The folks at  Cadillac are seething.  Faced with the same dilemma as Lincoln -- a rapidly aging customer base-- they imported a  European  sedan -- the '97 Catera, which the buying public largely ignored. Lincoln countered with a jumbo-sized luxury SUV, the Navigator,which practically flew out of the showrooms, and is still out-selling Cadillac's pathetic attempt at a luxury SUV, a re-badged GMC Yukon, which also, is being largely ignored.
    Lincoln is getting ready to launch their new sports sedans --The LS series.

    Why has Lincoln been so much more successful? It's all in the context. The Catera is a fantastic car, but Cadillac dropped it into a showroom alongside the more traditional Sedan DeVilles and Eldorados. Most people just don't know what to make of the Catera -- it bears little resemblance to other Cadillacs, but it's too bland to stand out on its own. Lincoln, on the other hand, has been carefully altering their image. Last July, right in the middle of the truck craze, they launched the highly visible Navigator -- the biggest, baddest SUV to wear a luxury nameplate. This year, they've reworked the Continental and the flagship Town Car to appeal to a younger audience.
     It's working -- Lincoln sales in the '98 model year are up 49% over the same period last year, and the buyer profile is shifting rapidly. When the LS series hits the market early next year, I think the public will be ready to accept a serious sports sedan from Lincoln.

One look at the spec sheet and it is apparent  that Lincoln is very serious.
The rear-drive LS shares its platform with Jaguar's new small car. The new car boasts high-tech goodies like variable-assist rack-and-pinion steering, four-wheel antilock disc brakes traction control and more.  The battery is located in the trunk, part of an effort to bring the LS' front-to-rear balance as close to the ideal 50-50 as possible - and it seems to have worked well.

Under the hood, the LS gets a 3.9- literV8, and a 3.0-liter V6.
Both of these all-aluminum engines get dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder. Best of all, the LS will be available with a manual transmission-- not merely an automatic with a manual shift mode, but an actual clutch!!!
 

Outside, the LS's  face gets the now-familiar Lincoln chrome grille, also BMW-like round headlights.
 Inside, there's no mistaking that this is a Lincoln. The 8-way heated power seats have a memory function that also sets the mirrors and the steering column height, to the driver.  The dual-zone climate control system has ducts for rear-seat passengers as well as front and the rear seatback splits and folds, and the high-end stereos are made by Alpine.

Front and side airbags are standard.

Prices of the LS undercut cars like the Lexus GS and the Mercedes E-class against which it is pitched.
Lincoln's targeting younger buyers who are coming out of mid-size sedans and looking for their first luxury car. 
 
I'm sure the folks at Cadillac will be taking notes, and praying that GM gives them money to develop their own competitor, or, as the case will likely be, give them a Pontiac to re-badge.