V8-X

OUCH! I try to defend the EB on these other sites, even if I may not here. But this is always a bad sign when owners report such news. But sound the alarm, the EB fanboys will be over quick to state you are the anomaly, and its your driving not the vehicle that is the problem.

What are Audi's sales figures, whether you count US or global. I would have to say they have been around the block enough and enough product volume to survive these issues. This is much different that Lincoln, which is attempting to rebuild its products and reputation in a sense. So if Lincoln can start selling at the Audi levels, with reliability issues, more power to them. Just wouldn't hold my breath, that they would be nearly as successful as Audi with said issues. People look at Audi and assume German, good car and dismiss the flaws. Lincoln can't do that as people have a much different opinion and view of American vehicles.

Interesting, since I have made no mention in regards to the MKZ review completed by MT. So how exactly did I agree with the MT review of the MKZ if I never commented on it? As to the handling aspect, I've seen on other reviews there is a lot of body roll. As for acceleration, did MT review the 3.7L or the 2.0L that Jalopnik did? Jalopnik stated the brakes did stop good, but they were very touchy. How exactly is that bad? If I have commented on the MT MKZ review, I'd love to see it (please provide post) and would concede, but for the life of me can not say I have ever commented on an MT review of the MKZ

Wow, how fast are these people driving through parking lots or looking for a parking spot? If you miss one because of this reason, I'd have to say the person wasn't paying attention or simply going to quick to realize they just past an open spot. Sure I could see the elderly, pregnant and disability reasons, but typically many of those do qualify for a handicap placard anyways. If they do have one of those ailments though, they will inevitably look for a spot close to the front anyways. So exactly how is this going to benefit them? And I have very little doubt it will be the crowd who do not fall into the above categories using this feature to their benefit to get the closest spot to the Krispy Kreme much more. Nice idea, way to increase the price of a car and potential selling point. But personally I find it as just another item to increase our societies laziness.

Truthfully, Audi's are beautiful products, but personally would never own one because of their extensive history of reliability issues. That I can agree with.

Sure they are getting to the door, all fine and dandy. Any new flashy product can. The MKZ to me is a beautiful design and believe that is what attracts the buyers. And as you stated, Lincolns products of recent haven't had much of any style to attract those buyers. But as with other vehicles, if all the vehicle has is style, problems and no substance, then owners won't be back for another. So again, I'm rooting for the MKZ, just a shady outlook as of now IMO. My big question too!

Thoughts, hmmm. Not the best write-up in the world and dislike some of the idiotic and repetitive comments. But... Bad journalism or not I felt overall the grades and statements regarding the the vehicle were fairly spot on.

Yesterday's issues? So someone hasn't come to this forum and reported an issue in the last week or month. Excellent, hope that trend continues. But that does not mean owners are not having continued quality issues. I want to agree with you and Nick, as I really like the MKZ. But based off the many recent vehicle launches and the initial quality issues these vehicles have had and the time it's take to resolve (if resolved), I am skeptical.

Maybe they have I can't say. Hopefully they've resolved the fit/finish issues. Each model and manufacturer takes different time frames and approaches. Maybe Ford felt it more important to resolve these problems quicker than some of the problems with other vehicles. Great, so there is growth in those markets NOW. My point is not about sales today. My point is about future sales. If you are attracting Lexus and Acura buyers now because of your hot new product, that's good and I applaud Ford for that. But if these owners start experiencing the many fit/finish issues that have been reported, which they didn't experience with their former brands, what is the likelihood that they will opt for a Lincoln next time around? That is my main concern, not the current sales because the MKZ is the hot new gotta have it vehicle. It's about the conquest owners experience with the vehicle and how that impression impacts their future purchases.

