Another Houston Lincoln dealership gone

[roush235]

While we are discussing Lincoln topics:

 

An article in today's Houston Chronicle notes that Group 1 Automotive is moving their southwest Houston Lexus dealership across the freeway into their recently purchased, larger Southwest Lincoln facility. Group 1's nearby Buick/GMC/Cadillac dealership is moving to the Lexus facility. There is no mention of the Lincoln dealership moving to the Buick (or any other) facility. In fact the article mentions that the Lincoln store employees have been offered jobs in other Group 1 stores.

 

As someone rooting for Lincoln's revival, this is somewhat disconcerting news. I considered the Southwest Lincoln dealership to be a 'flagship' (at least facility-wise) with respect to Lincoln's new, tougher standards. The facility is very, very nice. Apparently Group 1 agreed. And it wasn't as if the location was demographically challenged; the facility is in an affluent, growing part of town.

 

By my count, that means the number of Houston metro Lincoln stores is down from seven to four. Unfortunately two of the three which have closed are the two closest to me.

 

http://www.chron.com/business/article/Southwest-Lincoln-to-close-and-become-Sterling-3802377.php

 

PS I just checked Southwest's online inventory. They are down to just a handful of cars.

[2005Explorer]

Well considering that their Lexus and combined Buick/GMC/Cadillac dealerships are probably much more profitable then a stand alone Lincoln store is at the present time I can't see how someone could blame them. This isn't bad news though because I believe Ford is still in the process of cutting Lincoln dealers so if one goes away without any action from Ford that just makes things easier.

[aneekr]

I remember passing by that dealership every morning for two weeks when I had an assignment in the Houston area back in 2008 (stayed in Fort Bend Co., work facility was in Houston's Westpark section). It was quite an extravagant a facility indeed - too expansive and flamboyant for a Lincoln/Mercury dealership and something not sustainable, I thought. I eventually dismissed it as just another example of "everything is bigger in Texas."

 

Well, I guess my initial impression played out after all four years later...

 

(The dealership is located on the right in this picture of Southwest Freeway frontage road heading NE, south of Bissonnet and north of Sam Houston Tollway. Not only was the main dealership building sited on an impressively large site, it also boasted a separate, dedicated lot for used cars).

 

Edited August 22, 2012 by aneekr

[BORG]

Most Lincoln dealerships are closing due to natural causes, or merging and being sold out to other nearby Lincoln dealerships. And Lincoln is one of the few brands today with shrinking sales and market share. It makes sense for most Lincoln dealers to find a way to greener pastures so they will take opportunities as they arise, others will stick it out or just close it if they can't meet Lincoln's demands. Investing with Lincoln is very risky right now. In the end, you have to crack a few eggs to make an omlet so hopefully this improves the network over time and allows for re-expansion should Lincoln survive.

Edited August 22, 2012 by BORG

[PREMiERdrum]

 

As someone rooting for Lincoln's revival, this is somewhat disconcerting news. I considered the Southwest Lincoln dealership to be a 'flagship' (at least facility-wise) with respect to Lincoln's new, tougher standards. The facility is very, very nice. Apparently Group 1 agreed. And it wasn't as if the location was demographically challenged; the facility is in an affluent, growing part of town.

 

 

Had the facility been renovated in the last year? The only online images I can find show a very beautiful building done in the "Gallery" image of Lincoln-Mercury designs, the last official image before the current look was developed last year.

 

For what it's worth, I actually prefer the exterior of "Gallery" to the new look (it's much warmer, and more opulent), but Lincoln needed a facilities image change to mark a visual "rebirth", hence the black / silver / glass look they're moving towards now.

[FordBuyer]

Most Lincoln dealerships are closing due to natural causes, or merging and being sold out to other nearby Lincoln dealerships. And Lincoln is one of the few brands today with shrinking sales and market share. It makes sense for most Lincoln dealers to find a way to greener pastures so they will take opportunities as they arise, others will stick it out or just close it if they can't meet Lincoln's demands. Investing with Lincoln is very risky right now. In the end, you have to crack a few eggs to make an omlet so hopefully this improves the network over time and allows for re-expansion should Lincoln survive.

