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The new MKZ should outsell the one it replaces, Sullivan said. The hard part is improving the dealer experience and the culture change to attract younger affluent buyers."
Lincoln to launch MKZ with a major marketing push next month (Detroit Free Press)
Other common cheaper failures are window regulators and seat heater elements.
In terms of the car itself, the LS seems like a better car than the Cadillac Catera. Maybe much better.
Nice touch to not capitalize the two Ds. The commercials did include a duck and, to many viewers, they were daffy.
I thought they were okay, which is probably part of why I was willing to go all-in on the LS. Maybe a U.S. manufacturer can make a competitive sedan that doesn't drive like a boat, or maybe not. It didn't drive like a boat, but it sure as hell turned out to be non-competitive -- cost over sell doesn't work most times.
Live and learn.
Remember the LS commercial? Wood. Leather. Adrenaline.
Still one of the neatest commercials ever IMO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NUh-JnrMO4
"We are not going to make a big box with a cappuccino machine," Farley notes, "our ambition is to produce something very personal, because emerging customers are more reflective and interested in authenticity, rather than showing off how much they have."
Ford on quest to revive Lincoln (Detroit News)
Petrol forces the product a bit, but still lots of room to design an end product, around many new features. Reliability determines life in the end.
1. Acura
2. Infiniti
3. Audi
4. Lexus
5. Mercedes-Benz
6. BMW
7. Cadillac
8. Porsche
9. Volvo
10. Lincoln
The last place for Lincoln is no surprise. However, things can change markedly over a few short years. Hyundai was perennially in the bottom quartile of mainstream brands, but now is second, behind only Honda, while well above 6th place Toyota. They did it by delivering compelling products, while limiting incentives and fleet sales. Lincoln can do that too over time. Let's get the compelling products first.
Not defending Lincoln - they're certainly not the best for resale right now. Just trying to interpret the data correctly and in context.
Actually I still own both, but haven't driven the LS on any kind of regular basis for over 3 years.
The whole re-sale argument is a crock. Those cars with greater incentives and discounts obviously sell for well below their MSRP. When resold, their resale value then looks very bad, when the percentage of value retained is figured from the MSRP, rather than the actual selling price. On the other hand, those cars which do sell at or near MSRP, do command more money as well at re-sale. Oftentimes, it is a wash for the car consumer, when actual money paid at purchase and money recovered at resale are used. In fact, a buyer is often better off dollar-wise with the car with lower retained re-sale, as the overall investment over three years or five years is less with a car that was discounted thousands in the first place.
That said, high re-sale value has captured the imagination of buyers for generations now. Thus, Lincoln, in order to become a real player again in this field, has to rebuild the perceived value of its products (and their resale) regardless of whether it results in any more actual dollars in consumers' pockets.
The best gauge of resale value is lease pricing which uses residual values but also takes into account options and acquisition price. Outside of extreme subsidies (like the Volt) the cost to lease similarly priced vehicles should be the same give the same residual value.
If the lease cost for a 2013 Fusion is the same as a 2013 Accord similarly equipped and similar MSRPs then resale value percentage is irrelevant.
1. Acura, number one on the list, does the same thing as Lincoln currently does. All Acuras are gussied up Hondas at present.
2. Lincoln will always be seen as nothing more than a higher priced Ford? How do you know that?
3. Lincolns have always had low re-sale value. That is not true for all of Lincoln history, except for Marks III and IV, as you assert.
4. Lincoln has certainly had its ups and downs. No one denies that, not even Allen :P . Lincolns have not always been higher priced Fords. Going back to the early 50s, Lincolns shared body shells for a time with Mercury, but not Ford. They moved back to more platform sharing, but no more than Chryslers many brands at the time, or the Chevy to Cadillac spectrum.
Starting in 1961, the Lincoln had a completely different architecture from the big Fords and Mercurys, and that continued through 1979. The 1980 Lincolns shared a bit more with the large Fords starting at that time, but still offered a different wheelbase and a completely different, wider body. That significant differentiation continued until 1998, when the Town Car went to the Panther platform, albeit with a longer wheelbase, and no shared body panels or greenhouse. After that, Lincoln gave up on further significant development of the TC and it eventually met its inglorious demise.
