VIDEO: Auto Executives Talk Lincoln Brand on CBS THIS MORNING

Ford CEO Alan Mulally and James D. Farley, Jr., Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, Sales and Service and Lincoln, discussed reinventing the Lincoln brand in an interview with co-hosts Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell that aired live today, Dec. 3, 2012, on CBS THIS MORNING on the CBS Television Network (7:00 AM – 9:00 AM). Watch the interview in its entirety below!

Below are excerpts from the interview:

ROSE: Is it tough today to compete in today's automobile world because of the fact you've got a lot of very good names, whether it's Mercedes or Lexus or American names as well?

FARLEY: Sure. It's such a competitive industry, especially in the luxury industry. But it's growing. And it's very important for our company not just here in the U.S. but internationally. The other thing that's important is there is room for a new brand like Lincoln. After the great recession, customers are really reconsidered how they buy a luxury car. They want a more discreet choice, and they are really underserved when it comes to experience.

ROSE: Can I just talk for a moment about the fiscal cliff, because you're one of the people who went in to see the President. Give me your sense of it, I mean the President's mind, because you have known him and you have been invited in. What do you tell him? What does he say? What makes you think this is doable?

MULALLY: Well, Charlie, I was very encouraged at the last few meetings with the President, because he really is looking for a comprehensive solution that deals with both the revenue side and also with the expense side. And he also clearly appreciates it; it's going to be a bipartisan solution. But the other thing that I really, really appreciate is the fact that he's looking through the lens of economic development. What do we do to keep improving the business environment so that the economy can accelerate? That's the most important thing.

O'DONNELL: But what do you make of when you hear the speaker, John Boehner, over the weekend say we haven't made any progress at all. We're at a stalemate. Does that worry you?

MULALLY: Well, I think it's clearly coming together on a joint solution, and there's going to be a lot of gives and takes. But it's going to take everybody working together both on the revenue side and the expense side.

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