Have the same here, multiple satellite lots on campus, which if you arrive after 8am all lots except the furthest out on campus has spots available. I understand the convenience aspect of the feature. Most days I drive an old '86 Pulsar as my DD, which is even harder to spot open spots than my F150 in and around the lot. Personally, I'll almost always settle for the 1st spot I find, as like you, I don't find the need to waste fuel driving up/down the aisles. Personally, and this is just my opinion, what is the use of maybe finding a spot 100yds closer? I look at society today as it is, and we're already too lazy. Which has breed those type of drivers who circle the lot 5-6-7 times or what not, burning fuel continuing to look for the closest spot or waiting for someone to leave. Nothing against you, but to me this feature is for the lazy folks who refuse to simply find a spot and park, just as much as the park assist is for those people who simply do not know how to park a vehicle (like the video posted above by mettech).

And I agree, the problems I've seen are more fit/finish/quality related than anything else. Well, I personally think the car is attractive, much more so than its sibling the Fusion. But would never consider buying a 1st/2nd model year (of any vehicle), simply due to the growing pains that new models typically experience, which the MKZ is showing to have. Where did I say there was a safety issue? I would assume the majority of owners of any vehicle never experience problems with safety related equipment, as most aren't in an accident or situation where the safety features are required. Now keep in mind we are talking about the entry luxury market here, which is a finicky group of buyers who aren't really brand loyal like say a Ford or Chevy buyer. If you are trying to attract Lexus type owners, you have to have a nearly flawless vehicle. Too many fit/finish/quality issues and owners will look at Lincoln as simply another upgraded Ford product. Too many mechanical/safety related issues and that will simply taint their view of Lincoln that much more. Owners who are putting down their hard earned cash are surely welcome to bitch and moan about a vehicle all they like, IMO. We can all love the vehicle, but if owners are having issues, they have justification as to why they are upset. I have no doubt Ford/Lincoln will get these issues under control within a year or two, but for those people who switched over from another brand in the 1st model year and experience a lot of these issues, how many will actually return to a Lincoln dealer for their next ride? It shouldn't be only about selling the person one Lincoln, it should be about selling them multiple Lincolns or making them a Lincoln owner for life.

We've been round and round with this discussion (maybe not you personally). You can't decipher how many nor how few issues are out there based on forum posts. Just because there are a lot of complaints on forums doesn't mean the problem is wide spread. Just because there are few complaints on forums doesn't mean the issue is small. Not everyone with a problematic vehicle posts on a forum and plenty of people visit forums to brag about their ride. So the 5.4L issues, both seizing into the heads (3V) and being shot of the head (2V) are small issue because people posted their issues on forums. Because certain people and Toyota models experienced SUA and posted it on forums for years until anything was done about is, was a small problem. Just like there are bound to be many many perfectly fine vehicles that don't have issues, there are many many vehicles out there experiencing the issue. So in my opinion, you simply shouldn't discredit the problems as easily as you'd like to.

But lets hope they stick around. Too many MKZ's I see reported on this and other sites with issue. Very poor quality launch which may turn away repeat owners.

Not sure why the comment Nick. To me, it's fairly obvious. If you can't find a parking spot, nor be able to park your car in said spot, you should not be behind the wheel plain and simple. Just wait, when those systems get old and start failing. People will begin lawsuits against Ford and other manufacturers cause their car hit another because they never learned how to park a vehicle since the car always did it for them.

I agree, I hate the fact of vehicles driving themselves, since I do enjoy driving. But have you seen the people on the road these days? We need some type of intervention, as it seems 50% of the driving population do not know the basics.

That there is the problem.

As they should be.

From the sounds of it, that's going to be a lame commercial.

Interesting that Tundra fanboy's believe the EB will fail and is the most likely vehicle gaming the system because of these items. Personally, I find no correlation with the F150 EB failing due to the C-Max statement nor the lawsuit. What do either have to do with the F150 EB EPA rating? And don't think the EPA is going to test an F150 that is experiencing the intercooler issues, which Ford has issued a TSB for. EB intercooler issue: http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/blog/ford-ecoboost-lawsuit-defects-flaws-assembly-problems/ Fuel Injection lawsuit: http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/blog/ford-sued-ecoboost-fuel-injection-system/ Revised C-Max mpg figures" http://green.autoblog.com/2013/05/17/ford-hit-with-another-mpg-lawsuit-claim/

Interesting. I almost always surpass the EPA figures for my F150, even when running E85. fueleconomy.gov lists my truck at 12/16/14 (city/hwy/mix) on regular gasoline, but I typically average 14-15 city and 18-19 highway. On E85 it's listed at 9/12/10 but average 12 city and 15-16 highway. Either their figures are way off or I'm not your typical driver.

