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Sedans Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ
2865 messages, Last post on Dec 02, 2009 at 6:02 AM
You are in the Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: gregg_vw (Nov 29, 2009 4:57 pm) BTW there is link to article about LM dealerships going away: http://www.fomoconews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3769 Below are some excerpts from article: ...Since Ford's dealership reduction efforts began in 2006, the number of stand-alone Lincoln-Mercury dealerships is down more than 42 percent. The biggest driver of the reduction has been the push for Lincoln-Mercury and Ford stores to merge in metro markets, something the automaker previously discouraged. At the beginning of 2009, there were 357 Lincoln-Mercury stores in the United States, down from 619 three years prior. Ford CEO Alan Mulally talked about the future of Lincoln and the stand-alone Lincoln-Mercury dealership with Associate Publisher Peter Brown, Editor Jason Stein and Staff Reporter Amy Wilson... ...I'll share a recent experience: I was driving a Lincoln MKS and visiting a stand-alone Ford store, and I was sitting in the car in front of the showroom for a few minutes. There was a salesman outside on the sidewalk right in front of this Lincoln MKS, and he starts talking it up to a customer, but then the punch line was: “Well, this is pretty much the same as the Taurus, the Taurus actually looks even better. I have the Taurus around the side, and it costs $10,000 less. Come look at the Taurus.” That wasn't a Ford-Lincoln-Mercury store, but that salesman saw that Lincoln and he jumped right on it to use it as a sales tool. "I understand. And the answer clearly is the brand promise. Maybe in the past, there hasn't been as much differentiation between a Lincoln and a Ford. But clearly with what we're doing going forward, that Lincoln product is going to be a more of a luxury brand promise. The whole bar's moving up because the Ford vehicles are getting better and all the luxury brands are getting better." But part of the brand promise is the experience at the dealership. "Most people that dual have an enhanced experience with the dealership, too, with the service. If you go to the ones that are really successful with that, they really provide the extra attention and care that the Lincoln buyers really expect and really value." But you have to get them to buy the Lincolns first. And if the sales guy thinks it's easier to sell him the Ford, you're going to sell fewer Lincolns, won't you? "I know your one example. But we've got a lot of people that are buying Lincolns, and they love Lincolns. The people that have dualed stores know they want to have an experience that fits the vehicle that they're selling, so they'll do it to be successful. They'll have two different experiences."...
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Replying to: savetheland (Nov 29, 2009 11:49 pm) Why doesn't the MKZ have keyless go? Same reason it shares doors and a roof with the Fusion. It wouldn't surprise me if they added it for 2010, but either way it will be there when Ford has the resources to commit to it. Which do you think is more important for Ford right now minor details like keyless go on the MKZ and a new RWD platform that might sell 50K/yr OR A new Fiesta, Euro Focus and unibody Explorer that will combine for 200k-300k units and protect Ford from future high gas prices? Ford wants to do what you want them to do but it will take years to get there. You seem to think they can just wave a magic wand and fix everything all at once.
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Replying to: akirby (Nov 30, 2009 6:13 am) Regarding keyfob - what is this: 
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Replying to: savetheland (Nov 30, 2009 5:30 pm) As for the keyfob - looks like any other keyfob to me. What's wrong with it?
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Replying to: akirby (Nov 30, 2009 9:35 pm)
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Replying to: savetheland (Dec 01, 2009 8:56 am)
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Replying to: brucelinc (Dec 01, 2009 6:26 pm) BTW I compared new Buick LaCrosse and MKZ and LaCrosse feels more luxury car than MKZ for less money. MKZ might be in trouble unless Ford reduces the price. LaCrosse exterior and interior execution is perfection rivaling Lexus ES. Trunk is small though and in general car feels too Asian for me. I do not like Asian cars but most American prefer Asian style to anything else. So I do not know how MKZ is going to compete other than discounting car.
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Replying to: savetheland (Dec 01, 2009 7:11 pm)
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Replying to: gregg_vw (Dec 01, 2009 8:39 pm) The new Consumer's Report is out and a group of cars is tested including the 2010 MKZ. I understand that CR is not the end all be all and is just another review source but, it's interesting that CR's biggest problem with the MKZ was the interior. It said that at the price point of the MKZ, the interior should be nicer and that the interior was nothing more than "middling." The price and the interior are also my two big complaints. I don't think Lincoln will ever get back to where it was. Over a decade ago, it lost it's way and Ford doesn't seem to be interested in putting it back on the original intended course. I think it is pretty competitive with Buick but, it is no longer competive with Cadillac and it never was competitive with Lexus.
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Replying to: tiger16 (Dec 02, 2009 4:33 am) Ford hasn't even begun to rebuild Lincoln. The MKZ, MKS and MKX are all lame ducks. Ford put most of it's limited resources to fixing Ford - the core brand. Without a strong Ford there won't be a Lincoln, and Ford had some serious product holes that are now being filled (Fiesta, Euro Focus, Transit Connect, Unibody explorer, new engines, fusion hybrid, etc.). The new Taurus proves that Ford will be taking Lincoln further upmarket and the MKT is first Lincoln product that really had the benefit of that new strategy. And it would cost a lot more money to shut down Mercury than to just ignore it as they're doing now (no new Sable....). Mercury will continue to be on the back burner until they fix Lincoln. It's just not a priority. OTOH it keeps the stand alone Lincoln/Mercury dealers in business with Milans and Mariners. Anybody that understands business decisions can see what's happening with Lincoln. The future will be bright but it will take a few years to get there. Some people are just impatient. |
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