Iiari

Organizational culture is sooo hard to guess. I'm sure we've all seen people promoted, demoted, etc for the most petty and head scratching of reasons... Talent and reputation only take you so far, and after that there are infinite games to be played. In my experience, the people who reach the tippy top of ladders are either ultimate domineering/bullying personalities who claw their way up or ultimate suckups/yes-men who boot lick their way up. Everyone else (i.e. normal people), especially talented people with their own opinions and ideas, rarely gets very far because they'll eventually trip up on something or someone along the way. They just create too much work for everyone around them and they eventually tick everyone off. So it's impossible for us to really know what happened. A few solid interpretations though from my experience in organizational life: Whatever they say about public press releases and VP levels, silence is ALWAYS bad... If it was a positive group hug experience, we'd know about it. Bad blood, a bad episode, misgivings, whatever... It's never good... That he's still there means nothing... Just could be finishing up the MKS, and then he moves on to "spend more time with his family"... Who knows... Given the microscope Lincoln is under in the press right now, this really has to have been a disaster. Not good to be changing, you know, only your DESIGN DIRECTOR just at the start of a brand reboot and before the first model to hit the road from that director has seen its first dealership. I know nothing about his replacement, but it sounds like that person is more Ford corporate vet than design superstar, which is never good in my mind... Given that this actually happened in Dec '13 and he was brought on in '10, things really must have been bad all along, as such moves aren't made overnight. This may explain the hesitance, the lack of a take no prisoners attitude, the one foot on the gas and other foot on the brake feeling that we've all sensed in this process. We've never gotten the "All for one! One for all! Lincoln's gonna crack heads and take names! Take no prisoners! Arrrggh!!" attitude from Ford regarding Lincoln the way you would hope and heard from other companies charging back with brand reboots. Maybe deep doubts and issues regarding Wolff and crew were what we were sensing... Let's all now watch that new Lincoln design center they promoted so heavily about a year or two ago and see how long that item on the corporate balance sheet lasts... Should be interesting. The media has been roasting Lincoln and this is going to just turn up the flames...

Pretty much. In my 3 months with the car so far, I've been very impressed. Driven in cold New England with presumptively winter blend so far, my 55 minute each way commute mixed with 40 min of highway (at 5 mph over the speed limit) and 15 minutes of back road yields me (driving the car like a hybrid) about 43 MPG. And it does matter how the car is driven. If you totally ignore the hybrid gauges and just floor it all the time, driving it "like a real car" (as some put it) I would say I average about 35-37 MPG on the same commute as above (still pretty amazing given my Saab got me 17 MPG on the same commute with premium only gas). Driven with attention to maximizing launches, brake coaching, and keeping the best blend of driving in EV mode I get that 43 MPG. Just puttering around town doing errands (especially if no one is behind me) I've hit 67 MPG. It's just an amazing car thus far. Certainly not perfect, and the driving dynamics are certainly far from fun (I have my Saab for that), but playing with "Engage" mode trying to maximize your MPG almost is like a challenging computer game. Quite enjoyable!

I remember years ago reading that this would be the era when we'd see the end of leather surfaces (and other traditional materials). The reasoning was that synthetics were soon going to look better, feel better, be softer, more durable, and even smell better and have better temperature control. Not to mention also being cheaper. I guess we aren't quite there yet. If Lincoln (or any maker) were the achieve the above, I'd be very happy to trade it for the "real"stuff myself...

The C - Max has had a lot of bad press recently, given the reliability reports and gas mileage adjustments. As for the Cruze vs Focus, while I would rather have the latter, I do think the Focus looks more "economy car" in its proportions and style while the Cruze looks more midsize, more traditionally substantial. Just a guess...

So, my MKZ now has a date to leave the factory of Dec 28th. Now, I will have to take time off in advance to go pick up the car. Being VERY conservative here, what does everyone recommend I estimate for time of delivery to a northeast dealership? Thanks!

So, my MKZ now has a date to leave the factory of Dec 28th. Now, I will have to take time off in advance to go pick up the car. Being VERY conservative here, what does everyone recommend I estimate for factory delivery to a Northeaa

Repeat error

Out of curiosity, do any sources rank the worst resale values? There are many great vehicles that for a variety of reasons don't hold their value well and can be bargains used....

Sunset would probably have been my second choice. There was a sunset MKZ sitting next to the dark side MKS and is a great, vibrant color. I really do like the look of dark side, but think Lincoln should change the appearance on the website, which makes it look more like what other makers have called midnight blue (which I love).

Well, I now have a VIN and have been informed that my car will be done at the factory around the New Year. If you recall, I ordered "Dark Side" as my exterior color sight unseen, as I wasn't impressed by any of the other colors and save for black I prefer to order my cars in actual colors rather than shades of white or grey or silver. Well, today I got to see "Dark Side" for the first time on an MKS at a local dealer. It's an interesting color, not at all what I expected, and not really at all what it looks like on the website configurator. In direct sunlight, it's actually a very dark green, but unambiguously green. Really, and not at all what I expected. Now, interestingly, in non-direct light, it starts to look dark blue-green, while in shade or lower light it looks dark blue, and in the darker light it looks black. Amazingly, as on the car I was looking at, which had parts of the car that were in direct light and had parts of the car in the shade of an object, you could see all of these manifestations of the color at the same time. Pretty intense. None of these, though, look like the deep, dark blue of the website configurator. They should color it in that dark blue-green to be more accurate. I'm sure I'll still enjoy it, because if nothing else it's fascinating to see its various manifestations in different light, I Iike dark colors overall, and I wasn't in love with any other hue. But if you're very particular about your colors, I'd advise you to see it before you order as the configurator doesn't really give you a good idea and it doesn't really photograph accurately as well... PS: If you google online, there are some posters on some Ford boards I've now seen today who get some accurate photos of the color swatches from display boards.