 

As we discussed before, Ford really has to watch dealership geographic coverage as it closes down Lincoln dealers. I don't think many will travel 40 miles one way to get their Lincoln serviced. Lincoln just doesn't have that kind of desirability factor. Located correctly for maximum coverage, I believe Metro Detroit only needs about 6 Lincoln dealers as long as no one has to travel more than 10 miles or so one way. Most big cities in America would not need more than 4 Lincoln dealers as long as they are strategically placed. BMW sells over 200,000 vehicles/year with this approach.

[BORG]

As we discussed before, Ford really has to watch dealership geographic coverage as it closes down Lincoln dealers. I don't think many will travel 40 miles one way to get their Lincoln serviced. Lincoln just doesn't have that kind of desirability factor. Located correctly for maximum coverage, I believe Metro Detroit only needs about 6 Lincoln dealers as long as no one has to travel more than 10 miles or so one way. Most big cities in America would not need more than 4 Lincoln dealers as long as they are strategically placed. BMW sells over 200,000 vehicles/year with this approach.

 

I have to wonder how many sales Lincoln will loose with the closing of dealerships. I know it has effected sales in my family, my Aunt & Uncle are on there 3rd and last MKX because Crissman closed. I haven't decided if I'm returning to Lincoln, we'll see when the time comes. If the new MKX or MKEscape was debuting within the next 6 months, I would be locked in...but for now I'm ready to try an Audi for the next 2-3 years while Lincoln works it out.

Edited August 22, 2012 by BORG

[akirby]

As we discussed before, Ford really has to watch dealership geographic coverage as it closes down Lincoln dealers. I don't think many will travel 40 miles one way to get their Lincoln serviced. Lincoln just doesn't have that kind of desirability factor. Located correctly for maximum coverage, I believe Metro Detroit only needs about 6 Lincoln dealers as long as no one has to travel more than 10 miles or so one way. Most big cities in America would not need more than 4 Lincoln dealers as long as they are strategically placed. BMW sells over 200,000 vehicles/year with this approach.

 

First of all - Ford doesn't "close down" Lincoln dealers unless they want to be closed down.

 

Second - I believe that Lincoln would prefer to have 1 or 2 really nice dealerships in a city rather than 5 or 6 mediocre ones.

[FordBuyer]

I have to wonder how many sales Lincoln will loose with the closing of dealerships. I know it has effected sales in my family, my Aunt & Uncle are on there 3rd and last MKX because Crissman closed. I haven't decided if I'm returning to Lincoln, we'll see when the time comes but I'm really interested in switching over to Audi until a new MKX debuts.

 

Yes, that's because you said you now have to travel over 20 miles one way to get the vehicle dealer serviced for recalls and the like. Ease of service is certainly very important factor in buying. Number one for me. There is a Ford dealer located less than mile from me, and a Chevy dealer, and both would be number one on my radar screen because they are so close. For that matter, there is a Porsche dealer less than 7 miles from me. Life is too short to spend days and much logistics to get your vehicle taken care of.

[FordBuyer]

First of all - Ford doesn't "close down" Lincoln dealers unless they want to be closed down.

 

Second - I believe that Lincoln would prefer to have 1 or 2 really nice dealerships in a city rather than 5 or 6 mediocre ones.

 

Huh? Metro Detroit is like 60 miles across. How do you adequately cover an area that big with two dealership? At rush hour, it woul probably take me 90 minutes to go from far west side to far east side, and that is on limited access freeway all the way with no intersections. If Ford would do that, they might as well close down the brand for good. Meanwhile, Ford has 31 dealers in Metro Detroit and I doubt if hardly any are in progress of closing. So buy Ford and have Ford dealer close by or buy Lincoln and have nightmare trying to get it serviced by dealer 35 miles away. No way that would work. Lincoln is just not that desirable, and no plans presented so far change that perception.

[CKNSLS]

First of all - Ford doesn't "close down" Lincoln dealers unless they want to be closed down.

 

Second - I believe that Lincoln would prefer to have 1 or 2 really nice dealerships in a city rather than 5 or 6 mediocre ones.

 

I see where your coming from but as another poster has mentioned, people will not be incovenienced to buy/service a car unless it's an automobile people really want to drive. Unfortuntely, Lincoln is not. 1 0r 2 dealerships in large cities isn't going to cut it.

