mustang84isu

What I don't understand is how Toyota and Honda achieved such huge increases for the month of August, especially compared to previous months. The Civic has been averaging upper 20K sales for much of year, and now suddenly it's jumped to almost 40K? The Camry is usually in the low to mid 30K range, and one month later it jumps to mid 40K? August was a very low fleet sale month for Toyota (2% fleet), so what else is to explain for the huge jump? Generous incentives and low lease rates? I'd be curious to see what the ATP for Ford, Honda, and Toyota was in August.

No complaints there. I kept wanting to call this an MKC(oupe) even though that name is already spoken for. Lincoln's naming strategy is making less sense as time goes on...time to ditch it, IMO.

With the rumors about a Lincoln MKM, I decided to try my hand at a RWD coupe with a family resemblance to the MKC Concept. The front features an evolution of the split wing grille from the flat, flush, and large opening of the current MKZ into something leaner with more depth. I would love to see future Lincolns tone down the grille a lot more.

According to Edmunds sales forecasts, Ford will gain rapidly on the GM this month. 250,007 for GM vs. 243,782 for Ford. Toyota continues to lose market share, and Hyundai/Kia seem to be losing momentum. http://www.edmunds.com/about/press/car-sales-expected-to-get-back-on-track-in-may-says-edmundscom.html

I went by the local Lincoln dealer today (paired with Volvo and Mazda) and it is slim pickings for Lincoln new inventory. There were no '13 MKZs to be found, three MKS's, and two MKTs. I think there might have been one MKX. To make it worse, two of three MKS's were the Ginger Ale color, which looks nothing like the Ginger Ale on Lincoln's website (more of a metallic pea soup, IMO). I'd like to sit in an MKZ since I am also quite tall (6'-4") and am curious how comfortable I would be. I have no problems with legroom or headroom in my LS, but the seats also seem to be much lower. Interestingly, I noticed a couple dozen Chevys from the nearby Chevy dealer parked in the lot behind the Lincoln dealer where new arrivals or trade ins are usually parked, which was odd since the Chevy dealer is about a block down the street and not owned by the same group. After driving there to check it out, I found out why. They are overflowing with inventory. They had the cars packed so tightly on the lot that even my somewhat slim frame was struggling to pass between. It was so tight that it was almost too much of a hassle to maneuver in to check out the window sticker. There were maybe 18 inches between each car, and the place was overflowing with Malibus, Impalas, and Silverados.

Except 50 years from now that Shelby will probably be worth at least 3x its original price.

Every sales month the analyst community questions Ford's ability to deliver. During past sales calls analysts were wringing their hands about slowing Fusion sales from the switch to the 2013 model, and for a few months Ford kept repeating that inventory would be at full capacity by January or February. As we know from last month's sales figures, they were right. Same thing with the MKZ; Ford keeps repeating that dealerships will be fully stocked by April 1st, and it appears that will be the case. From the sound of it, the new models in Europe are doing very well and as soon as capacity constraints are resolved at Genk Ford should be sitting in much better shape. I believe Ford has been saying all along that Q3 should be the start of an uptick in European sales. I wish the analyst community would spend less time heehawing about the decline and more time analyzing the reasons behind the decline. http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/story-217209.html

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a good portion of Ford of Europe's recent sales decline due to limited supply from model changeovers...especially the Mondeo which has been delayed until the middle of this year? I did some investigation a while back and that was my conclusion why Ford's decline has been more rapid than its competitors. New products like the B-Max have been doing very well out of the gate, so I don't think we are hearing the whole story.

After Mulally went through all the trouble of having the Taurus nameplate brought back and all the Ford internal studies about how the Taurus nameplate still resonates with buyers? Last year was the best sales year since heavily fleeted '06 model, and so far the first two months of this year have been very strong. Meh, I'll believe it when I see it.

I was saying it wasn't the MKX because it has so many obvious traits of the MKC concept, and we know the production MKC is to be revealed soon. Also, the scale is a giveaway; visually it appears to be smaller than the MKX in a number of photos, especially in the shot with the PT Cruiser in the background.

