roush235

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For anyone who is interested, my timeline: mid April: decided to get an Explorer Sport mid April until May 14: chased various acceptable incoming 2014 models within a several hundred mile radius of Houston; none ended up being available May 14: ordered 2015 model June 9: window sticker is available June 16: build date June 25: vehicle offloads from train into huge rail yard north of Houston July 10: pick up vehicle at dealer (southwest of Houston) Interestingly, it took over two weeks to make the 30 mile trip across town! But we now have it and we like it. It is my wife's daily driver and our long-trip vehicle. Thank you Cyberdman for your service.

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Dealer B52731 Order code X100 Thank you for your service.

On Friday I visited three Dallas/Fort Worth area dealers. Dealer #1 had 2 SE's on the ground, Dealer #2 had 1 SE, and Dealer #3 had 2 SE's, 1 Titanium, and.... 20+ no-option S's. I first thought "fleet order" but the cars were in the main sales area, not hidden out back. The stripper S model looks a little plain with the plastic wheel covers (not a surprise), but the Ruby Red Titanium with the smoky gray H-spoke 19 inch wheels is quite the looker. Why what dealer has what models is always interesting to me.

When I heard Group 1 had bought Southwest Lincoln, I thought that maybe they planned to exercise the "buy low" strategy with respect to Lincoln's current 'state of affairs.' But now it is clear to me it was just a land grab. The dealership had been refreshed two or three years ago, so it would not be of the latest design.

While we are discussing Lincoln topics: An article in today's Houston Chronicle notes that Group 1 Automotive is moving their southwest Houston Lexus dealership across the freeway into their recently purchased, larger Southwest Lincoln facility. Group 1's nearby Buick/GMC/Cadillac dealership is moving to the Lexus facility. There is no mention of the Lincoln dealership moving to the Buick (or any other) facility. In fact the article mentions that the Lincoln store employees have been offered jobs in other Group 1 stores. As someone rooting for Lincoln's revival, this is somewhat disconcerting news. I considered the Southwest Lincoln dealership to be a 'flagship' (at least facility-wise) with respect to Lincoln's new, tougher standards. The facility is very, very nice. Apparently Group 1 agreed. And it wasn't as if the location was demographically challenged; the facility is in an affluent, growing part of town. By my count, that means the number of Houston metro Lincoln stores is down from seven to four. Unfortunately two of the three which have closed are the two closest to me. http://www.chron.com/business/article/Southwest-Lincoln-to-close-and-become-Sterling-3802377.php PS I just checked Southwest's online inventory. They are down to just a handful of cars.

Just wanted to let Ross know that I was in the Columbus area again last weekend, but I did not run into him. That would have been absolutely weird if it had happened again. By the way, a pic of the Roush.

Missouri City

Thanks Ross for the post. I am still amazed that this happened. I told my wife about it, she said "must have been driving a Mustang.". I replied, "No, a Fusion, but a nice one." That's what caught my eye, the decal cinched it. I'll post pics of the Roush when I get a chance.

This move makes good sense. Consolidating dealerships, moving to a better facility, in a better part of town. It certainly fits the new Lincoln dealership model, as we understand it. I would be interested in reports from other metro (or non-metro) areas as to what is happening with their Lincoln stores. Here in Houston, which admittedly is a much larger metro area compared to Columbus, we still have at least five dealerships (not sure whether a small dealership on the east side of town is still in business), four of which are stand-alone.

I was at the Houston Auto show week before last, on a Thursday. I would describe the attendance as "light" (at 1pm) or "moderate" (at 6pm). However, at the Ford display, I would describe it as "moderate" at 1pm and "heavy" at 6pm. It was definitely the busiest display. And the three Explorers on display were certainly the biggest attraction. There were crowds around them the whole time. A car salesman friend was working the floor. He has been selling Fords for almost twenty years. He and I had a lengthy visit about "the state of things." He noted they are selling the Explorers as soon as they arrive. Here are some of his other comments: -- overall, business is good. (I assume that would tie directly to how much money he is making.) "Compared to how things were two years ago, I can't believe where I am today." -- he has two customer orders for F150 EcoBoosts. -- the Fiesta is a hard sell due to 1) clearance pricing on Focus, 2) minimal ability for a salesman to make money on them -- most interest in the Fiesta is from twentysomethings; the advertising has worked -- he enjoys, but struggles with, keeping up with technology (i.e. MyFordTouch). This was accompanied by comments about his less-than-eager cohorts --- "lazy" and "would rather be outside smoking cigarettes". -- "There is almost nothing in the lineup I consider to be inferior to the competition." -- He regularly sees customers who specifically are there due to the lack of Ford taking bail-out money, and/or specifically are looking at Fusions instead of Camrys and Accords, due to Fusion's good reputation.

