Yes the V6 will be dropped, don't want to keep the Zephyr and LS compete against each other in pricing, so better to raise the LS as a sporting vehicle to aspire to.
is a pretty good deal these days. If i thought they would hold up, I would pick one up. A year old 8 Cyl LS goes for about 24K in central NJ. Obviously it all depends on what options are included but that is the ball park price. A new 6 cyl can be had for the same price........
I read an article in one of the monthly car mags that stated the LS would wind up using the Ford 500 chassis and offer a Yamaha 300 HP V-8 in the near future.
The AWD system needs to incorporate a 50/50 or-better yet-a 30/70 front/rear torque split-otherwise the car will be just another dull FWD appliance which just happens to feature a puny rear diff for use in "emergencies". My father owned three Mustangs, a Torino GT(with Laser Stripes and a shaker hood), and a Mark VII LSC. My uncle was a lifelong Ford employee. I drove a five speed Turbo Coupe through much of the nineties. So you see, I'd love to be able to buy a world class FORD sports sedan, but it will need to have a 300+ hp V8, RWD, and a six speed manual. Lincoln needs to be taking aim at the CTS-V(or at least the 300C) instead of building another competitor for the Avalon. From what I've read, I'll take my old Turbo Coupe over a FWD-based LS In Name Only(LSINO).
The rear bias is good but don't you still have a problem with weight distribution due to the transverse engine? If they could get it to 53/47 that would be good but I don't know that's possible. Audi uses FWD/AWD but uses a longitudinal engine.
Actually AWD can toss some of the weight difference towards the rear, than an exclusive FWD vehicle. Things such as relocating the battery to the trunk also helps weight distribution.
Why not a variable AWD system that isn't fixed at a given ratio? I have the 2002 BMW AWD sedan and it is fixed 62/38 f/r. The new xDrive is a variable AWD system that move power to the wheels that aren't slipping. That kind of AWD makes for a more useful setup... but it can still revert to a given ratio for non-slip situations.
Will the LS be the BIG Lincoln Sedan of the future then, ANT? Say, when the Town Car is finally retired? BTW, Test drove a 500 with CVT yesterday thoroughly. Really put it through the mill as they say - Darn impressed all around. If they do it right, that could make a pretty nice Lincoln - but it's got to be done well, can't be cheated on the luxury and quality. It has to perform, and represent the American Luxury that the OLD Town Car used to have in its Heyday. And it has to have the look, you know? That Aaaahhhhh, that's nice look about it. I don't know if that can be done with that design. We'll see I guess.
And the TC replacement will supposedly be built off the same D3 platform. But that doesn't mean the current TC won't stick around for awhile, at least as a fleet option.
That is correct. The engineering of the TC has been paid for, for quite awhile. All the vehicle does in bring in total profits, as does the CV and GM. It wouldn't make sense to banish it completely. And they also will get a redesign before they depart.
Actually Buick is going on another mission, although GM is pushing them upmarket to Lincolns level. I just saw the Buick Maxima, Opps, I mean Lucerne today.
Lincoln is turning to AWD vehicles, whereas Buick is sticking with FWD for the most part. Hmmm, isn't that one of the reasons Cadillac didn't do well, for being FWD in the luxury class?
I had better hopes for Buick but considering what I just saw today, EEKKK. I can see why some avoid domestic vehicles.
Ford is investing $300 million over the next three years at the plant building the Crown Vic/Grand Marquis. Whether that means the Town Car moves to that plant is unknown, as they are all on the same platform.
I have my personal bias (I love the big traditional American sedan, so this is great news), but it probably confirms the thinking they cannot build every sedan off of the Volvo/500 platform, and it leaves it available for the LS replacement.
I do value your insight. But (u knew that was coming?:>) I need to ask someone in the Domestic auto industry this question, and here you are:
"When are you folks going to understand that competing ONLY against the other domestic companies is a LOSE-LOSE for all of you?"
Domestics have lost market share for 30 years or more now and are still falling. Here in CA, domestic mfrs have 28% of the car/truck market. ONLY about 1/4 of the vehicles sold in CA have Ford, GM or Chrysler on the hood. Over 53% are Japanese. The rest are BMWs! Unbelievable but true.
You guys are "on the express elevator to h*ll going DOWN", to quote Bill Paxton in 'Aliens'.
Whenever you do something great (like the LS) you end up riding it out to maximize profits instead of refining and enhancing it, like say the Infiniti M45. Now THAT's a beautiful car. The previous version wasn't quite so loved and Infiniti responded to that and now have a universally praised performance/luxury car to sell. And it's not even their flagship model. This what Lincoln should have done with the LS. Is there ANYONE who disagrees with me on this? Would love to hear it.