I wouldn't read too much into it. They could easily have placed extra padding underneath to disguise the fender; it's done all the time. Look at how there are two arcs side by side, one near where the MKX's crease is located and one lower near the wheel. That seems to imply there is padding underneath and we are not seeing the actual crease in the body panel.

I don't know if I agree. I'm looking at the rear 3/4 profile of the 2013 MKX, the MKC Concept, and this camo vehicle. To me it looks like the slope of the roofline of this camo vehicle matches the MKC much more than the MKX (look at the rear 3/4 view for both). Also, look at where the cutline is located for the rear tailgate on camo vehicle vs. where the cutline is for the tailgate on the MKX--this is obviously the MKC with its clamshell tailgate. The rear seems more sculpted, and the taillight bits we can see also hint at the MKC.

I can see very slight hints of the Furia Concept (the greenhouse and the sharp curve in the rear 3/4 flanks), but otherwise it's dull Camry / Avalon features shrunken to 3/4 scale. Once again a fairly bold Toyota concept gets watered down to oblivion.

In the February sales CC today, Ford has reiterated (like they said last month) that the MKZ will not be fully stocked on dealer lots until early April. I just went to my Lincoln dealership last weekend and they didn't have a single one on the lot. Have patience, chill out, and wait to write the epitaph until they show us what they can do when fully stocked.

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%

It looks like the Fusion and C-Max are having an impact on Toyota's sales. http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/february+2013+sales+chart.download Fusion: 27,875 +28% Camry: 31,270 -9.5% C-Max: 3,183 N/A Prius: 17,812 -13.5%

Edmunds is predicting even more optimstic numbers. They estimate Ford to be up 15% YOY with 206,553 vehicles. On the market share front, they predict Ford to bump up to 17.2%, just 1% shy of GM. Honda and Nissan are expected to lose sales and market share, while Toyota's market share is expected to be flat. http://www.edmunds.com/about/press/despite-rising-gas-prices-february-auto-sales-strong-at-estimated-15-5-million-saar-says-edmundscom.html I can't wait to see how the Fusion and C-Max do vs. Toyota and Honda. I predict we start seeing Camry numbers slip.

Cedar Rapids, the second largest city in Iowa, is looking to move away from the Caprice to either the Ford PI or Dodge Charger after too many complaints from officers about the cramped interior. CRPD had originally stockpiled CVPI's in 2011 before deciding to transition to the Caprice. It looks like that transition was short-lived. http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Cedar-Rapids-Police-Reconsidering-Move-to-Chevy-Patrol-Cars-187930981.html

Can I use Photoshop, Revit, Excel, and Word on an iPad? My laptop battery lasts about 3 hours, so anything that extends that and allows me to use all those programs with a thinner profile that is easier to tote around to meetings is a benefit.

I have an HTC Windows Phone 8X and like it much more than my old Droid. In fact, I like it enough that I'm considering buying a Surface Pro later this year to replace my iPad. The Apple and Android UI's seem dated and fussy by comparison. Kinda the same situation with Lincoln. It may be hard to convince buyers to switch, but those that do will appreciate the attention to detail, the clean lines, and the pushing of the envelope. It takes time and word of mouth to rebuild an image.

Right or wrong, I bought more shares of Ford today. I'm leaning toward earnings being a beat, but even if they don't Ford still has a lot of growth potential in 2013. January is supposed to be the first strong month of '13 Fusion sales, Ford continues to do well in China, and Europe is looking less bleak by the day. We had a bit of a drop last week so I think lowered expectations have already been priced in.

The Lincoln MKS Concept was first shown at the 2006 NAIAS

Anybody know why Escape sales were down? Otherwise, looked like a good month.

I think calling it conservatively handsome is a stretch. Every time I see the '13 MKS, the first thing that comes to my mind is this:

Not only are the lights larger, but the grille slightly larger and the chrome surround is thinner. It looks a lot more refined than the concept.