Don't Dig The Lincoln Continental's Grave Just Yet

Nov. 06, 2020 3:06 PM ET by Jared Rosenholtz Luxury / 16 Comments

But get your shovels ready.

We hate to be the bearers of bad news but the 2020 Lincoln Continental is on its deathbed. Rumors of its demise date back all the way to 2018, but recent reports claim that the last one just rolled off the assembly line on October 30, just a day before Halloween. Spooky. Or is it? When we reached out to Lincoln for comment, a company spokesperson told CarBuzz that Continental production may not be over just yet.

"We still are building Continental, and the final vehicle has not yet rolled off the line," a Lincoln spokesperson told us. "As we previously said during the summer, production is scheduled to end later this year."

The Continental is assembled at Ford's Flat Rock Assembly Plant, which also builds the Mustang and the also recently-discontinued Shelby GT350 and GT350R.

Once the Continental does cease production, and with the MKZ ending production earlier this year, Lincoln will no longer have any sedans in its lineup. In fact, Lincoln has already confirmed that sedans won't play a role in its future plans.

Not counting the soon-to-be gone Continental, Lincoln's model lineup includes just four SUV models: the Corsair, Nautilus (which is due for a refresh), Aviator, and Navigator. Cadillac, Lincoln's closest competitor, still offers two sedans: the CT4 and CT5, both of which are slated to receive performance Blackwing versions.

It isn't difficult to see why Lincoln pivoted away from sedans. Since it arrived on the market in 2016, the Continental only eclipsed 10,000 sales once in 2017 during its first full calendar year, when it moved 12,012 units.

2017-2020 Lincoln Continental Front Angle View

2017-2020 Lincoln Continental Rear Angle View

Not counting its final month in production and any leftover units sitting on dealer lots, the Continental managed to sell only 36,489 units during its short life.

We can't imagine that Lincoln will ever bring back the Continental nameplate for a new generation, though consumer preference towards SUVs may not last forever. We still believe that a used Continental is a pretty smart purchase and the rarified Coach Door Edition could turn into a future collectible. Lincoln only built 80 examples of the Continental with the coach doors in 2019 and 150 examples in 2020.

Don't Dig The Lincoln Continental's Grave Just Yet

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Don't Dig The Lincoln Continental's Grave Just Yet

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