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Aren't you glad they spent some money making changes only auto enthusiasts will notice?? :P I am so flattered they do little stuff like that for us...just like that horizontal grill trim piece on the "MKZ."
If it's the 2007, why oh why did they keep the waterfall grille on the truck and change the Navigator front end into Frankensteins monster truck?
My *guess* - inernally they figure they'd rather the Navigator (a BIG gas hog SUV) and the Town Car ( a BIG old-fashioned old-man's car) NOT be identified with Lincoln's new 'youthful' identity. Thus the new cars are the Lincoln MK Z, MK X, MK S, and (oops) Mark LT and the old ones are just Navigator and Town Car.
I base this on their stated reason for changing to the letters - to get people to say they have a Lincoln instead of a Nav or Town Car. Ah, marketing. How many years of college are required for a degree that allows one to dream this stuff up?
Four.
Lincoln is directionless in trying to save itself. Lincoln will continue to have an unintegrated, mishmash of a line-up. The Town Car is ridiculously out of date and pretty much unsalvagable with its bad (and fairly noisy) interior, low power, old architecture and a look that was fine for the 90's but not now. The 2007 Navigator bears no family resemblance (beyond the tail lights, sort of) to any other Lincoln. The Mark LT (MK LT??) still looks like an F150 with more chrome. The Zephyr is fine although it looks too much like the Mercury Milan, and not enough like any other Lincoln. The MKS and MKX introduce two more unrelated looks.
Sales better pick up with all the models, or Lincoln will soon enough be skipping through the clouds with Oldsmobile and Plymouth. Sometimes they auto business is a crap shoot. You can a lucky roll or a bad one.
Monday morning quarterbacking says anyone should have known for example that the 500/Montego was going to be a mediocre seller, and that the Chrysler 300 would be a hit. But Chrysler took a gamble and fortunately didn't lose.
There are so many factors to consider that are almost completely unpredictable. Who would have forecast a car as good as the LS would get such a lukewarm reception? Maybe we need to be grateful Lincoln has been able to sustain itself as long as this.
The LS used to outsell the Lexus ES. The problem is that Ford abandoned this car.
People have been lauding the sales of Zephyr as if the numbers are really good. In fact, the LS did way better after its introduction than what the Zephyr is doing at the same point. That is kind of scary when you think that Lincoln is promoting the heck out of Zephyr, and it is a less expensive car. Oooh...things may be even worse for Lincoln than we thought.
1543 Mark LTs sold in March, while only 359 Escalade EXTs were sold. Im guessing people are holding off buying the EXT until the much improved version is released.
I wonder what would happen if the Japanese would enter this segment. Would they have a hit, or would they screw up the pickup formula?
Personally, I can see Lexus entering this segment in 5 years.
Well, the down-market marques are already there. Personally, I don't think any self-respecting pickup truck driving man should buy a Honda Ridgeline or any full size Japanese truck. But, it seems the Ridgeline hits the target market of urban wannabes who will never tow anything or go further offroad than some minimal road work which might be in front of the Super Target or Starbucks. I suspect any Japanese entry into the Mark LT / Escalade EXT market would do the same. Toyota and Nissan get good reviews from the talking heads for their full size pickups: slap some different doors and grilles on them, stick a little Lexus or Infinity badge up front, and there you go.
Look at what Honda did with the Ridgeline. IMO a screwup.
thanks for any info
kurt
As a lifelong Ford guy, and a long-time stockholder, I am just appalled. Even Hyundai is running circles around Ford.
Why does every other company seem to be able to issue frequent re-designs and new models at a rate that makes Ford seem to be working at a snail's pace? Ford has had a good 10 years of incentive to begin issuing more exciting new products. Flexible manufacturing is a great idea. But it hasn't resulted in issue of new products even as fast as most competitors. At least there is some solace in the Ford family seeing so much wealth fade away in the plunging stock price.
Let the car guys out of their cages and get out of their way! The GT, Mustang and F150 indicate the good things that can be done if allowed.
I believe that it is going to be a very good choice for me.
Just how many of you, who are so very critical of this truck, actually own one, or have even driven one ?
I should be taking delivery of my new 2006 Lincoln Mark LT next week.
I plan on buying GPS Navigation and keeping it in the glove box until I need to use it.
I was able to negotiate a very good deal.
I did not buy a Silver one, because that is the color of my 2006 Chrysler 300C SRT8.
I am going to be happy with my new truck.
Jack
Did Ford flake out again?
Not to be offensive but isn't that VERY obvious? Even my 16 year old nephew (who is into cars) noticed that
It amazes me why people can't see the obvious. :confuse:
I would never buy one of the "clones" however I do have to admit the IMO some clones look better....even though it only amounts to minor trim/grille changes.
F-150's are excellent. I have a 2002 f-150 and it's never had a single problem of any kind.
We are bashing Ford for making such an embarrassingly weak effort at badge engineering.
Myself, I'd likely buy one if it had any distinctive features at all. A grille and taillights don't count.
Hopefully they are holding off while they differentiate it more, but more than likely they are just working to design a larger Lincoln emblem for the grille
"While Deas declines to elaborate on specifics, she says there will be some exterior enhancements and additional features and technologies available for the ’07 model year."
Ford wouldn't promise something and then just flake out--would they?
Apparantly it was another "Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown" move on Ford's part.
(see: overpromise, underdeliver)
It's hard to define what a success in this segment is. Most people dont buy luxury trucks, so if you think about 12000 per year isnt bad. Even when the new Escalade EXT comes out, dont expect people to buy it in droves - most people aren't in that market.
But, the EXT has that snazzy convertible bed w/ the stow-away window, fold-down midgate, etc. So, of course it'll kill the MarkLT! :surprise:
I wonder how many people actually use that feature? It seems to me the people buying that truck aren't going to want to get the interior dirty by converting it. Maybe the buyer of its Chevy cousin, but not a Caddy buyer.
Thanks for your encouragement!