I would love to see a "pick up your car" program similar to what Hyundai is promoting on the Equus. That's the biggest hassle for me, getting the vehicle to and from the dealer. With fewer dealers in the future, this problem will only get worse in my opinion.

And for me, I say "Lincoln LS 5-speed manual". Outstanding ride Nick. My dealer has a black/black one, it looks terrific. Almost more eye-catching than a Mustang, in my opinion.

Very nice vehicle BORG, I like it a lot. Two reasons I prefer ordering my own vehicles: 1. Getting exactly what I want (stating the obvious). 2. One gets their name on the window sticker. For a car guy, this is super cool and marks the car as specially theirs.

I grew up in the area and am familiar with McDorman Chevrolet. He used to do his own TV commericals back in the 70's and we used to joke that he had the personality of a brick wall. I did not know he was even still alive. I have not been to his dealership since about 1980, but even then he was into Corvettes. Just a few weeks ago I was back visiting the folks, and when we drove by I remarked about all the neat out buildings which housed his collection, and I thought that I heard he had sold them (or was selling them). This fills out the story, so thanks for the info.

97 F350, thanks for the additional info. I have had several casual visits with the "owner" (he lives in my neighborhood), I knew he came from a managment position in the Planet/Randall Reed organization, so the fact there is a financial connection is not a surprise. I bought two Lincolns from them, maybe I paid for the signage (ha). -------------------- After hearing Campbell53's cool response, PremierDrum's analysis that Columbus OH may end up with only one Lincoln dealer (I have some familiarity with the Columbus market), and my dealer's dropping of Lincoln, I've been thinking more about the whole situation. It may be that this will indeed be a major shake-out of dealers, and we may be shocked in x years how few stand-alone Lincoln dealers remain.

A tidbit from my long-time salesman. Background: dealer is in an up-and-coming suburb of Houston. New Ford store (early 2000's vintage), excellent location. Dealer absorbed the local Lincoln-Mercury franchise three years ago. Small-business ownership. The salesman told me they would cease selling Lincolns soon. He specifically mentioned "we just didn't sell enough to make it worthwhile," and "the cost of advertising two brands didn't make sense to us." I will generally agree, the whole Lincoln part of the dealership seemed like an afterthought; the town has a blue-collar flavor and as such, trucks are king. (In hindsight, maybe they didn't want the Lincoln-Mercury side of the business all that badly...??...) Based on what I read here, I would guess the dealership would need some facility upgrades, which was likely part of the decision. Also, what I consider a 'flagship' stand-alone Lincoln store is about 15 miles up the road. So, I was surprised at their decision, but certainly not shocked. It will be very interesting to watch what happens in Houston and other metro areas. Aside: I really appreciate Campbell53's comments on this subject. Nothing like having someone on the front line offering his thoughts.

Frequent reader, infrequent poster. I am on my third Lincoln (LS, MKX, MKT) and have a strong interest in the brand's future. The next few years will be interesting. We are all used to FordBuyer's opinionated pronouncements from his myopic Metro Detroit perspective. At the risk of the wrath of others, I thought it would be fun to examine the Metro Houston Lincoln dealer landscape. We have many stand-alone Lincoln dealers so the situation being discussed is very pertinent. I have included a sprinkling of facts and a few of my own opinions. This will be a compass-point-based review of each dealer: SW-- large standalone dealer, 90's vintage facility, recently remodeled. Porsche dealer next door, Acura dealer down the street, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus across the road. Strong used car program. When the Mercury announcement came, the owner was interviewed and said "we'll continue to sell Lincolns, service Lincolns and Mercurys, and deal in used cars." This dealer is probably quite close to the ideal that is being strived for. SW, farther out-- the dealer I do most of my business with. Nice new (early 00's) Ford store in what used to be an outlying town, now about swallowed up by new subdivisions. The Ford store took over the nearby run-down small Lincoln Mercury store three years ago. However I think Lincoln is mostly an afterthought here, the store carries more of a small-town feel where trucks are king. Probably no reason to pull the Lincoln component but not a perfect set-up. W- large standalone dealer in older (70's vintage), smaller facility. Same ownership as SW (??). Not as good a situation, but not bad. NW- very similar situation to SW "farther out", recently paired with Ford dealer, except the dealer is larger and closer to town. N- similar situation to SW. Great location, excellent standalone facility. NE- no dealer E- smaller standalone dealer, decent facility and location, in less populous part of town. SE- another situation similar to SW and N. Standalone dealer. I have met the owner and I know he has been very successful over the years. S - no dealer If I were to expand beyond 30 miles or so I could pull in more dealers, but this is enough for discussion. Realizing that the online inventory is not always accurate, here is their current inventory (just Lincolns, did not pull Mercury data): 2010 2011 total SW 56 49 105 SW farther out 9 3 12 W 68 34 102 NW 18 22 40 N 26 24 50 E 27 13 40 SE 42 49 91 I can speak to customer service at only two of the dealers. As for facilities, I'd say a couple could stand some upgrading. You can pretty much see from the inventory who is big and who isn't. However, from what I see and understand of the goals, there might be none or maybe one dealer in jeopardy. I suspect that other metro areas are not in as good shape. ?? Remember that the economy here isn't that bad and that projections are for continued population growth. For you other Houston forum members, please add your comments. And for those of you in other metro areas, what does your Lincoln dealer landscape look like?

