waymondospiff Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 The problem with Lincoln moving to #5 ahead of Infiniti is that Lincoln didn't really overtake Infiniti. Rather, Infiniti undertook Lincoln for the #6 slot. Although really, both slide below BMW, making for spots 6 & 7. And Volvo slides between Lincoln & Infiniti for #7, making Infiniti #8. But I digress. It's hard to say who'll do better. The G-Series has been Infiniti's bright spot, with both the M- & Q-Series struggling in the higher-end classes against Lexus & the Germans. The G is new next year, and that should help move sales higher, but until Infiniti can establish itself as a full-market luxury automaker they'll remain well behind Lexus/BMW/Mercedes. Is there a new FX, Q, and 7-pass midsize crossover on the way? With the GT-R going to Nissan it looks like Infiniti will be without an attention-grabbing flagship. Lincoln? The MKZ & MKX should do well. The Navigator will most likely remain an also-ran behind the Escalade in a shrinking segment. Especially with that hideous nose-job. What Ford does with the larger vehicles will determine the long-term viability of Lincoln. Does the MKS launch as a boring AWD 3.5L with blah styling and no real market impact or does Fields pull out all the stops and make the MKS world class? Does the Town Car, in some incarnation, move to STAP on the Panther chassis? Does an all-new world class RWD flagship launch from Lincoln (Paging C2D, C2D please report for duty.) and make the brand relevant? I wonder: Could tradition-bound American buyers could be convinced a conservative, safety-conscious Swedish car is what they'd rather own? Ford could shutter Mercury & Lincoln that way. Take Volvo to a full-market luxury car maker with larger-than-S80 cars. Hmmm... Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wescoent Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Lincoln hit rock bottom really quick and really hard and must have been the most neglected brand since Mercury. That is changing now, especially in '07. However, depending on what happens with the Town Car (announce something for God sake!), Lincoln may not gain staggering marketshare once it sheads its fleet-dependency. The MKZ and MKX will easily replace and exceed Town Car's and LS marketshare, but expect Navigator to continue to lose ground. Once the MKS comes online in 2 years, Lincoln may start climbing the charts again. Ford's interest in Mercury seems to have dried up after a fairly ambitious produt push, but now we hear them pulling the plug on the Freestyle variant and there are no plans to give Mercury an Edge or Fairlane. Mercury will receive updated versions of the Montego and Mariner. The Milan also seems to be struggling to meet sales expectations, while the Zephyr and Fusion have done extremely well. It's starting to look like the best thing for Lincoln/Mercury is to just move everything over to Lincoln since Ford has moved aggressively to consolidate all products across the North American operation. Selling Lincoln and Mercurys in the showroom today is starting to look like Chrysler and Plymouth dealers back in the 'good old days'. Mercury still has a purpose by bringing in conquest sells and sustaining Lincoln dealerships which need higher sales volumes in order to proliferate in urban markets. But ideally, Lincoln won't need the Mercury crutch should it become more successful in the future. I admit, it is somewhat troubling that Mercury will not be getting a version of the Freestyle or Edge. Crossovers are the hottest segment at the moment, and fit Mercury's image as a sophisticated urban/suburban brand very well. For the moment, we better hope the redesigned Mariner meets expectations. A crossover is a segment the brand is sorely lacking in, as well as a small car. A lot of Mercury's high volume over the years was thanks to the Tracer. Here's where Volvo can step up to the plate. Have Volvo build S40 and C70 clones in their Swedish factory to pick up excess capacity, and sell them as the new Mercury Tracer, competing head to head with the VW Jetta. That should help LM dealers considerably with their volume dropoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I admit, it is somewhat troubling that Mercury will not be getting a version of the Freestyle or Edge. Don't count them out yet. The last spy picture of the '08 Montego had a "Freestyle" parked next to it with Mercury wheels and grille treatment. :bandance: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swenson88 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Don't count them out yet. The last spy picture of the '08 Montego had a "Freestyle" parked next to it with Mercury wheels and grille treatment. :bandance: I say move the Freestyle completely to Mercury, let the upcoming Fairlane and Edge fill Ford's CUV/people mover needs. If the Mountaineer continues to slide just axe it, make the Mariner and Freestyle (both car-based) the only SUV's in the Mercury lineup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I say move the Freestyle completely to Mercury, let the upcoming Fairlane and Edge fill Ford's CUV/people mover needs. If the Mountaineer continues to slide just axe it, make the Mariner and Freestyle (both car-based) the only SUV's in the Mercury lineup. Well, if D3 capacity becomes an