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The future of Lincoln, Can they Turn it Around?
Ford Motor Co. is expected to announce today that it's revving up its product development efforts with two new vehicles -- the Lincoln MKS flagship sedan and the Ford Shelby GT, a new high-performance Mustang.

Mark Fields, president of Ford's Americas group, will discuss the new models at the Management Briefing Seminars, an annual conference in Traverse City organized by Ann Arbor's Center for Automotive Research.

In addition, Fields will promise that Ford will roll out nine new models in the next six months, most of which have already been announced. Fields is clearly hoping to quiet critics who question whether the company has enough new vehicles in the pipeline. The pledge for nine new vehicles includes the Ford Shelby GT, but not the Lincoln MKS, which won't go on sale until 2008.

"When we talk about acceleration at Ford, that includes more new products, features and technologies throughout our lineup," Fields said in a statement. "We are rebuilding our business for the future with an emphasis on more new products faster."

The MKS will be Lincoln's new full-size flagship sedan. It will be built on the same platform as the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego sedans that are built in Chicago, but it features a sleeker and more powerful design.

"The Lincoln MKS will take Lincoln craftsmanship and comfort beyond anything we've built before," Fields said. "Its design communicates power, motion and speed, and it will be packed with more technology and features than any Lincoln before it."

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The future of Lincoln, Can they Turn it Around?



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LexloverLexlover - 8/9/2006 12:58:49 PM
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Lincoln is sinking they need to drop prices or people will just buy a more stable reliable car

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donmandonman - 8/9/2006 1:39:25 PM
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First of all the real MKS will never look as cool as the artist sketch. Second, Lincoln needs something in your face - a vehicle that symbolizes American Luxury and Power. They should build a competitor to the Chrysler 300 - something slightly retro (and I mean slightly as in not another thunderbird mistake) with bold, masculine style. Then shove a V-10 in as an option in the highest end model.

They need to differentiate themselves - the vehicle above looks like a Lexus GS with out the good fortune of actually being a Lexus.

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mkk21mkk21 - 8/9/2006 1:46:13 PMView My AgentSpace
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I agree, Lincoln needs to differentiate themselves from the Ford brand. All they seem to be doing is taking the exact same design as Ford vehicles with a little tweak here and there and put a new name on it. They can use the same platform but atleast change the design. Why buy a Lincoln when they look exactly like a Ford? Also, I have no idea what purpose Mercury has. They should just get rid of that brand.

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johannasjohannas - 8/9/2006 1:55:50 PM
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I'm fairly certain that Lincoln engines have the hard-earned reputation for being long lasting machines. But you're right, donman. Lincoln needs to come up with a better option for us than the LS and Zephyr have panned out to be. I think they have what it takes to put on a fresh face. They just can't be afraid to scare off the senior crowd to gain a new generation of buyers. Grandpa will still have his Town Car!

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TVT01TVT01 - 8/9/2006 2:34:08 PM
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Well Johannas is correct on this. The problem Lincoln has is that they are afraid to lose the remianing reminants of its exisiting fan base. In other words they do not have the balls to create something truly new and forward thinking because they are concerned that the senior crowd won't like it. THAT is the probelem. Lincoln needs to decide, do you want to be a conservative car company that caters to older folks or do you want to be a forward thinking leader and a true luxury brand... you can't have both, at least not right now.

If they choose to be an old folks home on wheels then fine, keep doing what you are doing. However if you want to be a leader then you need to LEAD. Change your damn designs, be bold and daring, not conservative and afraid. Don't worry about losing the small fan base you have, rather go after the huge mass of people out there curently shopping BMW and the other Euro brands.

All they need to do is make great prodcut and people will come, the LS and the Zepher represent some strange mid ground. They are better than past efforts but still FAR from competative with the best out there. So you sort of lose the old crowd and yet not gain much of the young crowd, a lose lose situation.



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johannasjohannas - 8/9/2006 2:38:13 PM
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I think people want to like the Lincoln brand.

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chewychewy - 8/9/2006 4:34:43 PMView My AgentSpace
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Nice sketch, but even the Ford 500 looked good in one of those. The concept was also very good. The MKS should look pretty good, hopefully.

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Agent63Agent63 - 8/9/2006 6:39:26 PMView My AgentSpace
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The Ford Fusion, Lincoln Zepher, and one of those Mercury's look basically the same. Even if you don't know the brands are owned by Ford you'd be able to tell.

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IS3andMEIS3andME - 8/9/2006 9:00:16 PM
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They need to sort out a new rear suspension that incorporates IRS, take the the current Zeypher (MKZ) and make it rear wheel drive (not likely). What's weird is how boring the the LS was and how great the MKZ looks.

The Lincoln towncar needs to get rid of the Panther chassis that dates back to 1979, and resfresh it, although that is not going to happen until it main supporters die off (the elderly and babyboomers)

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redmarquisredmarquis - 8/10/2006 6:46:28 AM
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Is it too late to revive the 1961-1963 Lincoln Continental's style? They made some pretty nifty concept cars 4 years ago. Why didn't they pursue that in their production cars. The Navicross, reproportioned to look more like a proper full-size sedan would have made for a nice neo-Continental. That really is their Chryco 300, no? The MKS is just a really huge mistake. Even the artist's rendering is boring to death.

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BMW530iBMW530i - 8/10/2006 9:19:44 AM
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Lexlover,

Lincoln is sinking they need to drop prices or people will just buy a more stable reliable car
-------------------------------------------

Lowering prices will make Lincoln a "cheap brand" in the eyes of consumers. That is something you don't want to do. How old are you!?

Lincoln has to start offering appealing cars that are competitive. Right now, their cars are unappealing and get trampled over by the competition. Amazing they've survived for this long.

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mercuryguymercuryguy - 8/11/2006 2:19:20 PM
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Big Mistake. Lincoln should refine the Town Car and offer a Diesel version of the Town Car
Building a Flagship sedan on the Ford 500 Platform is a joke. The Ford 500 is a joke, people don’t like that model because it looks and feels cheap. No one wants a front wheel drive Luxury car. Chrysler is succeeding with the rear drive 300. Sounds like Ford is confused and going with the same old Trial and error approach.

Question, would you pay 50 grand for a car based upon the Ford 500 Platform, I don’t think so. Chrysler did that with the Imperial years ago; they based the Imperial on a stretched version of the Dynasty and added some chrome, not very inspiring. If you buy a nice car, it should turn heads and fell great on the road.

The problem with the current Town car is that it needs more sport appeal, give it a center console and Bucket seats, perhaps a 6 Speed manual German Gearbox as an option. Put some Bright LED tail lamps on the back with strobe amber flashers for the turn signals like BMWs. Put some 20” Rims and Brembo Cross-Drilled Rotors on all 4 corners and some performance tires. That would be the intelligent thing to do. No one wants to buy junk, like the Ford 500.

The Mercury Grand Marquis is a decent car, it just needs to be more refined and the look needs updating, but it is a quality car for the price, this car just isn’t marketed right. No one can argue with the smooth quiet ride and the ample acceleration, far nicer than any econo-box out there. For 18-22 MPG the car has room for 6 and plenty of room for luggage in the trunk.

Look, with many people using their cars for business today, you have to have a car that works when picking colleges up at the airport, people show up today with laptops, projectors, backpacks, you need a place to put all this stuff. For $20K, the Grand Marquis does it all, and it can still tow a 4000 Lb trailer, no front wheel drive car is going to do all that, but people today care more about what’s on the dashboard or if their IPOD will plug-in as opposed to what is really important in a car.

Ford, Give it another shot and Try Again, and don’t go down the dead end, Ford 500 path.


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