akirby

How does Lexus do it with only 3? 5 in the entire state of Michigan. And they have way more volume than Lincoln. Who knows the right number. My point was it won't do any good to have lots of Lincoln dealers if they don't all provide a stellar customer experience. It would be better to have 2 stellar dealers than 5 mediocre ones.

It's not hard to do both if you're starting with a clean sheet like the original 500. Taurus did not have time to make any significant platform changes (24 months from inception to job 1 IIRC) so they had to make tradeoffs.

Correct 1998 - TC, Navi, Mark VIII, Conti 2000 - TC, Navi, LS, Conti

Ford did the only thing they could afford to do at the time. Where were they supposed to get a new platform back then? That's also why I don't see D3 being viable for sedans going forward.

First of all - Ford doesn't "close down" Lincoln dealers unless they want to be closed down. Second - I believe that Lincoln would prefer to have 1 or 2 really nice dealerships in a city rather than 5 or 6 mediocre ones.

The first MKT reviews said it was better than the Audi Q7 both in terms of performance and interior quality/design/comfort. It was a good first step as long as you only have to see it from the inside.

What I meant was look at the 2013 MKZ compared to the other 2013 luxury competition - it's very competitive. If you look back at the 2002 LS or Town Car - the interiors were inferior and they did not have all of the same features as the other 2002 luxury vehicles. Comparatively speaking the 2013 is way more competitive than any Lincoln vehicle has ever been.

Oops. Good catch. I really don't understand the negativity towards Lincoln. Right now they have as many or more vehicles for sale than they've had at any point in the last 25 years. The MKZ is BY FAR the best luxury vehicle Lincoln has ever produced. From a feature standpoint it compares very favorably with luxury cars costing way more. Compared to the 2002 Navigator, LS or Town Car it's not even close. And it will only get better with even more vehicles the next few years.

Don't forget push button transmission, Lincoln Drive Control (electronic suspension) and THX audio.

I think it's just that only one name and address are allowed per household and they take the first one on the title. In this case the same name is first on both titles. You'd think Ford could override that and use the second name for one vehicle.

I don't think that's true. I know a lot of Jetta buyers who are definitely straight......

Are most diesels also manuals? Manual drivers tend to get higher than EPA average fuel economy.

Can't get the Sony sound system or Intelligent Access (push button start).

My annoyance was the fact that it's been happening for 25 years. You seem to be incapable of understanding the difference between minor problems and major problems. Just because some owners are having problems doesn't automatically mean Ford has to drop everything and fix it immediately. In some cases it's better (from Ford's standpoint) to just replace the part a few times rather than redesign it. It all depends on the cost and how many units are affected and whether that part is destined to be used long term or not, etc. etc. It also depends on whether a new part is even available - especially when they're outsourced to suppliers. And saying that a failure is "unacceptable" is ridiculous. Everything mechanical will fail at some point. A few minor issues are expected and not a big deal. More, bigger issues are a concern. Huge or frequent issues can be a big problem if they're not dealt with accordingly. Look at lemons. Every mfr has them at some point. If they only have 1 out of 100K that's fantastic. 1 out of 10K is still pretty good. 1 out of 1000 isn't good. 1 out of 100 is terrible. 1 out of 10 is an absolute disaster. It's all about perspective.

That's more true now, but not so much on the 07-10 models. I actually liked the 08 Edge better than the 08 MKX. The only advantages other than styling were the THX stereo and cooled seats. They're doing a much better job now.

Not possible. They just started Job 1 a few days ago. The plant must build error free vehicles for 5 days in a row before they give the OK to Buy order. If they go 4.5 days and have a problem, the 5 day clock starts over. This can take 2-3 weeks in some cases. During this time all vehicles are held and must be inspected before actually being shipped and in some cases repaired. Once they get the OKTB they can start shipping newly built units. I believe they are holding all retail (sold) orders until OKTB so they don't get stuck in a lot somewhere waiting on repairs for 2 months. They won't start shipping for at least a week and could be a few weeks depending on how many problems are found.

Did I imply that it affects a large number of owners? No. Could just be me. I said it was annoying. I did not imply that it's something that Ford has to fix. I did not imply that if Ford does not fix it that it will cause big problems. I did not imply they would lose customers. I did not imply that the world is going to end if it's not fixed. That's the difference between the negatards and the rest of us who are able to keep problems in perspective and understand the difference between an annoyance, a minor issue and a major issue.

And just because it's reported on several forums doesn't mean that the failure rate is high (as a percentage of overall sales). From Ford's perspective this part may only fail on 5% of vehicles which is enough to say it's common and for it to be widely reported but that doesn't mean it affects every vehicle or enough vehicles for Ford to make a change. If you want a better example - Ford SUVs and Crossovers continue to have problems with loose seat tracks. I had this problem on my 93 Explorer and I have it now on my 08 Edge. I don't understand why they haven't fixed this problem in 25 years. It's a little frustrating.

And you won't. Ford, unlike some others, doesn't show their cards in advance. Lack of information doesn't mean they're not working on it.

This is the smart, fiscally responsible way to reinvent the brand. Not the sexiest but the smartest. Bringing out a halo car right now with the current dealer infrastructure would be a disaster. They don't need to "target" anybody - just build some great looking vehicles with good performance and luxury features and upgrade the dealership experience.

This ^^^^

The hybrid is based on the SE model - no Sony radio available. Ford on facebook said the hybrid gets push button start but it's not in the order guide or the pictures.

You see a problem that affects some vehicles and you assume that the problem is widespread (based on a few posts in an online forum) and that it's a big problem for Ford and that Ford is losing customers because of it and the world is coming to an end. Other people read the same forums and see some problems but put them into the bigger context with a little perspective. Nobody is saying that these problems don't exist - just that they aren't the end of the world.

Exactly. I'm sure Ford considers diesels for North America at least once a year, maybe more often. Just like they consider whether they should bring other vehicles and drivetrains to the U.S. Somebody at Ford knows exactly how much it would cost for a Diesel Focus and how many they could realistically sell and at what price. Diesel fans don't buy VWs and Audis. Audi and VW fans buy diesels.

Yes, it should be covered.