Several interesting recent threads which deal with Lincoln's future and direction, the Flex and MKT, and related topics. I'm the owner of a MKT, apparently one of few on this forum, so I thought I would post a few comments from an owner's point of view. We have had the vehicle one month, 3000 miles, including one 700 mile trip. Many of the specific criticisms of the MKT come across as unduly harsh, sometimes made by people who have never even seen let alone driven one, but I understand that can be the nature of online forums in general. However, I agree in principle with the criticisms of the vehicle: Styling-- yes it is polarizing, so is the Flex, so are lots of other cars (Panamera, anyone? All current Acuras?). So the styling is personal taste. Me, I don't think the front end looks overdone. The front quarter view is attractive, there are some nice lines. I like the rear hop-up. The rear quarters and straight-on rear view aren't so good, in my opinion. Third row utility-- yes it is tight. In our case, 99% of the miles will be with two or three passengers. But we wanted a vehicle which could hold six for very short trips. The primary passenger in the third row will be a baby in a car seat (our first grandchild). Access to the third seat is fine, even for adults. I guess I am saying, if you regularly need to haul six or seven passengers and they are older than middle school age, you probably want a Flex (or Expedition). Price-- yes it is pricey. But I think you do get quite a bit for your money (see below). Ours is a nearly-loaded Steel Blue/Black non-Ecoboost which stickered for $54K. This pricey-ness is probably a reason for the slow-ish sales. I have started to see more sub-$50K models on the lot. However there have been other reports that the high-end Ecoboost models are the fastest sellers. Now for what I like. For those of you criticizing the interior, I doubt you have spent time in one. The fit, finish, materials, and features are very very nice. The review which compared it to what a "modern Town Car" might be wasn't far off. Sitting in the back at night, with plenty of leg room, with the ambient lighting softly glowing, with the vista roof shade rolled back, with the cooled (or heated) seats on, TRX sound system entertaining, getting a soft drink out of the refrigerator, well that's pretty luxurious in my book. The performance of the vehicle is fine. I am sure I would have liked the Ecoboost even better. Steering, ride, handling etc.-- no complaints. I do have a couple nitpicks about how the armrests and cupholders are configured, and I do have some trouble getting comfortable for long periods of time (could just be my aging, achy back). I believe the vehicle really shines via its features. I know many are not exclusive to Lincoln or the car industry, but taken as a whole, they are impressive. We both particularly like the BLIS and collision warning system-- most of the time we are driving on multiple lane roads, and changing lanes is a common occurrence. I like the Adaptive Cruise Control but my wife is a little leery of it. I have quickly gotten used to the rear view camera. The Nav system is great, a tremendous improvement over the first generation model. Then of course there is Sync. Also the power fold rear seat is quite cool. So, is the vehicle perfect? No. Does it have many redeeming qualities? Yes. Does it work for our family? I think it will.

Thanks for posting this info. I am the original owner of a manual transmission 2000 LS, and I love to surprise people with this feature. I even had a long-time large Lincoln Mercury dealer tell me he had never seen one (obviously he had never ordered one for stock at his dealership---- that was a common issue/problem), though his service manager said they do see one in service occasionally. Kyle, I'm curious, what prompted the question?

Here is my bit of humor: Yesterday at work, we had a "safety moment" at the beginning of a meeting. The subject was escalator safety (I work in a large office tower). My co-worker making the presentation noted he was recently on the escalator when it abruptly stopped. Had he not been holding the handrail, he likely would have lunged forward and possibly hurt himself. The obvious lesson is to hold the handrail. He also noted that escalators have been known to malfunction by suddenly speeding up. When he said that, you know what entered my mind !! But I refrained from making a comment. Later I mentioned to my co-worker that he must have been talking about a Toyota elevator. He got a big laugh out of it --- even though he drives a Toyota, an ancient Camry.