Instead, Lincoln did not have the money to refine the LS. But they did have the money to throw a new grille on the F150 to compete against: drum roll - GMC. I guess. Oh, and also had $$$s to build a Lincoln-Mazda in Mexico. But NO MONEY for a true performance/luxury car that the LS could be. I am disgusted about it, tell the truth. I guess if Buick had a luxo/perform sedan things might have been different?
When I see someone from the Big 2 1/2 come in here or anywhere talkin sh*t about Lexus or Infiniti or Honda, that's when I'll know things have possibly turned around. If they just keepo bashing each other, the end is nie. And I'm getting tired of supporting losers. If I come up with the $$$s for a new vehicle, which will be difficult since my present vehicle is the WORST in the world for resale value, I'll be looking mostly at Infiniti and Acura. I won't be looking at a Lincda made in Mexico. Or a Town Car or a Pick up truck. Or an LS, cause apparently there won't be one.
OK, the valium is taking effect. I'm calming down again.
My LS is hanging in, but instead of looking forward to another to replace it (you know, that V8 w/ manual that we were told was coming, back in '00), with the X00 improvements of the '03, I'm going to run it into the ground, sell it for $1.85, and buy. . .what?
A reporter would like to interview someone who recently bought a large sedan such as a Mercedes E-Class, Lexus LS 430, Mercury Crown Victoria or any large Cadillac or Lincoln.
Please send your daytime contact info to jfallon@edmunds.com by Friday, February 11, 2005.
I agree, domestics are dumping garbage on each others lawn, when it's all in the same neighborhood and not a good idea.
Throwing a new grill into the F-150 selling it as as Mark LT doesn't require much tooling investment. The profits gained on each sale is much more than what's gained from selling 30 LS's. I blame marketing for not advertising the LS as much, and lack of concentrating on the product. Unfortunately when it gets on someones head to drop a vehicle, it gets totally ignored then on and exits the stage in a negative manner.
Too many wildfires needed to be put out since the Jac Nasser era. Quick way of making more money is redesigning your highest profit margin vehicles, such as the F150. Notice how well that has helped Ford, while GM concentrate on renovating their small pick-ups, which the segment is shrinking and provides minimal profits...rather than redoing their higher profit margin fullsize pickups.
Other high profit vehicles such as the CV, GM, TC were instantly refreshened as well. Then there's some other vehicles such as the LS, S-type that were refreshed for 2003, YET keeping the styling intact is what sunk it's performance in my opinion. That mentality has been fixed, and more styling differences will be incorporated when those refreshenings take place.
In general the whole industry will level out in sales. My guess is the hardest players will have around 15-17% each. With increased competition and new competitors and numerous vehicles being introduced, it's impossible to keep such a large market share.
Example, same as the European market. With so many players in that market, it's quite hard just having even a 8-10% market share. Ford's there have a reputation for being reliable, holding best resale value, exciting products, flexible manufacturing and keeping their share around 10% has been quite difficult. And even then, there's not much of a profit being made (at least not this past year, which is being rectified). And that obviously will occur because of all the new players in the industry.
The choice of the Zephyr being assemebled in Mexico is because it shared majority of components with the Fusion and Milan. It would defeat the purpose to seperate them, or building them in the U.S. IN return, the Focus being built in Hermosillo, has been transfered to Wayne along with other Focus production. In fact, I would have personally reversed it, since lower profit margin vehicles can be made more profittable if assembled in Mexico.
The next LS will be more of an improvement than the current one, so don't lose hope.
Also, the media has turned quite biased against domestics manufacturer's. Obviously frustrated by years of market share loss, it doesn't help any on how stories are announced and reported. I'm constantly e-mailing those publications and poiniting out the bias when I notice an issue on some of their stories.
Some highlights including BMW X5's 14 recalls hardly receive any attention, yet numerous negative stories over the Escapes 5-6 were thrown all over the place. Some media outlets reporting the recent 2000 F-150 recall of 750K vehicles, calling an end to bankrupt, and how it'll bankrupt the company, and how it was possible the largest recall in the past 2 years, YET this same outlet forgot to mention Honda's transmission recall bumped up to 1MIL vehicles just weeks earlier, in fact, not even a small article was posted of the issue, at that time.
Ford recalled the F-150 because a low number of complaints were logged about vehicles catching fire due to a cruise control module. This out of the possible 800-900K such F-150s that are built each year, 30 complaints were logged, so Ford issued a recall.
The Honda CRV has been catching fire, has over 70 complaints logged at NHTSA, they sell around 150K units yearly...it's obvious there's a higher percentage of failure rate for the CRV issue, yet, a simple "TSB" (which is only addressed when a owner takes the vehicle to a dealership for service-Not sure about you, I haven't been to mine ever) and refuses to recall the vehicle.
