Lincoln’s rebrand a success, Nautilus a luxury SUV star

The Lincoln Motor Company’s heydays may be gone. The luxury division of the Ford Motor Company reached a peak of more than 131,000 sales in the United States in 2007. It has had drastically varying years since, with sales tumbling nearly 50 percent in lean years.

With consumers’ preferences increasingly favoring sport utility vehicles, Lincoln is now several years into its rebranding. It had everything to lose.

Luxury sedan icons like the Continental, Town Car and MKZ have been defunct for several years. Lincoln now sells only four vehicles, all sport utility vehicles — the Aviator, Corsair, Nautilus and Navigator.

Now in its second generation, the two-row, five-passenger Nautilus is positioned between the three-row, seven-passenger Aviator and the smaller entry-level Corsair. It’s also