WSJ: Putting the Luxe Back in Lincoln
#16
Lexus Fanatic
Plus, IMO, most of the Ford models are better looking than the Lincoln equivalent.
#18
Lexus Fanatic
#19
I had an 07 MKZ lease car for 38 months / 44K miles. It had too many Fusion / Milan reminders, especially on the inside. Aside from that, it was very reliable, fairly comfortable (though a bit tight inside), had a big trunk, rode well, and had good (but rough sounding) power. The AWD system worked well in ice or snow conditions, but didn't do well when one side of the car was on ice and the other was on dry pavement.
I seriously considered an MKS as a replacement. But, the 1st year reliability in 09 was spotty, the small trunk opening made loading and unloading my wife's wheelchair difficult, and the doors didn't open very widely for my wife's transfers. I drove a 2010 MKS with the ecoboost engine and it had gobs of power. However, I don't like to buy an engine in its first year. I was especially leery of the first year of a domestic gasoline twin turbo.
I seriously considered an MKS as a replacement. But, the 1st year reliability in 09 was spotty, the small trunk opening made loading and unloading my wife's wheelchair difficult, and the doors didn't open very widely for my wife's transfers. I drove a 2010 MKS with the ecoboost engine and it had gobs of power. However, I don't like to buy an engine in its first year. I was especially leery of the first year of a domestic gasoline twin turbo.
#20
Lexus Test Driver
iTrader: (1)
Ford/Lincoln is second on my list next to Toyota/Lexus as favorite cars. Thats due to the heritage that Lincoln once had. I appreciate luxury more than sport and Lincoln had it locked at one point in time. Where did the appeal go? My guess is mercedes and lexus took it away. I'm only 35 but from what i heard from guys who lived in the glory days of Lincioln, is that this was one of the "Tier 1" cars of the 60's and 70's. Yes Lincoln needs to a big rear drive sedan in order to compete and/or get recongnized again. To hell with trying to compete with Buick and making all these second fiddle, rebadged Fords. By being a maker of big plush luxo barges, they should aim directly at Caddilac and maybe Lexus although Caddi of late has been pushing out performance cars. Bring back a bad azz Continential saloon and a Mark coupe thats on its own platform, shared with no one, 400+hp engine of some sort thats hybrid, top notch technology and design, and some cool lighting that always seem to set Lincoln apart. Then let the rest of your line up follow in the footsteps of your flagship. I personnaly had a 98 continential that was in no way top notch but it had lots of power from its V8, was very very comfortable, and was a gorgeous piece of car to look at so i know that Lincoln can somehow compete atleast on the Luxury level. Sportiness? Well thats another subject for another brand! LOL.
#21
Lexus Fanatic
I'm only 35 but from what i heard from guys who lived in the glory days of Lincioln, is that this was one of the "Tier 1" cars of the 60's and 70's. Yes Lincoln needs to a big rear drive sedan in order to compete and/or get recongnized again. To hell with trying to compete with Buick and making all these second fiddle, rebadged Fords. By being a maker of big plush luxo barges, they should aim directly at Caddilac and maybe Lexus although Caddi of late has been pushing out performance cars. Bring back a bad azz Continential saloon and a Mark coupe thats on its own platform, shared with no one, 400+hp engine of some sort thats hybrid, top notch technology and design, and some cool lighting that always seem to set Lincoln apart. Then let the rest of your line up follow in the footsteps of your flagship. I personnaly had a 98 continential that was in no way top notch but it had lots of power from its V8, was very very comfortable, and was a gorgeous piece of car to look at so i know that Lincoln can somehow compete atleast on the Luxury level. Sportiness? Well thats another subject for another brand! LOL.
#22
Lexus Test Driver
iTrader: (1)
A good post, silver surfr. I agree with many of your points here. Sometimes, for a car company, looking forward actually means looking back as well.....and, as you note, that also applies to Cadillac. Lincoln does need, however, to keep at least one AWD sedan for people who drive in bad weather.
#23
Lexus Fanatic
A good question with the Navigator is whether it should actually go or simply be replaced by a car-based, better-handling, more efficient version.....I brought that up in an earlier post. The MKT.....I agree, the front and rear-ends both need some work.
However, as you suggest, perhaps we could have the best of both worlds in one......the Navigator replaced by a slightly larger (and better-looking) MKT. That would also allow for a slightly larger MKX to take its place......the current MKX, IMO, is a little too small an SUV to be carrying the Lincoln badge on it.