THE VW's are the car ragss darlings, and they will recommend them and award them even if they exhibit numerous glitches, and even a transmission failure (I believe that was C&D). Yet, their reliability is Kia like, the car rags turn a blind eye.
I can detail much more, but you get the idea. I have a whole folder of over 370 biased stories cross referenced with blunders in their reporting...
Obviously perception will take time to fix. Out of the 2 1/2 domestic manufacturer's, Ford has the better perceived reputation overall and it's increasing. New products such as the 500/Freestyle has called back numerous import owner's that defected. New F150, and a focus for vehicle refinement has certainly improved that perception. Even the new Fusion/Milan/Zephyr surprisingly has been catching the attention of not only domestic owner's, but import owners as well and is showing signs of having a higher "return to Ford" rate, than the 500/Freestyle are enjoying.
Again, it all takes some times, but things are looking up. What important is, Ford doesn't sleep again on each product cycle, and that has promised not to be repeated.
It's 6pm and I just woke-up from a nap, so excuse the errors, my mind is still fogging.
Much of the despair voiced by a few of us is based on "what might have been." When we (or at least I) bought into the LS concept as it was first introduced (at invoice price or so, I might add, not invoice less 5K+), we saw (or hoped for) a legitimate competitor to BMW/Audi -- something that would be tweaked/refined/improved (not de-contented) for years to come as the marketing, dealers (yeah, I was even more ignorant then), word-of-mouth & performance of the vehicle itself built demand.
Well, that was then and this is now. I was pumped up for a couple of years or so (about until the '03 upgrade dropped the manual), then gave up, in terms of future purchases.
As to that next LS being an improvement over the current one, I'll be anxiously awaiting your helping us understand how the mostly aluminum suspension & 51/49 weight distribution is going to be improved upon, to say nothing of the anti-dive response to braking. Thanks in advance for keeping us posted on this.
Your company ran out of money, due to Exploders & tires. Jac did his thing. The various laws of the (large) corporate jungle prevailed. The original LS concept died.
Good reply, cd. My experience mirrors yours. Ordered in early 2001 my manual LS. So I've been driving it for 4 years now and the only time I regret buying it is when I see new V8 models advertised for $6000-8000 less than what I paid for my V6. I like my car, I dislike the way the company has handled it. I just noticed yesterday that Ford has raised priced on their 05 models as much or more than anyone else. My thinking is, at least for Lincoln, they need to LOWER their MSRPs to something more typical of the actual sales price. Rebates and all that just serve to devalue the car, not only in $$$s but in 'prestige' as well. If the cars were priced closer to their actual value in the marketplace, I believe they would sell more of em AND most importantly, the resale value wouldn't look so pathetic. To keep the prices high says one thing to me: the attitude is get as much $$$s as we can out of the "UnInformed" buyer (I'm sure they are called other names by dealers and marketers) and settle for what you can get from the intelligent consumers.
ANT: As cd implied, your telling us the next LS will be better just does not hold water with those of us who purchased it for it's being different and better than anything else Ford made at the time, save Jaguar and A-M. To try to convince those of us with this mindset that a clone of the Ford 500 will produce a 'better' LS is futile. All that will do is produce a 'better' (and more expensive) Ford 500.
Last nit: the 500 and Montego have not exactly been showered with praise, have they? They are quite a bit bigger than the LS and therefore will never be capable of the handling prowess the LS exhibits. They appear to me to be nice, big, BORING cars. The LS, OTOH, received almost universal praise when it debuted in 2000. Motor Trend Car of the Year. And Consumer Reports calling it "The best American Sedan we've EVER tested" come immediately to mind. Now, Ford is tossing all that in the scrap heap to give us a big, boring replacement cloned from mediocre cars at best?
Give it up. The dealers just want to sell to the blue hairs anyway. Just make the LS a big couch and be done with it. Ford will neve get it, it appears to me. Killing their one machine that actually DOES give the best European sedans a serious run for their money. STOOOPID, IMO.
Oh, and I saw a couple more things you guys have had $$$s to spend on while letting the LS die, to wit: building a gay and lesbian center in Dearborn. Nice. Wonder how the city survived all these years without that. Oh, and a Jaguar X-type wagon. Brilliant. An overpriced Mondeo with a cat on the hood which has been panned pretty much everywhere, but THAT they can build upon. Lot's of folks were interested in an LS BMW-style wagon. But no.
I usually agree with your sentiments, and did this time too until I got to the last paragraph:
"Oh, and a Jaguar X-type wagon. Brilliant. An overpriced Mondeo with a cat on the hood which has been panned pretty much everywhere, but THAT they can build upon."