[akirby]

Huh? Metro Detroit is like 60 miles across. How do you adequately cover an area that big with two dealership?

 

How does Lexus do it with only 3? 5 in the entire state of Michigan. And they have way more volume than Lincoln.

 

Who knows the right number. My point was it won't do any good to have lots of Lincoln dealers if they don't all provide a stellar customer experience. It would be better to have 2 stellar dealers than 5 mediocre ones.

[97 F350]

Huh.

 

I had just come here today to ask if anybody knew what was happening to Southwest Lincoln. I pass by it everyday and have watched the inventory dwindle for the last couple of months. This explains it all.

 

Shame. This store used to be closer in town on the same freeway. Had a big old store built in the 70's with a really neat exterior covered in round river-rock. Very Southwestern style. And world's coolest neon sign - it was a huge longhorn skull that really lit up the night. Right across the freeway is an *ahem* gentleman's club that put up their own enourmous neon sign. Between the two of them - it looked like a little Vegas on the Southwest Freeway. Alas, about 10 years ago, Southwest LM moved out to their present location and built their really nice, classy showroom in the middle of auto row. But they held on to their old property as it remained their body shop. The neon sign was badly damaged in a hurricane a few years back and finally taken down.

 

I thought they would be one of the Lincoln dealers to survive. They always seemed strong - even after Mercury closed. From what I gather, they had a strong following among the Lincoln loyalists in the Houston area. And now there is a huge gap in coverage in the Houston area. The only competitor within probably 20 miles - Legacy Ford/Lincoln/Mercury in Rosenberg dropped L/M a couple years back - they weren't much of a competitor anyway. I think the next closest dealer would be near Katy on 1-10.

[97 F350]

How does Lexus do it with only 3? 5 in the entire state of Michigan. And they have way more volume than Lincoln.

 

Who knows the right number. My point was it won't do any good to have lots of Lincoln dealers if they don't all provide a stellar customer experience. It would be better to have 2 stellar dealers than 5 mediocre ones.

 

 

Unfortunately, this was one of the stellar ones in the Houston area (from what I heard).

 

This was all about a land deal since it was bought by Group 1 which owns about 1/2 of the dealerships right there in the auto row on the SW freeway. They are just shuffling the bigger ones around to better locations. Sounds like Lincoln lost the game of musical chairs.

[FordBuyer]

How does Lexus do it with only 3? 5 in the entire state of Michigan. And they have way more volume than Lincoln.

 

Who knows the right number. My point was it won't do any good to have lots of Lincoln dealers if they don't all provide a stellar customer experience. It would be better to have 2 stellar dealers than 5 mediocre ones.

 

Hmmm...I find that number hard to believe. I will have to look that up since I live in MI. Anyway, Porsche has FOUR dealers in Metro Detroit and only sells about 24,000 vehicles in all of America/year. Porsche also has dealer in Grand Rapids and I would assume a few other places in MI. So Lincoln having only two in Metro Detroit is beyond ridiculous. In fact, the nearest Lincoln dealer is about ONE mile from me and will be full Lincoln spec store this fall. And Varsity Lincoln is about 7 miles from me. They are not going anywhere. No shortage of Lincoln, Cadillac, BMW, MB, Audi, and Porsche dealers around me in Western Wayne County and edge of Oakland County.

[timf]

Lexus has dealerships in Utica, Southfield, and Ann Arbor, which covers the Metro Detroit area pretty well. It looks like there are also dealerships in Lansing and Grand Rapids, but nothing farther north which is a little surprising. I'd think there would at least be one for the Flint/Saginaw market and one for Traverse City/Northern Michigan.

 

I can't see Ford ever cutting back the number of Lincoln dealerships in the area by this much because of their corporate presence and increased demand from people eligible for A/X/Z plan pricing. Elsewhere in the country though, it seems it would be more feasible and prudent. The only challenge is balancing the demand for product with the distance people are willing to drive to purchase the product and have it serviced. As Lincoln quality increases, I think they will find it easier to do more with less.

[akirby]

Please explain how Ford "cuts back on Lincoln dealerships".

[FordBuyer]

Lexus has dealerships in Utica, Southfield, and Ann Arbor, which covers the Metro Detroit area pretty well. It looks like there are also dealerships in Lansing and Grand Rapids, but nothing farther north which is a little surprising. I'd think there would at least be one for the Flint/Saginaw market and one for Traverse City/Northern Michigan.