The Marks shared some bodies with Thunderbird, but it was the Ford model that benefitted, since the cars were designed for Lincoln (e.g., 61-63 T-bird, 72-76 T-bird), and those T-birds were seen as luxury cars.
Lincoln did rather well with the rebadged Ford that became the Navigator, inventing a new and popular vehicle category. Those brands that jumped on the bandwagon did the same thing: they took an existing SUV and glitzed it up. Re-sale was not bad on those early Navs. However, the brand got lazy and others overtook it.
The Mark II was not a higher priced Ford. The LS was not a higher priced Ford. It was a lower priced Jaguar.
Lincoln historically has seen sales in excess of 200K (1989, 1990), and it outsold Cadillac as recently as 2000. The hubris of that achievement led to some very bad product planning that they are still trying to sort out.
Lincoln wants to become a global brand. They will not do so by simply tarting up some Fords. Lincolns were not always seen as higher priced Fords (as they mostly are now), and there is no reason to believe that what exists now, will always be.
But the new vehicles will not necessarily send Lincoln to the top of the luxury segment. Ford executives have said the goal now is quality over quantity."
Ford rebranding Lincoln in effort to stand out among rivals (Detroit News)
"Ford CEO Alan Mulally and other top executives are expected to be in New York's Lincoln Center Plaza today to announce a new advertising campaign: "Introducing the Lincoln Motor Company."
Now if they'll just go back to real names for the vehicles.
Lincoln going back to its roots with its original name (Detroit News)
and Volvo) have planned for the next four years as well.
At least they are making a concerted effort now, and four actual new models are planned, not including refreshes like the 2013 MKS and MKT, which no one sees as new vehicles.
One of the videos clearly showed a mustang body in the background fueling speculation that they'll introduce a high performance Lincoln coupe which should help quell some of the naysayers.
Did y'all pick up on the comment to the effect that Lincoln was going to focus on their core group of enthusiasts? Sounds like Ford's first going to try to make their Lincoln fans appreciate sticking with them and let them sell the brand to their friends.
http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2012/12/lincoln-working-up-rear-drive-options/
I was informed that Ford is going to discontinue operations in Australia in 2016. Ford is going to export the Taurus to Australia from the U.S. and glue a Falcon nameplate where the Taurus nameplate should be. Ford has no shame.
More news is that Cadillac is going a head with its exclusive Omega rwd platform that will be used to build its large premium vehicles . Cadillac may keep its Alpha platform for its own exclusive use if the division gets its way. Chevy will then get the Zeta 2 platform instead .
"The 'Great Recession' changed people and their view of luxury. Today, luxury consumers make decisions based on what appeals most to their passions and not what they believe will impress others. We know we need to continually surprise and delight these new clients," Farley said."
Ford buying Super Bowl ad space for Lincoln -- a first for the auto brand (theoaklandpress.com)
MKZ should reach showrooms momentarily. By January end, we should know if it is beginning to sell.
I expect the new MKZ to sell at least 50% better than the old one within a few months. If not then that is a bad sign.
ATS and XTS are doing ok (< 3K) but CTS sales are down. SRX is doing gangbusters. Those new platforms were expensive though so I wonder how much volume they need to break even? At least they're planning to do more platform sharing going forward. You just can't afford dedicated platforms for luxury sedans unless you've got significant global sales. Too many players and vehicles in the U.S. luxury market to get big volume from a new vehicle.
"And come 2014, the brand will arrive in three of China's largest cities — Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, the first step in demi-globalization of a domestic brand."'
Maybe Ford will just use the US market to get the bugs out. That's a switch. :-)
"Lincoln is just starting out on a long journey to gaining luxury car credibility and it is miles behind its competitors," Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at Edmunds.com, said in a statement. "Even moderate success will take a long time and significant resources and will require a constant stream of compelling vehicles substantially differentiated from Fords."
This may be Lincoln's last shot at revival
Well, if THAT'S the case, Lincoln needs to build me a new 1986-89 Town Car!
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/12/an-open-letter-to-jim-farley-mark-field- s-and-everyone-else-re-lincoln/#more-469158
That is good. Best ignore the internets too
I like the idea of bringing back a halo Continental.