Having had both the Xtype and the LS I can tell you you are way off base. Firstly, the XType shares just 20% of its parts with the latest Mondeo. This mith has been perpetuated repeatedly. Furthur, the new Mondeo is a completely different car than the one on which the Contour was based.
Secondly, the wagon(avant)was produced to compete in the European market where all of its direct competitors have one. They came out with a diesel engine in the XType for the same reason.
That said, the LS is a much better buy than the current XType today. My lease on the XType just ran out and I am considering another LS very seriously. Went to a dealer in Scottsdale last weekend hoping to pick up a left over '04 but alas they were sold out. Still looking......
OK, I'll admit not being an expert on the X-Type. Maybe my fingers were running away with my brain on this one. But I still haven't seen much positive written by reviewers about the X. If that has recently changed, I wasn't aware. I know you enjoyed yours and that's what counts.
So far the goals are for it to exceed current LS attributes. The platform is flexible...It can be made extremely sporty, or made into an extremely sedate sedan. Granted, all dimensions will change, but the emphansize will be to drive better than the current LS.
Better not tell Jaguar:>) Unless the S-Type is also moving to the new LS platform, which is based on the Ford 500, which is based on the Volvo S-80?
So soon we'll choose from:
2 Lincolns based on a Mazda and made in Mexico: Zephyr and next Aviator?
a Lincoln based on a Volvo: LS? or ... (aside: I'm not convinced this will be the LS actually. Why? Cause the blue hair set did not warm up to the LS. They want their Continental back. This should be the new Continental and the 2007 LS should be DEW-98 upgraded but - OUCH - banging my head against this wall hurts!)
a Lincoln based on the Ford Expedition: Navigator
a Lincoln based on a Ford Pickup truck: LT
and
a Lincoln based on a WW2 platform (Town Car.)
Now I understand finally why they dropped the tag line "American Luxury".
The S-type will go into an aluminum version of it's current platform, or in other words, a shortened current XJ platform.
Many people do not know what the platform is based on, and when one company brand gets it, it can be transformed quite differently than first conceived. Yes, many are shared platforms, but that's done purposely to spread the resources, economically.
There's various items inside the cars today, which are out-sourced, Ford isn't the only one. At times there were GM built transmissions (4 speed unit used in the Jag XJR years back) for example.
Under Ford, each brand is responsible for something. Mazda contributes I-4 engines, Volvo concentrates on safety, Jaguar contributes high tech sophistication, Aston Martin contributes high tech manufacturing process and performance, Land Rover contributes 4x4 capabilities. And each brand benefits with a little bit of each. Yes... the platform sharing contributes quite a bit, but better to go with something solid and proven and make it economically feasable.
Well, it looks that Mazda contributes a little more than I-4. E.g. as you said before Ford uses now Mazda sourced engineering process and what about Mazda6 platform ? Is it original Mazda or based of Mondeo ?
Yes, other resources on used as well, but Ford gave Mazda the lead to develop it's new line of I-4 engines, worldwide. Ford using the Mazda6 platform was really a fluke, that developed into the future products we will soon see.
Hi. I've liked this car ever since it came out, but I could never afford it new. I was originally planning on buying a used 98-01 Accord V6 for around 9-12000, but after realizing that the LS V-8 goes for around that price also piqued my interest. All my previous cars have been honda's and have been very reliable. Which brings me to my question, are LS really unreliable? Consumer reports gives them solid blacks in a number of areas in reliability. Also the remarks section on edmunds mentions many things like leaking engine seals and broken power windows. Would buying an used LS consign me to the same fate?
Let's see... boring FWD appliance or outstanding sports sedan? Boy, that's a tough one. I'd pay an extra $100 a month in repair costs in order to avoid a daily commute filled with grinding understeer and mind numbing boredom.
The rear window regulators do tend to break and the valve cover seals do leak eventually. Hopefully, on the one you buy, they will have already been fixed.
I have an 02 LS V8 with 40K and it is the most reliable car I have owned. I had one window regulator and a problem with an advancetrac sensor. I bought an extended warranty with it, but I am not sure it was a wise investment given how reliable the car has been.
The inspiration for that song was a college kid in that topic who had wrecked his 330i allegedly swerving to miss a cat. It was apparent that his driving ability fell somewhere in between "pathetic" and "miserable". Anyway, he was lamenting the fact that his parents were thinking about replacing the 3er with a C Class Benz-oh the horror!
I actually have a friend, who had a similar issue. Started with a 325i, (swerved to miss a squirrel) 2nd car was an Lexus Es300(totaled as well), next one BMW 325 Convertible (stolen for having it parked with the top down in a bad neighborhood).
Then upon questioning the stupid parents motive as to why they continue to replace his vehicles, "well the safety of our child is important, so a good solid car is what he needs". I said, "SO make him WALK!".
