Lincoln wow's the world with the Navigator concept, this car deserves to be a huge success.

After overhauling the core of its lineup, Lincoln is remaking its biggest vehicle, the Navigator, into a more understated, serene alternative to the high-flying Cadillac Escalade.

Lincoln today unveiled a yacht-inspired Navigator concept that executives described as a “very strong” indication of the SUV that will go into production late next year. 

However, the 2018 Navigator won’t come with the concept’s most prominent feature: a single, upward-opening door stretching almost from wheel to wheel on each side.

“The doors won’t make it. We’re being quite clear about that,” David Woodhouse, Lincoln’s chief designer, told Automotive News. “We did it to really show off the interior.”

That interior, with three rows of wide, squared-off captain’s chairs that complement the Storm Blue exterior paint, is a vast departure from today’s Navigator.

The instrument panel has long, horizontal lines and is free of the button clutter that pervades many vehicles today. Instead, audio and climate controls are located on floating consoles between the first two rows of seats.

The shifter buttons, stacked vertically in current Lincolns, are arranged like large piano keys below a central touch screen.

“Some of our competitors’ vehicles, they’re bombarding the occupants with information,” said Andrew Kernahan, the Navigator’s chief engineer.

The Navigator concept is powered by a twin-turbo, V-6 engine that produces more than 400 hp. Specific details and additional powertrain options will be revealed with the production version, executives said.

The redesigned Navigator and its sibling, the Ford Expedition, are expected to adopt a largely aluminum body to reduce weight, increase capability and improve fuel economy. Lincoln executives wouldn't discuss what materials were used in the concept's body panels or are planned for the production version.

Under a 2015 labor deal with the UAW, production of the Navigator and Expedition will continue at Ford Motor Co.'s Kentucky truck plant in Louisville.

‘Very different’

Even up against brash rivals such as the Escalade and Land Rover Range Rover, Lincoln is sticking to the “quiet luxury” philosophy that produced the recently redesigned MKX crossover and upcoming Continental sedan.

“Our design language is very different than Cadillac’s, inside and out,” said Lincoln’s president, Kumar Galhotra. “It’s about creating beautiful, elegant cars -- not aggressive cars.”

As Woodhouse described Lincoln’s approach: “It feels like our competitors are in the business of scaring people. It’s a very different business that we want to be in.”

Catching up to the Escalade would be a tough task for Lincoln. U.S. sales of the Escalade and Escalade ESV totaled 35,921 in 2015, triple the Navigator’s volume of 11,964.

But the concept shows that Lincoln is willing to take the risks necessary to thrive again, particularly in the SUV segments that are growing globally, said Karl Brauer, senior analyst with Kelley Blue Book.

“They need to do things like this that turn it up because this brand hasn’t been turned up in a long time,” Brauer said. “Everyone wants a big SUV across the planet, not just in the U.S.”

Galhotra said the Navigator has “very healthy margins” and is the most recognized name among Lincolns currently in production. Its customers are an average of 54 years old, the youngest of its six nameplates.

Momentum

Lincoln hopes the Navigator will build on the momentum being generated by the Continental, which was introduced in concept form at last year’s New York auto show. The timing suggests a production version of the Navigator might be shown next January at the Detroit auto show, where the production Continental was unveiled this year, though Galhotra said that decision has not been made yet.

He said 30,000 consumers have said they are interested in the Continental. U.S. sales of the sedan it’s replacing, the MKS, dropped to fewer than 6,900 last year.

“No other Lincoln vehicle has generated this level of interest in that short of a timespan,” Galhotra said.

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Nick Bunkley

USA - Ford to re-Introduce the Limited line to the F-150 Pick Up Truck range from the 2016 Model Year.

Ford Motor Co. is responding to surging demand for high-end pickups by introducing a Limited version of the F-150 that will start at about $60,000 and likely top $70,000 when loaded with options.

The F-150 Limited, which Ford is unveiling today in Los Angeles, will go on sale this winter as a 2016 model. Its features include 22-inch polished aluminum wheels, Mojave leather seats and interior accents made of aluminum and fiddleback eucalyptus. Each truck’s production number is laser-engraved in a VIN plate on the center console lid.

“The F-150 Limited sets a new bar for what discerning customers should expect in a high-end truck,” Raj Nair, Ford’s product development chief, said in a statement. “We’re adding segment-exclusive technology, and features that improve productivity, convenience and capability with distinctive style.”

