akirby

If these are regional and restricted to New York and Washington then isn't it possible that these are funded by the local dealer associations and not Ford corporate? Or did Ford actually admit later it was theirs? Either way I don't think it matters one bit - it's just another incentive program.

What's so difficult? Find another dealer or take it somewhere else for normal service. Anybody can change the oil and filter - doesn't have to even be a dealership and that's the only real service you'll need for the most part until 100K miles outside of a transmission fluid change (if you want to do it early) and maybe a coolant change.

It's not that - It's the difference between plastic vs. metal and the fact that the bumpers are usually painted in a different factory.

Yes but it's much worse on the 1.6L and 2.0L EBs. The cooling changes on the 1.5L will help with that when it gets implemented on the 2.0L.

I think the problem is they haven't figured out the tuning on these small EB engines yet. I know that cooling was a problem on the first gen and that required running rich which is why my tailpipes are sooty. I predict the next generation will provide better real world fuel economy under less than perfect driving conditions as they dial them in. They are particularly sensitive to throttle input - you really have to get your foot completely off the pedal and coast a lot.

Still sounds like a flat-out denial and if it's not then it's deceptive.

I think anything above the current Ford Titaniums would be better served as a Lincoln with the new concierge services and upgraded dealership experience - even on the lower end of the scale. It's easier to justify the higher cost.

Not this bullshit again. The 2010-2012 hybrid can only go around 45 mph in electric mode - the 2013 can go 62 before the software update. That alone is a huge change. We have folks here who are getting more than 47 mpg with a hybrid (because they know how to drive a hybrid, it's summertime and the engine is fully broken in) and that anecdotal evidence is just as strong as your anecdotal evidence to the contrary. And you wonder why you get labeled a negatard......

Last I checked there was only $750 on the MKZ. But why would Ford do this, then flat out deny it when asked directly on the conference call? Is it possible these incentives are coming from the local dealer associations and not from Lincoln?

This might also explain why they might sacrifice a little on quality in order to achieve huge cost savings (moving Focus, Fusion and Escape to global platforms quickly) which generate bigger profits and therefore bigger bonuses. Just follow the money.

Ford has already said the EPA should change the testing methods for newer hybrids for that very reason. And the EPA seems to agree. But you do realize that driving style and other factors such as trip length, temperature, etc. can have a huge difference in actual fuel economy, and there is no way a single figure on a window sticker can account for that. The best you could do is show a range that says if you're the worst driver in the worst conditions this is the mpg to expect vs. a hypermiler. The problem with that is you'd end up with a range like 30 mpg - 54 mpg which might help manage customer expectations but it's absolutely worthless for any kind of comparisons. If buyers were more educated as to what the window sticker mpg actually means (or doesn't mean) that would help a lot, but most consumers would just ignore it anyway and still complain.

Especially to buyers with low credit scores.

I thought the Mondeo was getting MKZ grade materials and features?

If sales position and market share have more weight than profitability in the bonus structure then that is a recipe for disaster. Profitability should be more important. Profitability and increase in market share together would be the highest achievement.

They still report sales just not production.

That's why Lincoln isn't done improving the MKZ. A more striking design, more powertrain choices and black/green/red label along with an improved dealership experience is what MKZ needs to compete better with the ES. But the ES proves you can get good luxury sales with the MKZ formula - they just need to ramp it up more.

Huh? I think we all confirmed that the Tsunami was responsible for the drop in Japanese sales (to some degree) although there is no way that Ford or any other single brand picked up those sales. Most just waited until the vehicle they wanted was available or they went to another brand (not just Ford). So while it was true to say the Tsunami lowered Japanese sales and may have raised Ford sales slightly you can't say all of the Ford sales gains were due to that. In this case it's a simple fact that the MKZ was production constrained the first 3 months. So you simply need to look at monthly sales since April for a true picture of MKZ sales. Nothing more, nothing less.

They were production constrained the first 2-3 months of the year.

Based on what I see on view new posts - there isn't much going on in the employee forum since langdad....I mean Langston Hughes and FiredMotorCompany moved over to the OT section. Nick pretty much lets them have their way over there. Why I don't know because they haven't made any automotive related contribution to this site in the last 3 years at least. All they do is argue with each other. They even took over another innocent OT thread about diecast cars with their political discourse. It's impossible to have a normal non-political OT thread over there.

If that were the standard Langston Hughes and FiredMotorCompany would have been gone years ago.

I thought that was the only color.......

A car without A/C in South Florida is a deathtrap!

Lincoln MKZ August sales - 3652 (shared platform) $750 cash incentives, $44K net MSRP $566/month 39 months lease including down payment (amortized over 39 months) Caddy ATS August sales - 3380 (bespoke platform) $3K cash incentives $46K net MSRP $591/month 39 month lease including down payment (amortized over 39 months) So the MKZ has $2250 more profit based on lower incentives with higher sales volume and a huge platform cost advantage. Remind me again why the ATS is so much better?

Yes but he said Reserve trim which bumps up the price of both the hybrid and NA version.

There is always a 10% reserve when it shows Empty with a DTE of 0. For a 16.5 gallon tank that's about 1.5 gallons.