issue, I can see axing the Freestyle from the Ford division. If there's still capacity in Chicago to build all the variants, you may as well. Ford division certainly has a broader reach in the market than Mercury. As for the Mountaineer, it's cheap to produce and has actually been rather resilient amidst the downturn in BOF SUV sales as of late. No real reason to axe it at this point I don't think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swenson88 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Well, if D3 capacity becomes an issue, I can see axing the Freestyle from the Ford division. If there's still capacity in Chicago to build all the variants, you may as well. Ford division certainly has a broader reach in the market than Mercury. As for the Mountaineer, it's cheap to produce and has actually been rather resilient amidst the downturn in BOF SUV sales as of late. No real reason to axe it at this point I don't think. Probably not yet, but there is some cost involved in the different front-end treatment, so I wonder how long it will make sense economically to keep it alive. If Mercury sells enough of them to pay for the extra R&D involved in the brand-engineering then it's worth it. If it's a close call, I think the car-based utes fit Mercury's new target demographic much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bri719 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 You'd look good in a used Banglebutt; somebody has to own one and pay for the brake jobs required to slow the whopper, and pay for the gas to move all that avoirdupois around the landscape, and it should be you. May you be on your insurance agent's Xmas card list, you need to own one. Maybe you should own two. avoirdupois! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misteredog Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I say move the Freestyle completely to Mercury, let the upcoming Fairlane and Edge fill Ford's CUV/people mover needs. If the Mountaineer continues to slide just axe it, make the Mariner and Freestyle (both car-based) the only SUV's in the Mercury lineup. I say just rebrand and restyle the Freestyle to reflects its true nature, as the FiveHundred wagon and add a Montego Wagon to the mix. The Explorer Lite look of the current Freestyle is blandly handsome but Ford has enough SUVs and crossovers in the mix, a large wagon would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fllcobra Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 It would be wise for Ford to push Lincoln. I sincerely believe there are a lot of people who want to buy an American luxury car. A lot of people have seen through the hype and want a better value than a BMW 3-Series or Mercedes C230. Killing off Lincoln/Mercury and pushing Jaguar and Volvo simply will not work because they are not American nor do they appeal to younger, professional car buyers. Lincoln has winners soon to be arriving MKX and MKZ. The quality interior materials, roominess and modern/retro styling are really popular with those who have sat in the Zephyr and Navigator. Ford has an opportunity to create a stying niche for itself and I for one, really believe Lincoln has a good formula. I just wish a little of that styling magic would trickle down to Mercury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 Mercury, although not currently setting any sales records, but it is more hip and culturally relevant that it has been in the past 20 years, and more importantly, unlike any time in Mercury history, it has purpose and direction. I completely agree with you on that one, at least for buyers in the coastal city settings. As for lauding Lincoln for jumping over Infiniti, I'd say we need to look at how Nissan went downhill this year and consider that with Infiniti. Infiniti, while having a lower buying age (I believe), just isn't Lexus or Cadillac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waymondospiff Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 Killing off Lincoln/Mercury and pushing Jaguar and Volvo simply will not work because they are not American nor do they appeal to younger, professional car buyers. And Lincoln does? I thought Volvo had a (relatively) young average buyer age. Relatively, because it's no Mitsubishi, it's a luxury brand. Am I wrong in this? Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCK Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 I completely agree with you on that one, at least for buyers in the coastal city settings. As for lauding Lincoln for jumping over Infiniti, I'd say we need to look at how Nissan went downhill this year and consider that with Infiniti. Infiniti, while having a lower buying age (I believe), just isn't Lexus or Cadillac. Infiniti's averages buying age are decades younger than lincolns, Lincolns now is around 65 - 70, which is down right pathetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted August 6, 2006 Share Posted August 6, 2006 Infiniti's averages buying age are decades younger than lincolns, Lincolns now is around 65 - 70, which is down right pathetic. Well... I guess with Lincoln, time will honestly tell whether it can capture younger buyers... 'cause there won't be any older ones. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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