Ford offered a Limited trim on the 2013 and 2014 F-150, at a starting price of about $53,000, but discontinued it when introducing the aluminum-bodied 2015 model.

In the first half of this year, Ford said 60 percent of F-series sales were so-called high-series trims: Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum. As a result, the truck’s average transaction price has jumped 9 percent to $44,100 from a year ago.

Though the Limited trim isn't expected to sell in large numbers, it gives Ford another way to maximize revenue from the hugely profitable F-series lineup. Its starting price is about $10,000 more than that of the Chevrolet Silverado High Country, $8,000 more than a Ram 1500 Limited and the same as a BMW X6.

Exact pricing will be announced later this summer.

“There’s a lot of people who buy trucks as both a work tool and a status symbol,” said Karl Brauer, senior director of insights for Kelley Blue Book. “You have a lot of wealthy businesspeople who have the money to buy an extremely capable and extremely luxurious truck. It’s not any financial stretch for these people to spend 50 or 70 grand.”

Ford sold about 190,000 F series for more than $50,000 last year, TrueCar estimated, outselling BMW’s 3, 5 and 7 series combined and the entire Audi brand.

The F-150 Limited will have a 3.5-liter, EcoBoost V-6 engine, which is a $400 option on the King Ranch and Platinum trims. It will have a unique grille, raised “Limited” lettering on the hood and a satin-chrome exterior accents. The interior contains massaging front seats, a Sony 10-speaker sound system and scuff plates with “ice blue” backlighting.

Nick Bunkley

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USA - Ford removes Chicago plant managers amid sexual harassment investigation.

Ford Motor Co. has replaced the plant manager, human resources officials and labor relations officials at its Chicago Assembly Plant after a federal investigator found evidence to support allegations of rampant sexual harassment and racial discrimination against dozens of female employees there.

As many as eight managers have been removed from the plant within the last several months, a person with knowledge of the situation told Automotive News.

In addition, the plant’s bargaining chairman, Coby Millender, who is identified as one of the harassers in a federal lawsuit filed against Ford in November, was temporarily suspended by the automaker, UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles said in a statement the union posted Tuesday on Facebook.

“The UAW and Ford Motor Company share a strong commitment towards eliminating sexual harassment and discrimination, of any form, in the workplace. Such conduct is unacceptable, it is not tolerated and there are policies in place to prevent such from occurring,” Settles said in the post.

Settles said the union has filed a grievance challenging Millender's suspension, which ended April 15. He said both Ford and the UAW are actively investigating the allegations.

The Times of Northwest Indiana reported the manager departures Monday. The paper said Millender had been removed from his position, which Settles said was inaccurate.

A Ford spokeswoman declined to say whether any personnel changes were made in connection with the lawsuit and investigation.

"Ford rotates the career assignments for employees based on the needs of the company,” she said in an e-mailed statement. “Any questions regarding the UAW should be directed to their team.”

Amended suit

The federal suit, originally filed by four women, was amended last week to name 33 female Ford employees who say coworkers and supervisors regularly groped them, attempted to have sex with them and either exposed themselves or showed them pictures of their genitals.

Some of the women say in court filings that they were denied overtime and other benefits when they rebuffed the men or reported the behavior to human resources and labor relations. One woman said she was suspended and then demoted from an $88,000-a-year supervisor’s job to an hourly position earning about $42,000 after she complained and encouraged co-workers to file similar complaints.

In February, an investigator from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said she found “reasonable” evidence to support complaints filed by 13 women who said they were harassed and in some cases disciplined or fired after they complained about the mistreatment, according to documents filed with the lawsuit.

Chicago Assembly has a history of sexual harassment allegations, with Ford paying some $19 million in 2000 to settle a lawsuit. The lawyer who filed that suit, Keith Hunt of Chicago firm Hunt & Associates, also represents the current group of plaintiffs.

As part of that settlement, Ford set up a hotline for workers to report harassment and discrimination. Many of the plaintiffs say they were told to stop calling the hotline after repeatedly filing reports.

No one answered the phone Tuesday at Local 551. Calls to numbers listed for Millender and the local’s president, Chris Pena, were not answered, and there was no way to leave a message.

