akirby

When your only tool is a hammer everything looks like a nail. You can be conservative without being a Republican. There are many parts of the Republican platform I just don't agree with but I am fiscally conservative so if i have to pick between a Democrat and a Republican I'll usually take the Republican. We need more moderates and less fire breathing defend my party at any cost extremists on both sides.

If you do a lot of stop-n-go driving (or mostly stopping like rush hour in Atlanta) then you would see a bigger savings. My guess is it will become standard at some point.

A new dealership experience is a key part in the Lincoln turnaround plan. You can't just make good luxury cars any more - you need great service and sitting in the Ford service waiting room ain't gonna cut it any more. I understand your hesitance to make that kind of investment, but try to look at it like you were offered a Lexus dealership. That would take a similar if not even larger investment.

Dealers use black book - not available to the general public. It is updated frequently and is more specific to the local market.

You're calling the 2012 MKZ the "current" one even though it's out of production and the 2013 is in production and I'm the one who's clueless? I understand the skepticism that Lincoln is just flapping their gums about making changes like they've done in the past. But this is where your cluelessness kicks in again. You are completely ignoring the changes that Ford has made this time around that has us convinced it will be different. There is no guarantee it will be successful, but it is NOTHING like what Lincoln has done in the last 30 years. Let's recap: Hired a dedicated Lincoln designer with a dedicated staff of 150 people with experience from other luxury brands to oversee the turnaround Required dealers to provide a unique Lincoln dealership experience including separate showrooms and concierge like service Committed to 100% unique sheetmetal and interiors and features and unique drivetrain options Sold Jaguar, Aston Martin and Land Rover and killed Mercury leaving Lincoln as the only other Ford brand Committed to a 7 vehicle lineup for Lincoln Developed Lincoln unique features (push button shifter, electronic suspension, adaptive LED headlamps, etc.) Combine all that with a NEW management team that has totally turned around the Ford brand and I don't see how any reasonable person would conclude they're doing the same old same old. Please enlighten us as to when the above changes were attempted by Lincoln in the past.

Not being able to sell them.

What some people either fail to realize or simply don't want to acknowledge is that up until last year Ford was not fully committed to making Lincoln a successful separate brand. From 2000-2005 they were pursuing PAG and Lincoln was the red-headed stepchild (no offense to red headed stepchildren). Then Ford was fighting for its life and put all of its resources into the Ford brand. Only recently did they decide to make the same investment in Lincoln and they decided to start with a support team and dealership improvements rather than put all of their money and resources into some halo car. It's not sexy but it's a long term plan and that has the best chance of long term success.

Yep

So if all of those things are better than the Fusion will you admit that Lincoln is doing something different? Somehow I think you'll just find some other excuse not to like it.

I haven't always agreed with some of their policies, like when they tried to tell policy holders that owning radar detectors were illegal and refusing to insure cars with them (that was overturned in court and they don't do anything like that now). But otherwise I have no complaints and given how they treated us with the accident last year I'll probably be switching my homeowners to them as well and getting an umbrella policy. I still can't stand the caveman. The gecko I can live with. The rod serling imitations were hilarious.

If you can't see the improvements and uniqueness without touching it and driving it then once again you're just ignoring the obvious to make your point. I don't see what a test drive will tell you that you can't already tell.

It really should not be much different than the base 2.5L or the 1.6L EB. It will obviously lack power compared to the 2.0L EB if that's what you're comparing against. But compared to the 2.5 or 1.6 EB it should be similar.

It's safer to have it when you order but it's not required. It's only required when you take delivery. The only danger in not having it now is that you may not be able to get one later but as long as your dealer knows that it should be ok.

Can anyone possibly explain why increasing the debt is ok? Do they think we can just go bankrupt and start over?

<whew!>

If power is the only thing holding you back versus the 1.6L - yes.

Nice selective reading - typical partisan response. Romney said he would have preferred a government guaranteed private loan under bankruptcy protection. He never said what he would have done had those private loans not been available. What he did not say is whether he would have supported a government loan if private loans had not been available or if he would have simply let them go bankrupt. I'm not a Republican either - just a fiscally conservative independent who hates partisan politics.

I agree the early rebates on hybrids encouraged manufacturers to invest in hybrid R&D and I agree that the current rebates will sell more EVs and PHEVs than they would otherwise. However - we simply can't afford this type of subsidy (or a few thousand others) right now. We go deeper into debt every day. It might be different if we had a balanced budget but we don't. I also don't think it should apply to leases where the mfr uses it to offset the cost of a 2 year lease. That encourages people to buy one because it's cheap, drive it for 2 years and then go back to their Corollas or Versas or Fiestas. And now the mfr is left with a used vehicle that can't be sold for the residual value because new ones still get the rebates. I also just don't believe the government should be influencing private transactions between consumers and businesses. The government has CAFE standards already which is forcing manufacturers to improve and offering PHEVs and EVs are part of that equation. I just think the government has better things to spend money on right now and if they insist on spending it in this way I'd rather see loans and grants directly to the mfrs.

Doesn't 3 + 2 + 2 = 7 years on a platform? Or were you agreeing with me? Hard to tell.

Simple - take it to another dealer and tell them what happened with the first dealer. Hopefully they'll fix it to your satisfaction the first time. There are bad dealers out there just like any other business.

I've had Geico for 25 years. I've tried to find cheaper insurance but was never able to. My daughter totaled her Focus last year and I had no problems with the claims process. It does depend on your individual situation though.

Electric motors produce max torque almost instantly. The hybrid should be just as quick off the line if not quicker than a 1.6L EB. That's one of the benefits. I've heard the C-max is downright zippy.

The 2013 MKZ is already in production and is the only one on the Lincoln website. Ignoring it just to make your point is disingenuous. If you think the Lexus ES is not a worthy target then you obviously haven't looked at sales figures. And if you think the 2013 MKZ is anything at all like previous Mercuries then I don't know how to attempt any type of logical discussion with you. Sounds like you think anything short of bespoke platforms is a failure.

I read that as 7 years, not 5.

My dealer gives their employees the D plan spiff check, making it cheaper than A plan.