NEW KING OF THE HIGH ROAD; LINCOLN DETHRONES CADILLAC IN U.S. LUXURY MARKET.

Byline: Jim Suhr Associated Press 

Cadillac's 48-year reign as the king of U.S. luxury cars is over after all, with GM's apologies to Lincoln.

General Motors officials said Wednesday they have apologized in writing to the Lincoln unit of the Ford Motor Co. for wrongly reporting in January that Cadillacs outsold Lincolns during 1998. Cadillac officials claimed in January that a late-year rally lifted it to the title by just a 222-car margin.

But GM backtracked Wednesday after an internal audit showed Cadillac's December sales figures were overstated because of an improper reporting process. GM ordered the audit after Cadillac figures were questioned.

The inaccuracy ``was a combination of internal control breakdowns and some overzealousness on the part of some of our team members,'' GM spokesman Jim Farmer said Wednesday.

The revised final score: Lincoln 187,121; Cadillac 182,570.

In November, even GM officials had expected Cadillac to lose the sales crown.

Lincoln spokesman Jim Trainor resisted the temptation to gloat about his division's sudden ascension to the luxury throne.

``We've never focused on it, so I don't want to go too overboard,'' Trainor said. ``Sure, it makes us feel a little better, but we've got other things we're focusing on. This action by Cadillac exemplifies the integrity we've always said is the basis for a luxury brand. It is another example of what makes this rivalry so great.''

Farmer said those responsible for the inflated Cadillac figures in January have been disciplined for succumbing ``to marketing stress to maintain a position.'' He refused to elaborate.

``We regret that the inflated delivery report caused the media, in particular, to believe that Cadillac dealers had indeed sold more vehicles in December - and thus for the entire 1998 calendar year - than Lincoln,'' Roy Roberts, GM's North American sales chief, said.

``Winning in the marketplace obviously is very important to us, but nothing is more important than our integrity, whether it's in the product we put on the road or how we represent ourselves in the reporting of our results. General Motors will assure the process for reporting dealer sales will be accurate.''

He said the inaccuracy did not affect the company's financial reporting, including year-end numbers related to production, revenue and income.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) 1998 Lincoln Towncar

(2--Color) 1998 Cadillac Seville