Well flash forward 10 years, daddy's money went away with the dot.com bust, 9/11 killed all the investment portfolio, child still living at home with no finished degree, and quite a bit of credit card dept with a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle. And the parents will be retiring soon (with no nest egg, and social security is a joke) so if think Billy was going to make something of himself to bail it out, it's NOT happening.
What we teach our children today, will reflect who they are tomorrow.
There seems to be a steering noise problem on quite a few LS's. I brought my 2003 in with a squeaking noise that happens when the steering wheel was turned. Noise in both directions. They tried the TSB fix to no avail. I think that it was to put some grease in a few places. Ended up replacing the whole power steering system. They said that they have a least a dozen or so with the same problem. Sometimes the grease fix works, most times not. They had it for a week and I got to drive a brand new Town Car. It was like driving on a pillow. Soft with NO road feel. To big and tinny for me. While I was there they tried to push me into a MONTEGO. Test drive.....Felt like a Volvo,whiney at moderate revs, felt good to sit a little higher, not in the LS class at all. NO SALE
On the Town Car & Montego from an LS owner. This is why we make so many different styles of cars.
I've been in a Town Car again for 3 days. I really quite like the Town Car in a lot of ways. I like how easily it drives. I wouldn't call it Tinny, but I would call it quiet, spry, quick for the size of it, and nimble, sure footed, and secure. The biggest knock I have against it, and admittedly, I am in the rental version, is the seat. No support. Feels like sitting on a toilet seat to me. Bad for a luxury car. Needs work. Always delighted to get home to my Navigator, and sit in the excellent seat and feel the room of the gator around me. Although the seats in the LS are great, and the handling of the LS is spectacular, I also feel claustrophobic in that little car.
Now, the Montego, is very spacious, seats are great. That car, I like. Needs luxury.
I went to the dealer where the salesman steered me to what he claimed was the last 2004 v8 LS. It's silver (I hate silver) with a light interior which I like for this Nevada desert heat, the car has only 35 miles, the car has a 6-cd player w/no nav or THX, it has a cut roof.
I was thinking about ignoring the exterior color I disliked since most of the time I would be inside the car anyway.
What's a decent price I can reasonably get this car for... any resources I could print?
Also, the salesman was kind of evasive on the 0% financing on the car. I do have good credit, but what kind of credit score would LM be looking at for 0%? (Lexus was honest enough to advertise a score of 725 for their favorable certified vehicle financing). Is LM looking for 800 or so? Or would the 700's do?
Related to that, if I qualify for the financing, how much down can be expected? With 0%, I don't see the need for putting down a lot of money. Would they be asking 10-20% down with a good credit score?
Finally, if I want to extend the warranty, can I purchase the extension toward the end of the manufacturer's?
Are there any websites that display accessories like bras for the LS?
Any input you knowledgeable folks can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Comments
I wonder what that means, exactly . . .
- Ray
Willing to re-add the LS to the shopping list, if . . .
Last R&T A6 test (2004 - 3.0 6 cyl) lists 58 / 42.
C+D test of the new V8 lists 57 / 43.
- Ray
Who had an 8 cylinder German AWD sedan - with 61% of the weight on the front wheels . . .
-Paul
"When a better (we hope) Buick is built, Lincoln will build it."
Lincoln is turning to AWD vehicles, whereas Buick is sticking with FWD for the most part. Hmmm, isn't that one of the reasons Cadillac didn't do well, for being FWD in the luxury class?
I had better hopes for Buick but considering what I just saw today, EEKKK. I can see why some avoid domestic vehicles.
I have my personal bias (I love the big traditional American sedan, so this is great news), but it probably confirms the thinking they cannot build every sedan off of the Volvo/500 platform, and it leaves it available for the LS replacement.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Business/2005/02/09- /924824-sun.html
I do value your insight. But (u knew that was coming?:>) I need to ask someone in the Domestic auto industry this question, and here you are:
"When are you folks going to understand that competing ONLY against the other domestic companies is a LOSE-LOSE for all of you?"
Domestics have lost market share for 30 years or more now and are still falling. Here in CA, domestic mfrs have 28% of the car/truck market. ONLY about 1/4 of the vehicles sold in CA have Ford, GM or Chrysler on the hood. Over 53% are Japanese. The rest are BMWs! Unbelievable but true.
You guys are "on the express elevator to h*ll going DOWN", to quote Bill Paxton in 'Aliens'.
Whenever you do something great (like the LS) you end up riding it out to maximize profits instead of refining and enhancing it, like say the Infiniti M45. Now THAT's a beautiful car. The previous version wasn't quite so loved and Infiniti responded to that and now have a universally praised performance/luxury car to sell. And it's not even their flagship model. This what Lincoln should have done with the LS. Is there ANYONE who disagrees with me on this? Would love to hear it.
