Hot News: The Future of Ford F-Series & Lincoln MKC

A new automotive industry analyst report makes two things clear: we’re getting a new Ford F-Series pickup in 2015, and Lincoln’s product portfolio may grow considerably over the next four years.
The information comes courtesy of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which released its yearly Car Wars report, which includes predictions on market share increases, the average age of major models (the time a nameplate spends between complete overhauls), and the inevitable prediction for share prices.

BoA/ML’s overall prediction is this: an increasing number of automakers will stop relying on high incentives and move toward more frequent updates and new models in the hopes of keeping profit margins high. Perhaps spurred by Chrysler’s success–the company updated or overhauled almost its entire lineup during its period of financial turmoil and has since seen big gains–automakers may replace models at a quicker pace.
But tucked away in this report are some individual model predictions. BoA/ML predicts that Ford will overhaul 46 percent of its lineup (by volume) in 2015 with the release of an all-new Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX midsize crossover, a new Ford F-Series pickup truck, and a new Ford Mustang sports car/convertible. It’ll follow that up with a 20-percent replacement number in 2016 with a new Ford Explorer, Lincoln MKS, Ford Taurus, and Ford Fiesta.
But BoA/ML also predicts that Lincoln will expand its lineup along the way. Research indicates the possibility of a Lincoln MKD small crossover and MKC sedan in 2014, and a new MKS and an Aviator large crossover in 2016.
We’ve heard murmurs about a Lincoln C-segment crossover before, but the MKC and Aviator are more surprising. Lincoln’s naming conventions would suggest that MKC stands for “compact,” and the MKC would be a Buick Verano/Acura ILX competitor in the burgeoning compact luxury segment. The Aviator, meanwhile, appears to again be based on the Ford Explorer, either as a replacement for the MKT large crossover or an entirely new Explorer-based vehicle.
Thanks to: Motor Trend