Complex sentence: Ford responded by choosing the Ford Granada and Mercury Monarch as the base for a new mid-size Lincoln sedan; the Versailles was visibly a Ford Granada clone and quickly became one of Lincoln's greatest sales disasters.
Split into simpler sentences: Ford responded by choosing the Ford Granada and Mercury Monarch as the base for a new mid-size Lincoln sedan. But the Versailles was visibly a Ford Granada clone and quickly became one of Lincoln's greatest sales disasters.