Actually, now, BMW does have a lesser brand, MINI, and they actually do a lot of platform and parts sharing. Listen, does the average public care about RWD, or details of stability systems, or who parts are shared with? Of course not. Put consumers DO care about "image," and for better or worse, there are "imaging makers" and shapers out there, and for better or worse the enthusiast press is a big component of that. And the enthusiast press is going to keep pummeling Lincoln until they do an exclusive model, RWD or not. If I'm Ford, I frankly would spend the money to do a 4 door coupe based on the Mustang platform just to shut up the "image makers." Even it it loses money, they could write it off as a Lincoln marketing expense, possibly the best marketing of all. Look at Lexus, for example. Their big money makers are the ES and RX, which are "gussied up" Toyotas. BMW's big sellers share platforms and parts with MINI. Audi/VW share all over the place. Why do they get passes on this? Because all those brands do bespoke models with bespoke platforms that elevate their place in the brand pecking order in the opinion of the "image makers." I personally have zero problem that my upcoming MKZ shares a lot with the Fusion. I don't want the Fusion, I want the MKZ. And obviously (witness the new MKC) LIncoln gets they need to more and better differentiation. I agree. But I also think long term, just to shut up the press, they need to do a flagship four door Mustang.

I was wondering the same thing. It looks very, very similar, but looking back to back with MKZ photos, I'm guessing it's smaller diameter and has a thicker rim, as is current fashion generally. I'm somewhat disappointed they still went with the generic Ford turn/wiper stalks you'll find on a Fiesta or Focus (especially considering the concept had slick bespoke pieces), and still haven't changed the MLT graphics from the Ford counterpart. That said, I'm super impressed by everything else. I think it was the NY Times article on it that said that the MKC actually makes the MKZ "look better" since it contextualizes and reinforces the Lincoln design language, and I agree. I'm doing a 2 year lease on my MKZ Hybrid order that should be done in a few weeks, so by the time I'm ready to turn that in around late '15, I'll potentially look to move to what will be a year 2 production of the MKC (maybe hybrid by then?). Niiice.... Wolff's excellent detail work with this model and the Lincoln design themes makes me excited to eventually see an MKS concept...

Well, the XTS was something of a stopgap until the true flagship (not the super-expensive one they stopped development on) appears in a few years. It'll probably go away then. I agree Caddy needs a hybrid somewhere pretty soon. Overall, given their strategy to play in the BMW/MB/Audi sphere, I actually think Caddy is doing a good job...

I think that would be a great idea, especially with Infiniti throwing down the gauntlet with the Q50 hybrid which has a lot of power and pretty decent (but not MKZ Hybrid) MPG.

I've posted elsewhere here about MKZ reviews, and how they are an automotive Rorschach test of the reviewer. I'm in my 30's age-wise and just placed an order on an MKZ, and absolutely feel that it's worth the premium over the Fusion and that reviewers are just in an echo chamber of reviewer conventional wisdom. And that's after also test driving an ATS, CTS-V, ES, and Verano Turbo. Why is it worth the premium? Very simply, here's why: If you love the look of the MKZ in and out and think it's one of the most unique looking vehicles on the road (as I do) , and you think the Fusion is just nice and OK (as I do), it's absolutely worth the money right there. End of review... If you aren't impressed by the look in and out, and find the Fusion's styling preferable (as it is very different), then you probably don't think it's worth the premium. End of review... As an example, I think the Toyota Avalon is much better looking in and out than the ES and if I wanted one of those, I'd probably go Avalon... Reviewers seem to be ignoring all the unique elements, like the V6, adjustable suspension, panoramic roof, etc or don't think they are worth anything... I think reviewers are comparing it against the wrong vehicles. It's not a sports sedan, and sports sedan buyers probably shouldn't look at it at all. Thus, the IS, ATS, 3-series comments are really off the mark. It's like comparing it to the Suburban because they're the same price, apples and oranges... Regarding the Regal, I don't feel it's a convincing near lux model. I looked at it and it feels about 15 years behind the MKZ in styling inside and out. I didn't drive it, but I can believe it might be a better driver, considering the Verano Turbo was actually quite impressive overall. That said, I still think Ford should do the following relatively quick fixes for the MKZ: Banish the Ford control stalks for the wiper/turn signals and door switches. Similarly, different graphics and more options for the MFT/MLT and hybrid instrument screens... More "sense of occasion" with the push button transmission Change the material flanking the central console from that hard grey plastic which does honestly take the dash feel down a grade... I'm all for relaxed luxury as a goal, but the Verano is just as super quiet and smooth (maybe a tad more so) but feels far more dialed in and communicative as a driver. That's actually the car I think they should target for ride/handling mix... That platform absolutely has the capacity to feel better than it does in current tuning... Similarly, across the range, 0-60 needs to be competitive. Again, it's not a sports sedan, but you've got to be market competitive there or reviews will destroy you... I still think the entire range is overpriced by about $1500 to $2000... I wanted to go American, and did, but I also thought about the Q50 hybrid as well. Seeing some new ones on the road, though, I frankly don't think that looks like a $50+K car and not nearly as special looking as the MKZ.