-defined trim level for Ford. Don't get us wrong. We're not saying Mercurys are bad vehicles, we're just saying they're Fords.

Nevertheless, Lincoln is building some sales momentum thanks to the fact that it's actually getting new models like the MKX crossover. Next summer the MKS sedan will also go on sale, and Lincoln sales will likely get another shot in the arm. That should do it for Mercury in this bout of sibling rivalry, since it has no new models scheduled, and certainly none exclusive for the brand.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

Gallery: 2009 Lincoln MKS
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/11/07mkslive_0010_thumbnail.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/la-2007-lincoln-mks/488598/)http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/11/07mkslive_0013_thumbnail.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/la-2007-lincoln-mks/488623/)http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/11/07mkslive_0014_thumbnail.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/la-2007-lincoln-mks/488624/)http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/11/07mkslive_0016_thumbnail.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/la-2007-lincoln-mks/488597/)http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/11/07mkslive_0018_thumbnail.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/la-2007-lincoln-mks/488617/)

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