Instead, Lincoln did not have the money to refine the LS. But they did have the money to throw a new grille on the F150 to compete against: drum roll - GMC. I guess. Oh, and also had $$$s to build a Lincoln-Mazda in Mexico. But NO MONEY for a true performance/luxury car that the LS could be. I am disgusted about it, tell the truth. I guess if Buick had a luxo/perform sedan things might have been different?
When I see someone from the Big 2 1/2 come in here or anywhere talkin sh*t about Lexus or Infiniti or Honda, that's when I'll know things have possibly turned around. If they just keepo bashing each other, the end is nie. And I'm getting tired of supporting losers. If I come up with the $$$s for a new vehicle, which will be difficult since my present vehicle is the WORST in the world for resale value, I'll be looking mostly at Infiniti and Acura. I won't be looking at a Lincda made in Mexico. Or a Town Car or a Pick up truck. Or an LS, cause apparently there won't be one.
OK, the valium is taking effect. I'm calming down again.
My LS is hanging in, but instead of looking forward to another to replace it (you know, that V8 w/ manual that we were told was coming, back in '00), with the X00 improvements of the '03, I'm going to run it into the ground, sell it for $1.85, and buy. . .what?
Not sure, but it won't be a Ford product.
Please send your daytime contact info to jfallon@edmunds.com by Friday, February 11, 2005.
I agree, domestics are dumping garbage on each others lawn, when it's all in the same neighborhood and not a good idea.
Throwing a new grill into the F-150 selling it as as Mark LT doesn't require much tooling investment. The profits gained on each sale is much more than what's gained from selling 30 LS's. I blame marketing for not advertising the LS as much, and lack of concentrating on the product. Unfortunately when it gets on someones head to drop a vehicle, it gets totally ignored then on and exits the stage in a negative manner.
Too many wildfires needed to be put out since the Jac Nasser era. Quick way of making more money is redesigning your highest profit margin vehicles, such as the F150. Notice how well that has helped Ford, while GM concentrate on renovating their small pick-ups, which the segment is shrinking and provides minimal profits...rather than redoing their higher profit margin fullsize pickups.
Other high profit vehicles such as the CV, GM, TC were instantly refreshened as well. Then there's some other vehicles such as the LS, S-type that were refreshed for 2003, YET keeping the styling intact is what sunk it's performance in my opinion. That mentality has been fixed, and more styling differences will be incorporated when those refreshenings take place.
In general the whole industry will level out in sales. My guess is the hardest players will have around 15-17% each. With increased competition and new competitors and numerous vehicles being introduced, it's impossible to keep such a large market share.
Example, same as the European market. With so many players in that market, it's quite hard just having even a 8-10% market share. Ford's there have a reputation for being reliable, holding best resale value, exciting products, flexible manufacturing and keeping their share around 10% has been quite difficult. And even then, there's not much of a profit being made (at least not this past year, which is being rectified). And that obviously will occur because of all the new players in the industry.
The choice of the Zephyr being assemebled in Mexico is because it shared majority of components with the Fusion and Milan. It would defeat the purpose to seperate them, or building them in the U.S. IN return, the Focus being built in Hermosillo, has been transfered to Wayne along with other Focus production. In fact, I would have personally reversed it, since lower profit margin vehicles can be made more profittable if assembled in Mexico.
The next LS will be more of an improvement than the current one, so don't lose hope.
Also, the media has turned quite biased against domestics manufacturer's. Obviously frustrated by years of market share loss, it doesn't help any on how stories are announced and reported. I'm constantly e-mailing those publications and poiniting out the bias when I notice an issue on some of their stories.
Some highlights including BMW X5's 14 recalls hardly receive any attention, yet numerous negative stories over the Escapes 5-6 were thrown all over the place. Some media outlets reporting the recent 2000 F-150 recall of 750K vehicles, calling an end to bankrupt, and how it'll bankrupt the company, and how it was possible the largest recall in the past 2 years, YET this same outlet forgot to mention Honda's transmission recall bumped up to 1MIL vehicles just weeks earlier, in fact, not even a small article was posted of the issue, at that time.
Ford recalled the F-150 because a low number of complaints were logged about vehicles catching fire due to a cruise control module. This out of the possible 800-900K such F-150s that are built each year, 30 complaints were logged, so Ford issued a recall.
The Honda CRV has been catching fire, has over 70 complaints logged at NHTSA, they sell around 150K units yearly...it's obvious there's a higher percentage of failure rate for the CRV issue, yet, a simple "TSB" (which is only addressed when a owner takes the vehicle to a dealership for service-Not sure about you, I haven't been to mine ever) and refuses to recall the vehicle.