However, as you suggest, perhaps we could have the best of both worlds in one......the Navigator replaced by a slightly larger (and better-looking) MKT. That would also allow for a slightly larger MKX to take its place......the current MKX, IMO, is a little too small an SUV to be carrying the Lincoln badge on it.
Last edited by mmarshall; 06-29-10 at 06:35 PM.
#24
Moderator
iTrader: (16)
Lincoln 'not true luxury' yet, says Ford design chief
Lincoln 'not true luxury' yet, says Ford design chief
Lincoln is "not true luxury," according to Ford's design boss, J Mays. His statements come from a story in The Detroit News that saw candid language on the issues facing Ford's troubled premium brand. Notably, there's a need for a strong character, with Mays saying, "Every brand needs to have a DNA and a unique selling point and things in the vehicle that make you think, 'That's that particular brand.'"
With a range of rebadged Fords, it's not hard to see why that DNA is missing. Mays hinted that a full recovery for Lincoln will be a ten-year process, that's been kicked off with the MKZ sedan. While that car is still largely a Ford Fusion under its extremely pretty wrapper, it's the first Lincoln in some time to inject its own unique take both through the exterior styling and through interior features, such as the vertical, pushbutton gear selection.
Some analysts weren't so certain about Mays' 10-year estimate. Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics thinks it'll be more like 30 years before Lincoln can show a true return to form. The issue, as Hall explains it, is that, "luxury has a degree of exclusivity," that Lincoln just doesn't have. Michelle Krebs from Edmunds adds, "it's definitely a wanna-be luxury brand," comparing the troubled American brand with Infiniti and Acura, two other brands that have struggled to find their place in the luxury market.
From the language Mays is using, though, it seems that Ford is still rather committed to Lincoln. The MKZ, while plagued by production issues, has been a steady seller, although not enough to prevent an overall drop in 2013 sales for the brand. The eventual arrival of the Ford Escape-based MKC could be a boon to the brand, provided its as unique as the MKZ. Lincoln is also preparing to go on sale in China, a market that has traditionally loved brands unloved by Americans (see Buick), so while Ford's luxury brand might be down, it's probably nowhere close to out.
Dearborn— A top Ford Motor Co. executive says the automaker’s struggling Lincoln brand is “not true luxury,” and faces a tough road back that will take years.
J Mays, Ford’s design chief, said the company’s focus on rebuilding Lincoln has only just begun — and that Lincoln’s reinvention could take a decade.
“No, we’re not true luxury,” Mays said Tuesday following an event at the automaker’s Dearborn campus. “We’re in an investment stage with Lincoln. We’ve probably got a 10-year investment to make.”
Luxury brand transformations can take many decades, as it did for General Motors’ Cadillac. Mays’ proclamation that Lincoln is “not true luxury” is evidence Lincoln still lacks definition.
“It’s definitely a wanna-be luxury brand,” said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at automotive research firm Edmunds.com, who likened Lincoln to other struggling luxury brands such as Infiniti and Acura. “It’s not there, though, by any stretch.”
Jim Hall, analyst at 2953 Analytics LLP, another research company, said in a telephone interview that he agrees: Lincoln does not represent true luxury. But Hall also said Lincoln — which he believes needs at least three decades to return to its glory days of the late 1980s and early 1990s — is competing against other not-quite luxury brands.
“Most luxury brands today aren’t luxury brands,” Hall said. “They’ve become luxury-branded products. Many are thinking of luxury as a series of checklists, but the traditional definition of luxury has a degree of exclusivity.”
Now that automakers offer luxurious features such as leather seats in most mass-market models, Hall said the branding of the current crop of luxury vehicles is more comparable to selling smartphones than to the high-end cars of the past.
“There’s nothing you can do to a smartphone to make it luxurious except glitz it up,” Hall said.
“But that’s styling and branding, not luxury.”
Need 'unique selling point'
The problem with most luxury vehicles today, Hall said, is that most offer similar features that don’t differentiate themselves from the competition.
Mays agrees, and said Lincoln has a “whole list of things” it will implement in future cars.
“Every brand needs to have a DNA and a unique selling point and things in the vehicle that make you think, ‘That’s that particular brand,’” he said.
Mays declined to provide specifics, but said Lincoln will build on the new midsize MKZ’s improved interior design and unique push-button shift.