Officials at UAW headquarters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lawsuit allegations

The lawsuit and EEOC complaints describe an environment in which supervisors frequently subject the women to lewd comments, nudity and pornography. They say supervisors frequently had sex with female subordinates on the roof of the plant and denied bathroom breaks and other accommodations for women who refused requests for oral sex and intercourse.

“Ford is aware of the ongoing discrimination and harassment which occurs on a daily basis in an open manner, such that it is observed by employees and supervisors, and has turned a blind eye toward it,” the lawsuit says.

One of the plaintiffs says Millender, the bargaining chairman, publicly identified her as “the complainer,” which led to sexual graffiti and phallic items being left in her work and lunch area. 

Another woman said she was terminated but that Millender promised to get her job back if she had sex with him, and a third woman said Millender threatened to transfer her to a shift with a less desirable schedule if she refused an invitation to a “romantic lunch with him in his office.”

About half of the plaintiffs are or were entry-level workers at Ford, having been hired since 2010, but the others joined the automaker as far back as 1977.

Nick Bunkley

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Q1 dips amongst the launch of the Aluminium F-150, and a range of other new models for Ford.

Ford Motor Co., which has forecast a “breakthrough year” for itself after remaking a large swath of its global lineup, today said its first-quarter net income fell 6.6 percent to $924 million as the launch of its aluminum-bodied pickup cut production.

Ford said the F-150 introduction has gone so well that it is increasing its projections for North American profit margins slightly but that economic conditions in South America have been worse than expected.

Revenue in the quarter fell 5.6 percent to $33.9 billion.

“The first quarter was a good start to a year in which our results will grow progressively stronger as the new products we have been launching start to pay off,” Ford CEO Mark Fields said in a statement. “We are re-confirming that 2015 will be a breakthrough year for Ford.”

Chief among those new products is the redesigned F-150, which analysts say accounts for a majority of Ford’s profits. The truck went on sale at the end of 2014, but sales have been slow because the plant changeover process has kept it in short supply so far.

The F-150 and other introductions have reduced margins and contributed to a U.S. market share decline. But Ford said it now expects North American margins of 8.5 percent to 9.5 percent for the year, up from earlier guidance of 8 percent to 9 percent.

In the first quarter, Ford earned a pretax profit of $1.34 billion in North America, 11 percent less than the same period a year ago. Operating margins declined to 6.7 percent from 7.3 percent.

Ford’s U.S. vehicle sales in the first quarter rose 2 percent, but its market share fell half a point to 15 percent.

Job cuts

Last week, Ford confirmed plans to cut 700 jobs and eliminate a shift at a small-car plant outside Detroit as low gas prices dampen sales of the Focus and C-Max it builds there.

Brian Johnson, an analyst with Barclays Capital, estimated that reduced production cost Ford $450 million during the quarter, with the F-150 representing the bulk of that amount.

“We likely won’t have a true feel of profitability until at least the [third quarter], the first quarter when Ford will be fully ramped on F-150 production and when we will have a more accurate feel of demand,” Johnson said in a report Monday.

Overseas results

In South America, Ford reduced its first quarter loss by 63 percent to $189 million. It said full-year results are expected to be improved from a year ago, but not as good as it had estimated in January.

Its European loss shrunk 4.6 percent to $185 million. Ford lost $1.1 billion in Europe last year due largely to issues in Russia, a market that General Motors last month said it would largely abandon.

Ford was profitable in its Asia Pacific region, as well as Middle East and Africa.

Ford is introducing 15 new or refreshed vehicles this year, including three in the first quarter, after rolling out 24 in 2014. The Ford Edge crossover went on sale in March, and the Explorer is on the way this summer. It’s also in the midst of a major product offensive in China, where it last week showed a new SUV called the Everest and a version of the Taurus sedan designed specifically for that market, with massage units built into the rear seats.

Ford executives have said the product-launch schedule means the company will post stronger results in the second half of the year, when sales of the new vehicles begin to hit their stride.

“Since the recession, Ford has been spending on technology and expansion overseas in key markets. This year these risks will start to pay off,” David Kudla, CEO of Mainstay Capital Management in Grand Blanc, Mich., said in a report last week.

“We believe the new model launches around the world, particularly with the ramp-up of the F-150, are beginning to take effect and will provide a much needed jump start to the stock's performance this year.”

Nick Bunkley

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