akirby

The EPA does all of their testing on the dyno. They actually capture the exhaust and measure the weight of the output to calculate how much fuel was consumed. They also added more tests a few years ago that include a highway sprint up to 80 and use of A/C. This resulted in lower EPA ratings which were closer to what consumers were actually experiencing.

Well you got that part right. Look - nobody here is saying that what Lincoln is doing will be successful. But if you don't see what's different and how it *could* be successful then you simply don't want to see it. When Fordbuyer is the only one agreeing with you - you should be very worried.

It was Ford's decision to hire Bsquare so ultimately it's Ford's responsibility when one of their vendors doesn't perform as expected. The point is - once that happened Ford has been trying to fix the problem. They even brought in Microsoft to help but that still wasn't enough apparently - which shows you how bad the initial product was to begin with. I also think there were contractual terms with Bsquare that made it difficult for Ford to dump them. All that is on Ford. Ford's other fault was not having a backup plan when the initial release was so terrible. Hopefully this was a learning experience and they won't repeat it.

Are you sure it was the same tire compound?

Because having Mercury takes resources away from Lincoln. Any vehicle that would be good as a Mercury would be just as good as a Lincoln without the extra overhead.

It came out in October 2010 for the 2011 Edge. That's 2 years not 3 or 4. I'm the moderator on the Edge forum and believe me we had lots of discussions the last 2 years about it. Ford outsourced the development to Bsquare - a company started by former Microsoft employees. The code they delivered was so bad at one time they had 1500 known bugs. Ford brought in Microsoft shortly thereafter to fix it and get it stabilized but as you can see it's still not right. That tells me the code was so bad that when they try to fix one thing they cause 2 new bugs. It's Ford's responsibility ultimately but apparently even microsoft couldn't fix it 100%. What I see is Ford doing everything it possibly could to fix it but still failing. It sucks but it's not lack of effort or lack of quality control - just terrible software that even Microsoft couldn't fix.

You of all people should recognize the difference with Lincoln. They KILLED MERCURY just to focus on Lincoln. How does that "resemble the past"? Ford is doing everything different this time around except building bespoke Lincoln platforms. You don't become profitable building one hit vehicle with super performance. Lincoln needs to walk before it can run. The MKZ is just the first few steps of a toddler. Why does it seem that the negatards ignore everything that Lincoln is doing differently this time around? I've pointed these out before - killed Mercury, unique sheetmetal, interiors and Lincoln only features, upgraded dealers with concierge like service. If you think you need a BMW Killer to be successful as a luxury marque you're sadly mistaken and to condemn Lincoln because they're not doing that is myopic. Once they're established and profitable - then they can go after some niche vehicles. Right now they need volume and profits and that comes from crossovers, SUVs and midsized sedans, not BMW killers.

There was a lot of confusion on these with the 2012 Focus. It was never clear which models had them or didn't have them.

Did he also offer to change the blinker fluid? Don't ever fall for that trick. You can change it yourself.

The point was Porsche didn't become iconic overnight - it took decades. Same for BMW. We're sorry if that doesn't fit into your timeframe. As for the MKS and MKT - those were refreshes on old platforms. Why would lincoln spend any money doing a significant redesign on a lame duck platform? That would be stupid at this point, especially since the end result would be compromised by the current design and platform. Better to spend the money on the new stuff and make it spectacular.

Yes - and they got caught. The penalties - both financial and from a pr standpoint - are too significant for mainstream manufacturers to risk it. We've also heard from employees how serious Ford takes this internally. And they don't just trust the mfrs - they actually audit a sample of vehicles every year and they audit the mfrs testing procedure. It's not easy to cheat and not get caught. There is no way Ford would do this intentionally and virtually no chance of a mistake. Ford understands the EPA tests better than the EPA.

Ford has never charged a premium for paint colors other than tri-colors or other paints that require extra steps or where the paint itself is super expensive. Paintscratch.com shows Ruby Red as a tri-coat paint.

Lincoln is choosing to build the brand slowly, starting with the foundation (Dealer experience, dedicated design team) rather than throwing billions at a couple of flagship vehicles. Lincoln could improve sales a lot by throwing more cash on the hoods but they don't need to do that right now and if they did it would cheapen the brand even more and make it harder when the new vehicles get here. Even the MKZ is a stop gap, albeit a good one. I know you can't understand anything other than sales volume but at this point it's simply not relevant.

Totally not necessary. Just say no.

Looks like a Titanium hybrid labeled as a SE. And yes - it was a pre-production model for the auto show.

My wife went from 2 explorers, an aviator and an expedition with the separate window to an Edge with the power liftgate. Don't miss the window at all. Just hit the button and open the hatch.

It's not obvious to the average consumer. They think the Volt's drivetrain is something out of the next century that's never been seen before. They also think that there are no emissions whatsoever for an electric car.

I would keep the Buick cars and ditch the Malibu and Impala. I thought Oldsmobile had the best GM sedans right before they killed it too.

I didn't mean literally but they share the same platform and I assume are close to the same size and both are hatchbacks. C-max is just taller while Focus is better looking. It wouldn't make much sense to invest in a Focus hybrid when they already have the C-Max right now.

Then it's not a problem, is it?

And just as accurate.

So don't buy it then. Nobody's holding a gun to your head.

Good point. I guess I have a hard time when people know there is a hurricane coming and they refuse to get out of harm's way forcing other people to risk their lives to come to their rescue. Hurricanes are not tornados or earthquakes. You have days if not weeks advance notice. Just get the hell out until it passes.

So it was ok to do it to Bush including blaming him for Katrina but it's not ok when it's Obama? Mmm-kay.

The Chevy dealers around here are not advertising any Volt leases and neither is the Chevy website. Gee - I wonder why? I know the $199 dealers aren't available but Chevy is still subsidizing the leases. I'll ask my neighbor next time I see him.