THE VW's are the car ragss darlings, and they will recommend them and award them even if they exhibit numerous glitches, and even a transmission failure (I believe that was C&D). Yet, their reliability is Kia like, the car rags turn a blind eye.
I can detail much more, but you get the idea. I have a whole folder of over 370 biased stories cross referenced with blunders in their reporting...
Obviously perception will take time to fix. Out of the 2 1/2 domestic manufacturer's, Ford has the better perceived reputation overall and it's increasing. New products such as the 500/Freestyle has called back numerous import owner's that defected. New F150, and a focus for vehicle refinement has certainly improved that perception. Even the new Fusion/Milan/Zephyr surprisingly has been catching the attention of not only domestic owner's, but import owners as well and is showing signs of having a higher "return to Ford" rate, than the 500/Freestyle are enjoying.
Again, it all takes some times, but things are looking up. What important is, Ford doesn't sleep again on each product cycle, and that has promised not to be repeated.
It's 6pm and I just woke-up from a nap, so excuse the errors, my mind is still fogging.
Much of the despair voiced by a few of us is based on "what might have been." When we (or at least I) bought into the LS concept as it was first introduced (at invoice price or so, I might add, not invoice less 5K+), we saw (or hoped for) a legitimate competitor to BMW/Audi -- something that would be tweaked/refined/improved (not de-contented) for years to come as the marketing, dealers (yeah, I was even more ignorant then), word-of-mouth & performance of the vehicle itself built demand.
Well, that was then and this is now. I was pumped up for a couple of years or so (about until the '03 upgrade dropped the manual), then gave up, in terms of future purchases.
As to that next LS being an improvement over the current one, I'll be anxiously awaiting your helping us understand how the mostly aluminum suspension & 51/49 weight distribution is going to be improved upon, to say nothing of the anti-dive response to braking. Thanks in advance for keeping us posted on this.
Your company ran out of money, due to Exploders & tires. Jac did his thing. The various laws of the (large) corporate jungle prevailed. The original LS concept died.
I continue to drive & enjoy mine.
ANT: As cd implied, your telling us the next LS will be better just does not hold water with those of us who purchased it for it's being different and better than anything else Ford made at the time, save Jaguar and A-M. To try to convince those of us with this mindset that a clone of the Ford 500 will produce a 'better' LS is futile. All that will do is produce a 'better' (and more expensive) Ford 500.
Last nit: the 500 and Montego have not exactly been showered with praise, have they? They are quite a bit bigger than the LS and therefore will never be capable of the handling prowess the LS exhibits. They appear to me to be nice, big, BORING cars. The LS, OTOH, received almost universal praise when it debuted in 2000. Motor Trend Car of the Year. And Consumer Reports calling it "The best American Sedan we've EVER tested" come immediately to mind. Now, Ford is tossing all that in the scrap heap to give us a big, boring replacement cloned from mediocre cars at best?
Give it up. The dealers just want to sell to the blue hairs anyway. Just make the LS a big couch and be done with it. Ford will neve get it, it appears to me. Killing their one machine that actually DOES give the best European sedans a serious run for their money. STOOOPID, IMO.
Oh, and I saw a couple more things you guys have had $$$s to spend on while letting the LS die, to wit: building a gay and lesbian center in Dearborn. Nice. Wonder how the city survived all these years without that. Oh, and a Jaguar X-type wagon. Brilliant. An overpriced Mondeo with a cat on the hood which has been panned pretty much everywhere, but THAT they can build upon. Lot's of folks were interested in an LS BMW-style wagon. But no.
"Oh, and a Jaguar X-type wagon. Brilliant. An overpriced Mondeo with a cat on the hood which has been panned pretty much everywhere, but THAT they can build upon."
Having had both the Xtype and the LS I can tell you you are way off base. Firstly, the XType shares just 20% of its parts with the latest Mondeo. This mith has been perpetuated repeatedly. Furthur, the new Mondeo is a completely different car than the one on which the Contour was based.
Secondly, the wagon(avant)was produced to compete in the European market where all of its direct competitors have one. They came out with a diesel engine in the XType for the same reason.
That said, the LS is a much better buy than the current XType today. My lease on the XType just ran out and I am considering another LS very seriously. Went to a dealer in Scottsdale last weekend hoping to pick up a left over '04 but alas they were sold out. Still looking......
Looks like most are also gone here in the Atlanta area.
- Ray
Who bought the last (leftover) 2003 LS V8 Sport available in this area with what I wanted for options and colors last year at about this time . . .
OK, I'll admit not being an expert on the X-Type. Maybe my fingers were running away with my brain on this one. But I still haven't seen much positive written by reviewers about the X. If that has recently changed, I wasn't aware. I know you enjoyed yours and that's what counts.
