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Here's a review of the Z from Toronto's Globe & Mail. Prices in Canuck dollars. New Lincoln MKZ aims to woo younger drivers PETRINA GENTILE ZUCCO From Thursday's Globe and Mail DEARBORN, MICH. — Say goodbye to the Lincoln Zephyr nameplate, again. For 2007, the car is rebadged as the Lincoln MKZ. Even though it still looks like a Zephyr midsize sedan, it has more power and available all-wheel drive along with its new name. Don't make the mistake of calling it M-K-Z; it's pronounced Mark Z -- Mark after Lincoln's classic luxury coupes of the past and Z for Zephyr. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the name change -- the alphabetical designations get too confusing. Lincoln hopes the MKZ, along with its other 2007 offerings like the MKX crossover and the redesigned Lincoln Navigator, will revitalize the brand. "We were worried about Lincoln brand, I suppose. Then suddenly, the Zephyr. People are celebrating the fact there is something in the Lincoln brand," said Peter Horbury, Ford's executive director of design for the Americas, following a preview of 2007 models in Dearborn, Mich., last week. "We're designing Lincolns for the future, which will be attractive to younger people. . . . The average age is rattling down already with the new Lincolns. And I think we really surprised ourselves just how many young women, for example, are buying the Zephyr. It certainly caught their attention. It was intentional, but it happened quicker than I thought." The Zephyr -- oops, I mean the MKZ -- gets a huge boost in performance. Now it has a 3.5-litre V-6 engine, which delivers 263 horsepower and 249 lb-ft of torque. That's more powerful than the Zephyr's 3.0-litre V-6 with 221 horsepower and 205 lb-ft of torque. The all-aluminum, four-valve engine with intake variable cam timing, is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission; there's no manual transmission offered. Behind the wheel, you'll feel the power -- it's especially noticeable when you're manoeuvring the MKZ along Ford's four-kilometre high-speed track in Dearborn. The track is designed for engineers to test everything from noise vibration and harshness to brakes and steering sensitivity. You can travel up to 193 km/hr on the track normally -- except when it's pouring rain, like the day I was there. At least the rain was a great backdrop for testing the MKZ's all-wheel-drive system. Ford is really pushing the AWD envelope by offering more than 20 vehicles with AWD for 2007. The new intelligent AWD system can split power from front to rear as well as side-to-side. My MKZ tester felt firm, solid and well-balanced, with great traction on the rain-slicked track. Even along the banked curves, where you can really push it and increase speeds, the sedan handled exceptionally well. I managed to lock in a few laps before Ford officials pulled the plug early because of the severe thunderstorms and lightning -- safety comes first on the track and they didn't want any journalists to become "human lightning rods." Off the line, acceleration is quick. The automatic transmission delivers smooth, seamless gear changes. Even high-speed lane changes weren't a problem. The cabin remained whisper-quiet with no wind, road or engine noise. Another plus: The MKZ doesn't require premium fuel, like many other luxury sedans, so your pocketbook will appreciate the savings at the pump. From the exterior, the keen eye will notice subtle changes from the old Zephyr to the new MKZ. The front end is revised with a thin crossbar running through Lincoln's trademark waterfall grille and larger, more-distinct fog lights. Seventeen-inch alloy wheels are available with a machined-aluminum or chromed-aluminum finish. Coupled with the low-profile tires, the MKZ's stance looks muscular and powerful. It still has a high rear deck and twin chrome-tipped tailpipes. But now the MKZ badge is added to the rear. Bolder, more dramatic design cues would have been nice to really make the sedan stand apart from the competition. Inside, however, the MKZ really shines; it's elegant and sophisticated with luxurious features like real wood, rich leather, and satin nickel and chromed trim. Both the driver and front-passenger leather seats are very supportive and include 10-way power adjustments with manual lumbar support, making it simple to find a comfortable position. Although my husky driving partner on the track complained the seats could use more width for wider girths, it was suitable for my frame. In the rear, there's plenty of space -- lots of legroom so you'll be comfortable riding in the back seats. There are also two cup holders in the fold-out rear seat armrest and two cup holders in the centre console, along with two 12-volt power points. The trunk is big with 447 litres of room. But if you need more space, you can flip the 60/40-split rear seats easily with one hand for added cargo-carrying capacity. The dashboard is beautifully laid out -- everything is at your fingertips. White electroluminescent lighting illuminates the round, chrome-ringed gauges, making it easy to read even at night. Dual-zone climate control and optional heated and cooled front seats make the ride extra enjoyable. The real wood trim on the tilt and telescoping steering wheel is elegant. Redundant audio and climate controls on the wheel are handy for the driver. The optional THX II-certified audio system with six-disc CD/MP3 player and 14 speakers, including two subwoofers with 600 watts of power, is sensational. An optional DVD-based navigation system with a 6.5-inch screen includes directions in English, French or Spanish. The screen is easy to read, but it gets filled with fingerprints fast. Ford is offering more standard safety features on its 2007 models than ever before. The MKZ has standard dual-stage front airbags, side-impact airbags for the driver and front passenger, and side-curtain-type airbags for both rows of seats. The sedan is kid-friendly, too, with childproof rear door locks and LATCH anchors for rear outboard seats. Also included are four-wheel disc brakes with a four-sensor, three-channel anti-lock braking system and electronic brake force distribution as well as traction assist. SecuriLock passive anti-theft system, remote keyless entry and door-mounted keyless entry pad are also standard. The 2007 MKZ sedan hits dealers in the fall. Prices aren't available yet, but you'll likely pay more than the 2006 Lincoln Zephyr, which starts at $36,999.

