No Consumer Demand for the Continental and Eldorado Result In their Autofanasia.

The Detroit Free Press reported today that the Lincoln Continental and Cadillac Eldorado, which are among the Auto Industry's longest in production luxury cars, will become other victims of changing consumer tastes and automaker strategies.

The story reported that Lincoln officials familiar with product plans, who asked not to be identified, said Ford Motor Co. would discontinue the Continental after the 2002 model year. Sales of the Continental, which dates to 1940, reached a high of nearly 63,000 in 1990, though that number was heavily supported by fleet sales. The Continental sold about 26,000 units last year.

General Motors Corp. is expected to pull the plug on the Eldorado coupe in summer 2002. Sales of the Eldorado peaked at more than 71,000 in 1983, but the moribund model has managed barely 3,000 sales so far this year.

Ford and GM have made the decision that rather than sustain brands for tradition's sake; both Cadillac and Lincoln will develop models that can hold court with the new luxury kings from Germany and Japan.