Grouch? Was your original post meant to be sarcastic? If so, that flew right over my head and apologize. His comparison of the 1.6 was directly related to the 2.0, not compared to other vehicles. I'm sure he'd consider the wife's new Rogue a slug compared to the 2.0 if he drove it, as the 2.0 puts down some good power for the vehicle and motor size. So while you are correct that you would be hard pressed to find a vehicle of this size 10-15yrs ago with the power they have now, his 1.6 statement was purely in comparison to the 2.0, no other vehicle was mentioned.

Well, he'd love another Taurus, but IR is going away from the mid/full-size car aspect and moving practically everyone in his unit to Escapes. And being IR and Ford have a good long relationship, I'm not sure they'd move to another manufacturer simply cause of him. Heck, they've already ordered a 2014 Escape for him, which both he and I hope are better than what he's experienced with this 2013. Now he's only had two problems, one being a CEL that was resolved with a dealer trip for a TSB/recall and the other is the unexpectedly low mpgs. Otherwise it's mostly gripes about the vehicle itself, like it not being comfortable and some fit/finish issues. Is that 23mpg city, highway or a mix? He is bringing home on average 15mpgs in mixed driving her in the Denver Metro, otherwise he has only exceeded 20 mpgs once and that was the posted 23mpgs during his all highway travels to WY two weeks ago. Now I will agree with you and anyone, as I'm sure he would too, that the human element plays a huge factor. Could surely see a couple mpg loss due to driving style. But 15mpg mixed driving (EPA is 25) and at best 23mpg highway (EPA is 30), that's basically a loss of 7-10 miles per gallon across the board drop. It's not like he's hot rodding it around, which could account for such a drastic decrease. Heck, I've driven my F150 hard and even then never saw a 7mpgs decrease in mpgs. Only time that has occurred is during towing situations.

And exactly how is that? Because I said he only likes the available power from the 2.0L? Or that the 1.6L is a slug compared to the 2.0L? He likes the power of the 2.0L, but states it feels no quicker than the 3.5L in the Taurus. He knew he could drive the Taurus in any fashion he wanted and it'd still bring home 19+ city and high 20's highway. As stated in a previous post within this thread, he has adjusted his driving style in the Escape, as even being light on the skinny pedal he can't get close to the mpgs he got in the Taurus regardless of driving style. The last couple times we've been together in his Escape (most recent this weekend) he has adjusted his habits considerably and the average mpg rating was poor. Even his girlfriend has told me, he drives like a grandpa now compared to when she met him about 2yrs ago. So while I admit and all of us do this, he may get on the go pedal from time to time, I don't believe it's as frequent as it may have been in the past. He's aware of how much the boost is impacting the mpgs and is consciously adjusting his driving style to improve this aspect. Problem is these driving style changes aren't making an improved impact on his fuel mileage.

So what's the consensus on how Ford, or those Ford models reviewed will fair? Funny since the Tundra owners seem to already believe the EB will be a disaster. Heck, they even used the EB logo to influence their traffic/posters. I think those Tundra owners are just afraid that the EB actually gets the mpg quoted and puts down more power than their 5.7L. http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/blog/epa-reveal-mpg-tests/#comment-94015

Good point, didn't think of that. I'm not fond of most Caddy designs these days, and this one doesn't do much for me either. But is more attractive in my eyes than it's siblings. That could be very true. This is boxy with hard edges/creases all around, where as the Chevy/GMC appear to have tried to put some softer lines to the design, which make for a mix of styles that don't mesh well.