By JAMIE LAREAU www.autoweek.com

With the death of Mercury, Ford Motor Co. will funnel more dollars into Lincoln.

For example, planners are looking to add a compact, front-drive car or crossover. There also is talk that a car based on the next-generation Ford Mondeo could be added to the lineup.

For Lincoln to succeed, analysts say, it’s critical that product planners separate Lincoln’s design, powertrains and technology from those of the Ford brand. Lincoln will get features such as active noise cancellation and adaptive suspensions.

Here’s Lincoln’s outlook for the 2011-13 model years.

Compact vehicle: Ford product czar Derrick Kuzak promises a compact fwd vehicle but is vague on whether it’s a compact car or crossover. Those familiar with Ford’s plans say it could be a crossover based on the next-generation Kuga crossover from Europe. The automaker is also exploring a compact car. Both the car and crossover would be based on the next-generation global Ford Focus platform.

In January 2009, Ford showed the Lincoln C concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The concept, based on a wide version of the next-generation Focus platform, shows the possible styling direction for a compact Lincoln.

The redesigned Focus is due in early 2011. A Lincoln version could come by the 2013 model year or sooner.

MKZ: Like its sibling the Ford Fusion, the MKZ will be redesigned for the 2013 model year when it moves to Ford’s global mid-sized platform. The styling of the next-generation MKZ and Fusion will be more differentiated.

Mid-sized sedan: A Lincoln version of the next-generation Ford Mondeo, sold in Europe, is possible. If approved, the low-volume mid-sized car probably would be slotted just under the MKS.

MKS: Ford is expected to reskin the sedan late next year or early in 2012. A restyling and re-engineering are scheduled for the 2016 model year.

The MKS will continue with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 added in the 2010 model.

Town Car: The large sedan will be discontinued at the end of 2011.

MKX: Ford is reskinning the mid-sized crossover for the 2011 model year, adding MyLincoln Touch, a touch-screen instrument panel.

The MKX is likely to get the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine in 18 to 24 months. The 2011 model comes with a 3.7-liter V-6.

A redesign is expected for the 2014 model year on Ford’s global mid-sized platform. The MKX and sibling Ford Edge are expected to have dramatically different styling.

MKT: Lincoln’s large, fwd crossover has three rows of seats and shares the Ford Flex’s D4 platform. Its curvy design, compared to the Flex’s boxy exterior, shows how product planners can differentiate Lincolns and Fords.

Expect a freshening of the MKT for the 2012 model year, with minor changes to the grille and taillights and possibly an upgraded interior.

Ford could phase out the MKT along with the Ford Flex after the 2014 model year. At that point, a source says, Ford could replace the MKT and Lincoln Navigator with a Ford Explorer-based vehicle. It would have exclusive sheet metal and more off-road capability than the MKT.

Navigator: The Navigator will get an EcoBoost engine and likely the 5.0-liter V-8 within the next few years.

Ford put on the back burner a redesign for the Navigator and Ford Expedition that had been scheduled for the 2012 model year.

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Ford predicts the electrification of America’s auto fleet to happen a lot faster than most have expected.

Nancy Gioia, Ford’s director of global electrification, told our colleague Jewel Gopwani at the Detroit Free Press that Ford expects 10% to 25% of its sales by 2020 will be vehicles that in some way run on batteries, up from about 2% now.

Of those electrified vehicles, 70% will be hybrids, 20% to 25% plug-in hybrids, the rest pure electrics.

For starters, Ford, which needs to give Lincoln new life as it kills off Mercury, says its new 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid has gotten an EPA sticker rating of at 41 miles per gallon in the city, 36 mpg on the highway. That beats what it considers the MKZ hybrid’s top mid-size luxury sedan rival — the 2010 Lexus HS 250h hybrid — by 6 mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway. Ford also claims a top speed on battery alone of 47 mph vs. 25 mph for the Lexus.

Gioia says the 2020 estimate is a wide range because there are lots of unanswered questions about access to and affordability of electrified vehicles.

Hybrids will prevail for some time, she told Gopwani at a green car conference, because creating infrastructure for plug-in vehicles — charging stations and upgrades to the electric grid – has barely begun. Also, hybrids are more expensive than gas-only cars but still a lot more affordable than plug-in hybrids and all-electrics with their bigger, costlier battery packs. “Customers can see a reasonable payback period (on a regular hybrid’s extra cost) even at $2.80 a gallon,” Gioia said.

In a speech to the conference, Gioia stressed that automakers, in their product plans, must cater to customers’ needs, preferences and concerns about electrified vehicles. “The customer will decide who the winners and losers are and ultimately the pace of adoption of greener vehicles.”

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