 

I can't see Ford ever cutting back the number of Lincoln dealerships in the area by this much because of their corporate presence and increased demand from people eligible for A/X/Z plan pricing. Elsewhere in the country though, it seems it would be more feasible and prudent. The only challenge is balancing the demand for product with the distance people are willing to drive to purchase the product and have it serviced. As Lincoln quality increases, I think they will find it easier to do more with less.

 

Lexus needs another dealership on the far east side of Metro Detroit. Utica is more north then east not being that far from I-75. I also believe that there is a Lexus dealership in Midland, MI or one of its suburbs. So that makes at least 6 in state of MI. Yes, hard to believe that there are not llots of luxury dealerships of all kinds in Traverse City-Petoskey-Harbor Srpings area where there is lots of money. In fact, the 2013 Porsche Parade will be in Traverse City.

[dante hicks]

How does Lexus do it with only 3? 5 in the entire state of Michigan. And they have way more volume than Lincoln.

 

Who knows the right number. My point was it won't do any good to have lots of Lincoln dealers if they don't all provide a stellar customer experience. It would be better to have 2 stellar dealers than 5 mediocre ones.

 

If SE Michigan wasn't the capital of the domestic auto industry, Lexus would need more dealerships.

[dante hicks]

Lexus needs another dealership on the far east side of Metro Detroit. Utica is more north then east not being that far from I-75. I also believe that there is a Lexus dealership in Midland, MI or one of its suburbs. So that makes at least 6 in state of MI. Yes, hard to believe that there are not llots of luxury dealerships of all kinds in Traverse City-Petoskey-Harbor Srpings area where there is lots of money. In fact, the 2013 Porsche Parade will be in Traverse City.

Traverse City - Petosky - Harbor Springs are all vacation/resort areas. The dealerships would have to close in the winter.

[akirby]

I'm sure Detroit could USE more than a couple of Lincoln dealerships. My point was that it is better to have 2 stellar dealerships that provide the new level of service that Lincoln demands than to have 5 mediocre dealerships that don't provide any of those luxury amenities and premium buying experience. Mediocre dealerships do not help Lincoln reinvent itself as a desirable luxury brand - it perpetuates the old image.

[FordBuyer]

Traverse City - Petosky - Harbor Springs are all vacation/resort areas. The dealerships would have to close in the winter.

 

While it is true that the population swells up during the tourist season, and strong in winter also with ski resorts, well groomed cross country trails, and on and on, over the years many have moved up there to live year around or at least be snow birds. And many of them are young yuppies with a slew of kids. The luxury boat industry is also very strong up there and in all the resort towns up and down the Lake Michigan shoreline. Traverse City in particular has really turned into a year around place to live with horrendous traffic problems during tourist season and winter weekends.

[BORG]

I'm sure Detroit could USE more than a couple of Lincoln dealerships. My point was that it is better to have 2 stellar dealerships that provide the new level of service that Lincoln demands than to have 5 mediocre dealerships that don't provide any of those luxury amenities and premium buying experience. Mediocre dealerships do not help Lincoln reinvent itself as a desirable luxury brand - it perpetuates the old image.

 

The conundrum arises when you do not have a prestigious brand (with no real aspiration to do so), you don't want to make it impossible to buy an service the car when your competition is everywhere. Lincoln actually has an advantage with their existing instal base and you probably don't want to loose too much of it.

[RichardJensen]

Lincoln actually has an advantage with their existing instal base

Really? And how was this 'advantage' working out for them? Two or three Lincolns sitting in the corner of a Ford showroom that was redecorated twenty years ago, maybe?

[BORG]

Really? And how was this 'advantage' working out for them? Two or three Lincolns sitting in the corner of a Ford showroom that was redecorated twenty years ago, maybe?

 

No, I agree. But even the revamped dealers are folding. I have mixed feelings about it largely because the craptastic dealer nearby closed, so now I have to decide if I want to stay with Lincoln because of it. Its just a practical issue that I didnt expect would be the nail in the coffin for me and others. I want to buy another Lincoln, but I have to be pretty determined to deal with the commutes, especially if quality problems crop up with that new MKZ.

Edited August 23, 2012 by BORG