BORG Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 (edited) Lincoln was heavily incentivizing the MKX until the MKZ showed up in February. Many Fords and Lincolns had at least $2K on the hood, such as the Escape and Fusion. I'm surprised Lincoln moved less than 1K MKZs in the month, they started showing up in truckloads at all dealerships within the 1st week, they must have slowed down sharply after the initial deliveries. Sadly, all that expensive and premature advertising is drawing more attention to the troubled MKZ launch. Maybe next month we'll FINALLY get good news out of Lincoln. The Flex probably can't justify further investments in a next-generation model at those volumes, it's not a luxury car. Edited March 2, 2013 by BORG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 (edited) The Flex probably can't justify further investments in a next-generation model at those volumes, it's not a luxury car. Neither is the MKT, Ford has tried pushing it as a Town Car replacement to liveries but they just don't want a bar of it. Had Ford bothered to refresh Navigator a couple of years ago with Ecoboost V6 and 5.0, it might have seen more sales. Edited March 2, 2013 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 they started showing up in truckloads at all dealerships within the 1st week, Right. Because what you saw in your neighborhood is indicative of inventory levels everywhere in the 4th largest country on the planet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Last week of final critical inspection finished this coming week, I'd expect that the low defect detection rate is cause for celebration and rapid ramp up of direct deliveries to dealerships during the coming weeks, April will be uninterrupted month of deliveries but March should be a fair litmus test too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
probowler Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 WOW, I can't beleive with these gas prices almost 50,000+ people bought brand new trucks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Czubay today said, "The number one priority for us is that the MKZs will be premium luxury quality." He added that Ford has begun delivering "approximately 100 MKZs per day."- See more at: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130301/RETAIL01/130309988/1448#sthash.BvBuRj0Q.dpuf Delivery of MKZ is now at 100/day that means around 2500 at dealerships this month, that will step up to a lot more in April........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Delivery of MKZ is now at 100/day that means around 2500 at dealerships this month, that will step up to a lot more in April........ Well, Hines Park Lincoln must be special since they have over 50 already in stock. Varsity Lincoln not far away must have more. And I've been seeing special lease deals of $349/month already for last couple weeks on new MKZ's and $379/month on MKX for as little at about $900 down. So great selection from what I see around here and great lease deals. I've seen exactly one new MKZ on road so far. Hopefully MKZ can get back up to 3000+/month soon as Lincon to get back to relevancy needs those kind of sales from MKZ and for MKX to somehow hang in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyd Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 The Fusion just barely missed being the second best selling car this month. Camry: 31,270 -9.5% Accord: 27,999 +35% Fusion: 27,875 +28% Altima: 27,725 -15.9% A thought on these close sales. The Honda, Toyota and Nissan sales results came out after Ford announced their totals. Is it possible that Honda "tweeked" their numbers to stay ahead of Fusion? Possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mettech Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 WOW, I can't beleive with these gas prices almost 50,000+ people bought brand new trucks! Even if fuel hit $10/gal... I still want and sometimes need a truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyd Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 If they are selling 16,000+ Explorers a month what is the point of 1,600+ Flexes? My guess is most of those 1,600 would just buy an Explorer anyhow. I can't see the Flex living past it's current cycle. I always thought if Ford would have improved that silly grill on the Flex, maybe similar to Land Rover's grill, they might sell more. The price is way too much compared to the competition. Its a nice vehicle and actually more second row room than most mini vans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 No, the point of the Flex is that (many) of those 1,600 buyers would NOT have bought another Ford product. They are conquest buyers bringing new customers to Ford. That said, my guess is the Flex will die within a couple years. It's not like they could start pumping Explorers out of OAC without significant investment. The Flex costs are already sunk. A sale is a sale, and I agree without the Flex not every buyer would be a Ford buyer. We love our Flex. Sadly, when it comes time to replace it, if the Flex is gone, it's replacement will probably not be a Ford. The Explorer would have to change substantially by that point for us to consider it. There's a chance we may replace the Flex early (We usually hang on to our cars until they're close to death) with a new Flex when it is clear there will be no more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Well, Hines Park Lincoln must be special Yeah, why on earth would a city with tens of thousands of Ford employees have lots of Lincoln products at its dealers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fgts Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 I see Fusion/Focus everywhere here in importville, thats a good thing. Lincoln, Lincoln imo the only new Linc to look foward to is the Navigator (unless Lincoln have a hidden rwd car under dovelopment) . I said it before Ford had no real reason to off Mercury for not only sales but to keep Lincoln showroom traffic flowing. Cadillac kicked butt with the ATS/XTS and this is before the new CTS, ELR and Escalade hits the lots in less then a year. Yes im sure Lincoln had high ATP on each car sold but what if your chief rival (Caddy) have roughly the same ATP and new/more products, nevermind the imports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Sadly, when it comes time to replace it, if the Flex is gone, it's replacement will probably not be a Ford. The Explorer would have to change substantially by that point for us to consider it. There's a chance we may replace the Flex early (We usually hang on to our cars until they're close to death) with a new Flex when it is clear there will be no more. Your comments get to my earlier point - what if Ford introduced a superior product in the space occupied by the Flex? I'm not certain