Lincoln’s 2013 MKZ midsize sedan, unveiled as a concept car at the Detroit auto show last January, is set to go on sale this month with an extravagant promotional campaign that will include an interactive display and visual presentation at Lincoln Center in New York. The vehicle is being advertised as the first of four that will transform the brand back to a luxury automobile leader. Reviewers, however, say that it still lacks the performance and refinement of its many rivals.

The MKZ has a distinctive body highlighted with chrome and fine detailing and the interior is high grade leather and genuine wood trim. But it is built on the same architecture as the Ford Fusion, and shares many of the same parts, perhaps too many. The mechanical systems of the MKZ and Fusion are nearly identical, except that the MKZ will offer an optional 300-horsepower 3.7-liter V-6. According to Rich Kreder, vehicle integration manager for Lincoln, the next three new models to follow will also be built on platforms shared with other Fords.

This is not the first time Lincoln has tried revive itself, but previous successes have only been temporary. For years Lincoln has rolled out exciting concept cars at auto shows only to put them back under wraps, never to be seen again. It seems that Ford shows little desire to invest the billions of dollars that General Motors ultimately spent to revive Cadillac.