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Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ

3018 messages,  Last post on Feb 22, 2013 at 11:54 AM

You are in the Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ Forum.

What is this discussion about? Lincoln Zephyr, Lincoln MKZ, Sedan

Messages Page 285 of 302

#2838 of 3018 Re: MKZ over 535xi [akirby] by tiger16

Aug 25, 2009 (5:13 am)

Replying to: akirby (Aug 24, 2009 10:14 am)
"Any extra plant capacity not used by the MKZ can be filled with Fusions and Milans which are selling quite well."
 
I have a great idea. Let's stop making the MKZ altogether. That way ALL capacity can be devoted to the Fusion and Milan. You seem to be fixated on the idea that Ford isn't interested in selling any MKZs. Perhaps you are correct but, I think Ford better be interested in selling MKZs because I think that is the most important vehicle in the Lincoln lineup. They will never sell a lot of MKSs. It's a nice car but, the price point will make it a hard sell. It may be overpriced (I'm not real familiar with that market segment) but, I think the problem is that when people think of spending upwards of $50K for a car, they think "foreign." The Town Car is going away and I don't think SUVs or Crossovers represent the core segment for a luxury brand. They help but, I think the work horse for any luxury brand is still the "intro" vehicle - the ES, the CTS, the 325i, the G37, etc. This is why the MKZ is so important.
 
IMO, Ford needs to sell more MKZs. There need to be more on the road. Lincoln needs to be more visible. The buying public needs to know Lincoln is still around and "desirable." No one advocates giving the MKZ away but, it has to be priced appropiately at this point in time. Again, IMO, the 2010 is significantly overpriced and is not going to sell in numbers the Lincoln brand desperately needs. I get the concept that Fusion is very important to Ford, but the MKZ is also very important to Lincoln.
 
And in a long winded way this gets me to the heart of my post. I think "Kirby" and "brucelink" are missing the point of my rebate comments. Ideally, the 2010 MKZ would have been priced at $2500 or so less right out of the gate. This would have gotten more people into the showroom. No company likes to lower the price of a product midstream. It just doesn't look good. However, companies get around inappropriate (for whatever reason) pricing by the use of rebates. It's been done in the auto industry now for almost two decades, the public completely buys into the concept and the company still turns a profit. Companies that follow a policy of selling one item for $1000 profit rather than selling 10 items for $500 profit each, usually aren't in business very long. It's not about "putting cash on the hood." It's about adjusting the price to a point where the public will buy your product and you still make money. If Lexus can offer rebates surely Lincoln can. The idea is to get more MKZs on the road and viable. Once it has been accepted as a "Lexus alternative" you can raise the price gradually.
 
Can anyone give a link or website so we can actually see how ALL car sales are progressing? I would be interested in knowing how the 2010 MKZ and its competitors are doing.

#2839 of 3018 Re: MKZ over 535xi [tiger16] by akirby

Aug 25, 2009 (6:14 am)

Replying to: tiger16 (Aug 25, 2009 5:13 am)
For once I'm going to agree with Gregg - you can't get cachet out of a MKZ right now no matter what you do to it and where you price it. It shares too much with the Fusion. And lowering the price certainly won't help that image right now.
 
Lincoln does not need "numbers" or "market presence" right now - they need profits - pure and simple.
 
You want Lincoln to go after market share by pricing a competitive vehicle way below the competition. If Ford was not struggling to make a profit AND the MKZ was where Lincoln wanted it (100% unique sheetmetal, new powertrains, new Lincoln styling) AND they weren't constrained by plant capacity - then it might make sense.
 
All I'm saying is they can't do it NOW - it doesn't make business sense in the current environment.