exactly what traits the product would have, other than it would probably, of necessity, hew closer to the established market blueprint for a 7 seat CUV in order to generate a higher level of sales. It just doesn't make sense for Ford to have such a low selling vehicle in this segment, and I can only guess that as they review their product line for weaknesses, this has to be seen as a glaring weakness that can be turned into an opportunity. In the same way that the new Explorer recaptured its place in its segment, why couldn't the replacement for the Flex do likewise in its segment? And why couldn't that product also fulfill your needs for a Flex replacement? Acoomplishing both tasks should not be mutually exclusive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 (edited) I see Fusion/Focus everywhere here in importville, thats a good thing. Lincoln, Lincoln imo the only new Linc to look foward to is the Navigator (unless Lincoln have a hidden rwd car under dovelopment) . I said it before Ford had no real reason to off Mercury for not only sales but to keep Lincoln showroom traffic flowing. Cadillac kicked butt with the ATS/XTS and this is before the new CTS, ELR and Escalade hits the lots in less then a year. Yes im sure Lincoln had high ATP on each car sold but what if your chief rival (Caddy) have roughly the same ATP and new/more products, nevermind the imports. A lot of the frustration also comes with the slow pace of change, if Lincoln had MKC, MKX, new Aviator and new Navigator in play, then I'm pretty sure we would all appreciate how superb Lincoln's Utilities really are and be less focused on Lincoln's car side.... It's purely a perception thing, once Lincoln starts delivering on promised new products, then most critics will be silenced. Edited March 2, 2013 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Your comments get to my earlier point - what if Ford introduced a superior product in the space occupied by the Flex? I'm not certain exactly what traits the product would have, other than it would probably, of necessity, hew closer to the established market blueprint for a 7 seat CUV in order to generate a higher level of sales. It just doesn't make sense for Ford to have such a low selling vehicle in this segment, and I can only guess that as they review their product line for weaknesses, this has to be seen as a glaring weakness that can be turned into an opportunity. In the same way that the new Explorer recaptured its place in its segment, why couldn't the replacement for the Flex do likewise in its segment? And why couldn't that product also fulfill your needs for a Flex replacement? Acoomplishing both tasks should not be mutually exclusive. A modified version of the Euro EUCD Galaxy? The hip and shoulder room already exceeds Flex but the wheelbase is too short, perhaps CD4.3 changes for Taurus development will help set that right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 A thought on these close sales. The Honda, Toyota and Nissan sales results came out after Ford announced their totals. Is it possible that Honda "tweeked" their numbers to stay ahead of Fusion? Possible? I can't imagine there would be any benefit to doing so - it's not like they would advertise "#2 selling midsized sedan". On the contrary if they were doing that and got caught, the ridicule would be endless. The Tonight Show would have "top 10 other things Honda fudged", etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrewfanGRB Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Detroit is a long way from Hermosillo, so if we have tons of them sitting on lots here, Southwest areas should have even more. Uhhh. Nah, you know what? Forget it. You're old, grumpy and beyond learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrewfanGRB Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Right. Because what you saw in your neighborhood is indicative of inventory levels everywhere in the 4th largest country on the planet. Well, duh, of course it is. He does live in the Detroit metro area. And we all know what that means: We're all idiots and not do only Borg and FordBuyer's impressions matter, they clearly are representative of the country because Detroit is the greatest auto market in certainly the solar system, probably the galaxy and possibly, the universe. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrewfanGRB Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Well, Hines Park Lincoln must be special since they have over 50 already in stock. Varsity Lincoln not far away must have more. And I've been seeing special lease deals of $349/month already for last couple weeks on new MKZ's and $379/month on MKX for as little at about $900 down. So great selection from what I see around here and great lease deals. I've seen exactly one new MKZ on road so far. Hopefully MKZ can get back up to 3000+/month soon as Lincon to get back to relevancy needs those kind of sales from MKZ and for MKX to somehow hang in there. Woah, woah, woah. Have you re-evaluated your standards? The rule is now 3000 per month, not 2000? Did you inform us of this? How can we be expected to keep up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Well, duh, of course it is. He does live in the Detroit metro area. And we all know what that means: We're all idiots and not do only Borg and FordBuyer's impressions matter I can't be the only one who laughed at this post: I can only speak for MI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanner83 Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I can't be the only one who laughed at this post: My favorite is now the Lincoln Dealerships in Detriot are starting their predatory pricing. Go check out Bob Maxey Lincoln on prices for their MKZ's and then look up the Window Stickers on Research Maniac's. What a joke, 3K plus mark up. Glad I don't live there!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Glad I don't live there!! There's always Windsor. You may have to cross a border, but you won't have to wear a Kevlar flak jacket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stentgraft95 Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 My favorite is now the Lincoln Dealerships in Detriot are starting their predatory pricing. Go check out Bob Maxey Lincoln on prices for their MKZ's and then look up the Window Stickers on Research Maniac's. What a joke, 3K plus mark up. Glad I don't live there!! Since they'll be eating some MKZ's soon I recommend thinly slicing and dipping in a Southwestern Ranch sauce. Mine is on order and I have no issue with being patient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanner83 Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 LOL, nice... Stent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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