The company placed ads on taxicabs and bus shelters and took journalists up in a blimp. The March 1999 launch for the 2000 Mercury Sable took place on the Internet. Hutchins and Ford's chief designer participated in an online chat with potential buyers. If we had been in Detroit, we wouldn't have been on the Internet. The company has also taken the opportunity to learn from its new neighbors.
Results are difficult to measure quickly.
But Lincoln's sales did rise 12.5 percent in 1998. And sales of the Mercury Cougar and Grand Marquis were up 7 percent through August 1999. Perhaps more important is a palpable sense of energy among the employees. Uprooting families is never an easy chore. The company is about to break ground for a new headquarters building which will house the design department.