Hall cited a significant yet inexpensive quirk in Bentleys — a push-and-pull, accordion-style dashboard air vent that gives consumers a one-of-a-kind experience.
“It’s not a big thing. But the physical action feels astonishingly substantial,” he said. “Every time you use it, it’s not like anything else.”
Reinvention hampered
By many analyst accounts, Lincoln’s reinvention — which started with the launch of the new MKZ sedan this year and will include three new vehicles in coming years — has been hampered primarily by delays in manufacturing and product development.
The new MKZ has sold well since arriving at dealerships, though sales through the end of July are still down slightly compared to last year. Lincoln sales overall are down 7.6 percent; the brand had targeted double-digit sales gains before the year started.
Through new television ads, Lincoln is targeting younger, affluent buyers. Lincoln also has made sales inroads in nontraditional areas, including California and Texas.
Executives in Dearborn are prepping Lincoln for its debut in China next year, which could provide the biggest boost to the brand in decades.
But a rapidly changing global automotive industry could make Lincoln’s transformation difficult, if not impossible, in the long term.
“A product every year isn’t very much and once they go through the first MKZ, four or five years later, they have to have another one,” Krebs said.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz2dJFqucjA
J Mays, Ford’s design chief, said the company’s focus on rebuilding Lincoln has only just begun — and that Lincoln’s reinvention could take a decade.
“No, we’re not true luxury,” Mays said Tuesday following an event at the automaker’s Dearborn campus. “We’re in an investment stage with Lincoln. We’ve probably got a 10-year investment to make.”
Luxury brand transformations can take many decades, as it did for General Motors’ Cadillac. Mays’ proclamation that Lincoln is “not true luxury” is evidence Lincoln still lacks definition.
“It’s definitely a wanna-be luxury brand,” said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at automotive research firm Edmunds.com, who likened Lincoln to other struggling luxury brands such as Infiniti and Acura. “It’s not there, though, by any stretch.”
Jim Hall, analyst at 2953 Analytics LLP, another research company, said in a telephone interview that he agrees: Lincoln does not represent true luxury. But Hall also said Lincoln — which he believes needs at least three decades to return to its glory days of the late 1980s and early 1990s — is competing against other not-quite luxury brands.
“Most luxury brands today aren’t luxury brands,” Hall said. “They’ve become luxury-branded products. Many are thinking of luxury as a series of checklists, but the traditional definition of luxury has a degree of exclusivity.”
Now that automakers offer luxurious features such as leather seats in most mass-market models, Hall said the branding of the current crop of luxury vehicles is more comparable to selling smartphones than to the high-end cars of the past.
“There’s nothing you can do to a smartphone to make it luxurious except glitz it up,” Hall said.
“But that’s styling and branding, not luxury.”
Need 'unique selling point'
The problem with most luxury vehicles today, Hall said, is that most offer similar features that don’t differentiate themselves from the competition.
Mays agrees, and said Lincoln has a “whole list of things” it will implement in future cars.
“Every brand needs to have a DNA and a unique selling point and things in the vehicle that make you think, ‘That’s that particular brand,’” he said.
Mays declined to provide specifics, but said Lincoln will build on the new midsize MKZ’s improved interior design and unique push-button shift.
Hall cited a significant yet inexpensive quirk in Bentleys — a push-and-pull, accordion-style dashboard air vent that gives consumers a one-of-a-kind experience.
“It’s not a big thing. But the physical action feels astonishingly substantial,” he said. “Every time you use it, it’s not like anything else.”
Reinvention hampered
By many analyst accounts, Lincoln’s reinvention — which started with the launch of the new MKZ sedan this year and will include three new vehicles in coming years — has been hampered primarily by delays in manufacturing and product development.
The new MKZ has sold well since arriving at dealerships, though sales through the end of July are still down slightly compared to last year. Lincoln sales overall are down 7.6 percent; the brand had targeted double-digit sales gains before the year started.
Through new television ads, Lincoln is targeting younger, affluent buyers. Lincoln also has made sales inroads in nontraditional areas, including California and Texas.
Executives in Dearborn are prepping Lincoln for its debut in China next year, which could provide the biggest boost to the brand in decades.
But a rapidly changing global automotive industry could make Lincoln’s transformation difficult, if not impossible, in the long term.
“A product every year isn’t very much and once they go through the first MKZ, four or five years later, they have to have another one,” Krebs said.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz2dJFqucjA
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