Consider the source. Sound and fury, signifying nothing, bereft of comprehension.

This discussion of management reminds me of medieval discussions about how many angels can dance on a pin. "1. The CUSTOMER defines quality, anything more or anything less is a waste of time and money, seriously, this a VERY large change that few companies understand" Basically, all the customer sees is the product. So, the heart of the matter is the product: what it looks like, how it is designed, how it is built. Those decisions rightly belong at the top. Other levels react to these decisions over time, and we get business process, the day-to-day experience of running the corporation. This reactive structure can be a Harry Bennett fascist corporate structure, or it can be something benevolent. IMHO, the shape of this day-to-day management reflects the attitudes at the top. If the dude at the top is Harry Bennett or Josef Stalin,, the alpha-types in middle-management are similarly ruthless. Sorta like Reinhard Heydrich with an MBA as Zone Manager. Ford's problem was that Jac was focussed on business WANTS, rather than business NEEDS, in contrast to his humbler predecessors that generated the Escort, Tempo, Taurus. As outsiders, we will probably never know the whole inside story of the Jac experience and the re-building. When you consider that Detroit has been regarded as the bastion of the "Not Invented Here" mind-set, the decisions at the top to adopt Mazda/Volvo/Haldex/Z-F technology as the starting-point for the new Ford product are all the more remarkable. IMHO, the next big task for FoMoCo senior management is to work on the customer's dealership experience, now that there's product appearing in the showroom that people will actually want to check out. This means that the grief HAS to be taken out of the warranty process. You WANT to sell more cars. Therefore, you NEED to build what the customer sees as great cars, and you NEED to make the ownership experience as positive as possible. Wants and needs.

In the early 50's Lincolns won their class in the Panamericana, aka the Mexican Road Race. http://www.lincolnpartsinternational.com/rare.htm 1954 Mexican Road Race Lincoln replica. Owner/Creator Roger Clements built this replica patterned after the original car driven by Walt Faulkner and co-pilot Frank Hainley during the early 50's in the Mexican Road Races.

And the Cobalt's exterior is no better. The 4-door model is an awkward looking sled. The 2-dr looks a little better, but there's a serious lack of imagination. As the Asians and Chinese get their act together with styling, the Cobalt is going to be a hard sale, unless they rebate the sumbitch.

Too bad they made only one.

Owning a Mercedes S-class or a BMW 7 series is God's way of telling you you make too much money.

Unfortunately, the 500 has to wait for the re-style.

by Peter M. DeLorenzo "Chrysler's "Smoke and Mirrors" marketing finally catches up to them. Detroit. As predicted here more than seven months ago, Chrysler's festering problems have finally caught up to them. The inventory problem that they've been wrestling with for going on eight months now has turned into a full-blown crisis - after they kept repeatedly insisting that things were under control and that there was only a need for minor "adjustments" before things would be in order. Right. And now, with Chrysler Group sales down 14 percent in May and 3 percent for the year over last year's figures, and with incentive spending at exceedingly high levels, things are starting to get ugly out in Auburn Hills." (the full article is linked below) From http://autoextremist.com/page2.shtml

"the Lexus comes with a considerably superior chasis" Yeah, right. In your dreams, maybe.

I like the first-gen CRV: when thinner driveshafts are used, Honda will be using them.

"The Zephyr is cheaply made for a car in this price-class" Compared to what in this price-class? The design doesn't appear much different from current best-practice. Fit and finish? Materials?

I wonder how this relates to the re-do of the Focus sedan/wagon, which is IIRC, also redone for 2K8.