It wasn't long ago when Lincoln was near death. With a lineup consisting of poorly rebadged Fords, there was no way Lincoln could ever compete with Cadillac, or even Buick. US sales were at a 32-year low in 2013. But 2014 was a very different story. Whether it was those spaced-out Matthew McConaughey commercials, much improved styling, or a combination of both, Lincoln – not BMW, Lexus or Audi – was the fastest-growing luxury brand in the US last year. In only its first eight months on the market, the MKC crossover alone pushed Lincoln sales by 16 percent.

To give you an idea as to how impressive this is, that number is more than double the average increase for luxury brands. MKC sales were 102 percent of Lincoln's total 2014 sales. 13,077 MKCs were sold while the brand's overall sales rose 12,780 units. The MKC, now previous-gen MKX, and the Navigator accounted for 59 percent of all US Lincoln sales in the second half of last year. A similar sales trend is continuing so far in 2015; it's no coincidence that a new McConaughey-MKC commercial debuted only a week ago. With the reveal of the redesigned MKX at Detroit last month, Lincoln expects to see its popularity grow. Forget the old yacht-like Town Car sedan. Luxury crossovers are the key to Lincoln's revival.