Now, back to the LS ...
Better not tell Jaguar:>) Unless the S-Type is also moving to the new LS platform, which is based on the Ford 500, which is based on the Volvo S-80?
So soon we'll choose from:
2 Lincolns based on a Mazda and made in Mexico: Zephyr and next Aviator?
a Lincoln based on a Volvo: LS? or ... (aside: I'm not convinced this will be the LS actually. Why? Cause the blue hair set did not warm up to the LS. They want their Continental back. This should be the new Continental and the 2007 LS should be DEW-98 upgraded but - OUCH - banging my head against this wall hurts!)
a Lincoln based on the Ford Expedition: Navigator
a Lincoln based on a Ford Pickup truck: LT
and
a Lincoln based on a WW2 platform (Town Car.)
Now I understand finally why they dropped the tag line "American Luxury".
Many people do not know what the platform is based on, and when one company brand gets it, it can be transformed quite differently than first conceived. Yes, many are shared platforms, but that's done purposely to spread the resources, economically.
There's various items inside the cars today, which are out-sourced, Ford isn't the only one. At times there were GM built transmissions (4 speed unit used in the Jag XJR years back) for example.
Under Ford, each brand is responsible for something. Mazda contributes I-4 engines, Volvo concentrates on safety, Jaguar contributes high tech sophistication, Aston Martin contributes high tech manufacturing process and performance, Land Rover contributes 4x4 capabilities. And each brand benefits with a little bit of each. Yes... the platform sharing contributes quite a bit, but better to go with something solid and proven and make it economically feasable.
But that's just me.
Hair of Blue,
Born in 1922,
Has Anybody Seen Our Customers?
Already did. Way back in May 2002. In the now defunct "BMW 3 Series Research" topic:
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#1598 of 1839 With apologies to Janis- and the great Sir Fezo... by div2 May 18, 2002 (10:51 pm)
Oh Daddy, don't you buy me no Mercedes Benz.
I need another Bee-mer to keep up with my friends.
I've never worked in my lifetime, just cashed dividends-
But Daddy, please don't buy me a Mercedes Benz.
Now, Daddy what I need is another 330i.
I smashed up the last one so a kitty wouldn't die.
If you don't buy a new one I can't pledge Kappa Phi,
So Daddy, you have to shell out for a 330i.
Oh Mummy, don't you buy me any driver training.
I just want a Bee-mer to see and be seen.
And isn't "understeer" a band from the Seattle scene?
So Mummy, I don't need any driver training.
Oh Daddy, please hire a libel attorney.
Those mean guys at Edmunds are picking on me.
If I hit 'em with your wallet then maybe they'll see
That you don't tease a boy with a wealthy Dad-dee...
That's it! <giggle>
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Then upon questioning the stupid parents motive as to why they continue to replace his vehicles, "well the safety of our child is important, so a good solid car is what he needs". I said, "SO make him WALK!".
Well flash forward 10 years, daddy's money went away with the dot.com bust, 9/11 killed all the investment portfolio, child still living at home with no finished degree, and quite a bit of credit card dept with a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle. And the parents will be retiring soon (with no nest egg, and social security is a joke) so if think Billy was going to make something of himself to bail it out, it's NOT happening.
What we teach our children today, will reflect who they are tomorrow.
I've been in a Town Car again for 3 days. I really quite like the Town Car in a lot of ways. I like how easily it drives. I wouldn't call it Tinny, but I would call it quiet, spry, quick for the size of it, and nimble, sure footed, and secure. The biggest knock I have against it, and admittedly, I am in the rental version, is the seat. No support. Feels like sitting on a toilet seat to me. Bad for a luxury car. Needs work. Always delighted to get home to my Navigator, and sit in the excellent seat and feel the room of the gator around me. Although the seats in the LS are great, and the handling of the LS is spectacular, I also feel claustrophobic in that little car.
Now, the Montego, is very spacious, seats are great. That car, I like. Needs luxury.
I was thinking about ignoring the exterior color I disliked since most of the time I would be inside the car anyway.
What's a decent price I can reasonably get this car for... any resources I could print?
Also, the salesman was kind of evasive on the 0% financing on the car. I do have good credit, but what kind of credit score would LM be looking at for 0%? (Lexus was honest enough to advertise a score of 725 for their favorable certified vehicle financing). Is LM looking for 800 or so? Or would the 700's do?
Related to that, if I qualify for the financing, how much down can be expected? With 0%, I don't see the need for putting down a lot of money. Would they be asking 10-20% down with a good credit score?
Finally, if I want to extend the warranty, can I purchase the extension toward the end of the manufacturer's?
Are there any websites that display accessories like bras for the LS?
Any input you knowledgeable folks can provide will be greatly appreciated.