#2840 of 3018 Premium Stores Needed for Premium Vehicles by carjim

Aug 27, 2009 (1:21 pm)

My wife and I have visited two LM dealerships in Tarrant County (Fort Worth area) and both of them looked like the typical volume stores with no luxury appointments.
How will customers who come from Lexus, Acura , etc., ever accept the downgrade in amenities? These two Lincoln stores had none of the following, but the BMW, Audi, Infiniti in the area do: snack bar, free water bottles and soft drinks, muffins (a.m.) baked on the premises, hook-up ports for computers, large comfortable chairs, Starbucks coffee machine, wide-screen monitors, etc.
 
You get the idea. I imagine that both LM stores are just hanging on. There is no money to put into facilities that customers from other brands are used to. My point is that, we can talk about increasing Lincoln's cache, the value and such, but the surroundings these cars are in send a negative message. The message to first-time Lincoln shoppers is this: "Lincoln, you don't show a commitment to playing on a level I am used to."

#2841 of 3018 Re: Premium Stores Needed for Premium Vehicles [carjim] by bigt

Aug 27, 2009 (1:48 pm)

Replying to: carjim (Aug 27, 2009 1:21 pm)
At this point in the economy and auto sales I doubt there is any money for amenities. I guess LM could up their price by another 4-6k that you pay for BMW, Audi, Infiniti to have a nice place to sit. I would rather have a nice reliable car than some free water!

#2842 of 3018 Re: Premium Stores Needed for Premium Vehicles [bigt] by akirby

Aug 27, 2009 (1:56 pm)

Replying to: bigt (Aug 27, 2009 1:48 pm)
I never see the dealership other than to take delivery and for warranty work so it doesn't matter to me. Unfortunately, since Ford doesn't own or have any influence over the dealerships there isn't a lot they could do about it any way except offer financial assistance - and they won't be able to do that for awhile.

#2843 of 3018 Re: Premium Stores Needed for Premium Vehicles [akirby] by savetheland

Aug 27, 2009 (5:54 pm)

Replying to: akirby (Aug 27, 2009 1:56 pm)
How then Volvo and Jaguar have nice dealerships. AFAIK Ford owned both and both did not bring money to Ford. So does it mean Ford actually set standards and spend money on foreign luxury brands but refuses to do the same for homegrown luxury brand? Imagine Toyota to ignore Lexus and spend all money on some aquired brand or Honda. Can you? I cannot because Toyota and Honda take pride in what they manufacture and in their brands and American companies try to outsource everything to somewhere else, preferably outside of country and interested purely in making money not product itself. Now dirty secret is that it never worked. As an example, Boeing outsources most of work on 787 and now has serious problems with quality and integration.

#2844 of 3018 Re: Premium Stores Needed for Premium Vehicles [savetheland] by akirby

Aug 27, 2009 (8:04 pm)

Replying to: savetheland (Aug 27, 2009 5:54 pm)
What the heck are you talking about? Ford never gave any money to Jaguar or Land Rover or Aston Martin or Volvo dealers. Those dealers are independent businesses - they fund their own showrooms.
 
What you also fail to realize is most of the Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealers (and Chrysler and GM dealers also) have franchises that go back 30, 40, 50 years or longer. Most of the imports do not have that baggage to contend with. Their dealers are much newer and in some cases better backed financially. And they may have more favorable franchise agreements that give the manufacturer more control, whereas Ford is stuck with franchise agreements written in the 50s or 60s.
 
It's just another part of the old legacy environment that Ford must deal with.

#2846 of 3018 They are seen by bigt

Sep 12, 2009 (4:46 am)

I am seeing lots of MKZ's in the DC area these days. Not the 2010 but the prior years. I even saw a newly sold 2006 Zephr in Black and it really looked sharp.

#2847 of 3018 Re: They are seen [bigt] by gregg_vw

Sep 12, 2009 (1:54 pm)

Replying to: bigt (Sep 12, 2009 4:46 am)
If you take the time to notice them. If you don't know what one is, and have no particular interest in Lincolns, it really blends in with the crowd. From a distance, it looks like a Fusion with a funny grill.

Messages Page 285 of 302

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