mmarshall

I've already addressed that in previous posts...what an excellent deal it is for 45-50K to start. Steve has also made the case for its livery-buisness function. What else do you want us to add?

SW17LS

That's what I'm talking about. Will be popular as rental cars too.

You can tell by the license plate. Every one I've seen has been black too.

davyjordi

i've seen one in wine country temecula (the city is a large tourist destination because of it's wineries and resorts) recently. i'm not sure if it was part of a limo service, although it was very unimpressive to see out in the wild. it just sort of blended in and had i not been an enthusiast, i wouldn't have paid it any attention.

Toys4RJill

The Conti is supposed to be Lincoln's idea of "quiet" luxury. It is not supposed to stand out and have a look at me attitude.

I really don't understand the obsession with the idea that the Conti is going to be a livery vehicle. So what if it is? I smell an inferiority complex among some of the high end LS owners in regards to the Conti. The Conti is a nice car. Its very well done. Has a lot of nice features. 400hp. Let it be.

I highly doubt it. But you never know.


Looks like they use Lexus, MB, and Audi flagships as taxis.

SW17LS

No inferiority complex at all lol. Why would somebody feel an inferiority complex over a product that they could purchase for less than the product they currently own? If I were trying to talk down the new LS or an S Class or something you might have a point. If I wanted a Continental however I could go trade for one today and save money...I've lauded plenty of cars over my own car that I own, its all out there in the forum to see.

My issue with the Continental is that IMHO it was a half hearted attempt. Lincoln had an opportunity to break through with a car, people loved the concept design. However...they chose to put it on a Fusion/Taurus platform like they did the old 90s-00s Continental and while the car is very nice for a Lincoln, that caveat is there...its very nice for a Lincoln. If you compare the Cadillac CT6 to a Lincoln Continental theres no comparison. G90 to Continental? Absolutely no comparison. When you take "for a Cadillac" and "for a Hyundai" away, those cars are still really great cars...can't say that for the Continental.

As for what the issue is with fleet sales, fleet buyers have a different set of criteria than retail luxury buyers. Like I said before, the Continental should be a runaway hit with fleet buyers. Its spacious, classy, comfortable, pretty well made and a good value in low trims. The caveat there is that having a bunch of livery and funeral and rental Continentals out there reduces the prestige of the car for a retail buyer, and of the brand itself. All those pictures of taxis are from other countries, this is less of an issue elsewhere than it is here.

Even in the S Class, which you see all over say NYC as a high end livery car. It doesn't make me not want one, but I wouldn't buy a black one. That car though on its own is a great car, and that transcends any concerns like that...the Continental is not a "great" car. Its a "good car for a Lincoln".

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

have not seen one here. and before you guys think it's because i'm in hicksville i do see loads of teslas, s550s, ls, porsches, cadillacs, etc.

i'm shocked at the sales # quoted (that it's that high) but as speculated, most likely mostly cabs/limos/fleet.

mmarshall

One potential snag in actually recognizing a new Continental, when you do see one on the road, is that the front ends of both the Continental and the new refreshed (as of 2016) MKZ sedan look so familiar that it can be quite difficult to tell the two apart from the front or front-quarter angles. Though the MKZ, overall, is a little narrower, and its side door handles don't stick out like the big chromed grab-bars on the Continental, it's still, IMO, not easy to quickly tell the difference unless you are looking at the back, where the C-pillars and trunk lines are quite different.

So, if you are driving down the road, and you see one coming towards you in the opposite lane (s), you may not really know at first whether you are looking at a Continental or MKZ, unless you get a chance to see the center and rear of the car as it goes by.

Continental front:



MKZ front:

mmarshall

I doubt if anyone here thinks you live in hicksville. There are already lot of people in Florida with money, and the state is quite attractive to relatively well-heeled retirees. More and more of them are moving in each day, as the Baby Boomer generation retires....and it obviously shows in what kind of cars they drive.

I'm not shocked at all. This is exactly what a lot of traditional American luxury car buyers have been waiting for, even apart from the executive/Iimo business. IMO Lincoln blew it when they came out with the MKS to replace the Town Car......this is what the Town Car's replacement should have been all along.

IMHO, we'd probably see even better sales-figures to date, had there been any significant reviews and/or road-tests earlier. But, for months, there seemed to be a auto-press blackout on reviews for some reason. That still hasn't been explained. Steve and I apparently drove one either before many of the auto-press journalists did, or before those press-reviews were officially released.

Sulu

It matters less now that people can tell the difference between a Continental or a MKZ; it matters more that people can recognize that it is a Lincoln and not some other brand.

The luxury brands now want you to recognize the brand first -- the vertical headlights of Cadillac, the BMW twin-kidney grille; the big 3-pointed Mercedes-Benz star; the Audi Singleframe grille (which is being co-opted by Hyundai and Genesis); the Lexus spindle grille; the pinched Infiniti grille. If you can recognize that it is a Lincoln (and not confuse it with Bentley or be totally confused as to what it is), and it causes you to turn your head to see whether it is a MKZ or Continental, then Lincoln is successful; otherwise, Lincoln will be as lost as Acura. (Acura had something instantly recognizable with its shield but it seems it is giving that up, hopefully not for anonymity.)

Toys4RJill

I agree with the above about the Lincoln and the branding. That is exactly what Lincoln is going after. It seems more that ever, luxury brands are moving away from the distinct model portfolio and onward to a distinct brand look and identity. The MKZ and Continental were carefully designed to look as similar as they are.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

People still buy Lincolns lol? Why?

I almost never see any new Lincolns in the Chicago area. Everything is dominated by the German and Japanese cars.

When you do see a new Lincoln you can't help but ask why someone would buy that over a Mercedes or Lexus, costs aside if you have $60-70k for a new car, odds are you can afford something that costs $10k more... just saying.

SW17LS

This above is Lincolns problem lol

If I pulled up to my office in a Lincoln people would say "people still buy Lincolns?!" LOL

Toys4RJill

Oh gee. Maybe a new modern updated V6 with 400 horses. Something different and distinct than everyone else on the market. Absence of that frustrating thing called remote touch....Or perhaps a new platform (LS460) that does not date back to 2007?

mmarshall

Nobody's going to confuse a Lincoln with a Bentley.....though some people could do that with recent versions of the Chrysler 300 LOL. In fact, some owners wee actually putting on imitation Bentley-grilles.

Acura's parrot-beaks did more damage for them than good. At one time, it got to the point where dealerships were painting them body-color just so the cars could be delivered....some customers wouldn't accept them otherwise. You still see some of them around.....I saw one or two yesterday.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Jill, no offense bro, but I will take a 1992 LS400 over the new Lincoln.

I trust a Lexus with 200k miles more than a brand new Lincoln.