Iiari

What you're recalling is on pages 3-4 of the Media Reviews thread here. This was the list we had developed: V6 Pano roof Lincoln Drive Control Contour seats (eventually? The Taurus has it, though) Ventilated seats Design elements (Unique interior and exterior styling, hidden ceiling lighting, push button transmission) Heated steering wheel Heated rear seating Electric rear sunshade THX stereo Active noise cancellation LED Headlights Directionally adaptive headlights Power trunk option Different materials Hope this helps!

If 2014 job 1 is mid July (I think), does anyone know when cars may hit dealerships? I am getting close to the point I need to order, and may not wait for multicontour seats... Thanks!

Thanks for both reviews. I presume The Car Guide one is Canadian, correct? In fact, Canadian reviews are just starting to appear. Here is another in point-counterpoint style by two writers at Autonet.ca. My favorite auto review website anywhere on the web is Autos.ca, which used to be CanadianDriver. Their reviews generally tend to be extremely balanced, not too brand focused/blinded, and always entertaining. They are also the only major website I've seen who also do used car reviews, with well researched data about reliability, even down to quoting drivers from enthusiast forums in their articles. Their largely positive MKZ review, the one I've been waiting for the most, doesn't disappoint. But hasn't the car already been on sale there for a little while now? Additional new reviews are a widely syndicated one from the Oakland Press (here from the The York Daily Record in York, PA) which is fairly positive. In fact, it had seemed the tide had turned with mostly favorable reviews coming from everywhere of late, but Autoweek recently disappointed with driving impressions from several authors. Draw your own conclusions, but despite their saying nice things about the MKZ overall, I felt they damned with faint praise. Of course, everything is added to and updated on the first post of the thread.

The 2014 information has arrived and you can now build a 2014 MKZ on the website. I don't see any massive changes in equipment or pricing. What I could glean quickly: Color changes: Hello Dark Side (can't tell the difference from Smoked Quartz on the site, maybe more blue?), Sterling Grey, and Sunset (a brighter red than Ruby, which I already thought was too bright). Goodbye bordeaux (very sad, as that was the color I was going to get). I don't see any that are Lincoln exclusive yet. There are a lot of shades of grey for this vehicle... Technology package not as prominently displayed an option as last year. I wonder if it had a low take rate DRL's are now a selectable option (congrats to 2013 owners who forced Lincoln to do this!) Multicontour seats now a selectable, featured option (but still lists as late availability, whatever that means) At least for my zip code, no lease deals are listed on the pricing page (so it won't estimate them), but there's a 0.9% APR deal for a 36 mo loan, which seems pretty nice in my book... Anyone else find anything that I missed?

Regarding AAH, I wouldn't worry about the design center cast. I've done some local television guest spots where I live and have learned that what we would all call "normal" conversation appears dreadful on TV. Most of the professional TV we watch, when you're in the studio observing it filmed, looks in real life almost comically goofy and silly and so very unnatural. But then you watch it on the screen and it suddenly appears normative. Everyone making a living on TV, from Glenn Close to your local weatherman, is a "performer" "on stage," even on the "interview" shows they are supposed to be acting like real people. Again, comically saccharine and goofy in person while you're watching it filmed... Doing stuff like AAH for guys like DeLorenzo and Hall isn't their day jobs, and is probably a slice more professional than, like, you and I deciding to do a video blog... Amateur hour in that respect. Regarding Pebble Beach, it would be interesting to see the Black Label program. Hirsch tuners used to do luxury interior bits for Saabs that were very effective in elevating perceived quality, and many fans kept yelling for years at Saab to make the stuff OEM across the board. Will be interesting to see what Lincoln does. Again, DeLorenzo is not easily impressed.

The AAH shows tend to be fairly even, low wattage affairs. I generally enjoy them, though, as it's interesting to hear from both the hosts (who are experienced auto journalist-insiders) and the guests (who tend to be individuals of consequence in the industry). Still, the two Lincoln designers were hardly firecrackers and it's astonishing how little actual information they conveyed in such a long interview. The PR folks must really prep them well. That said, Delorenzo and Hall threw them pretty softball questions until the very end, when Hall (quite embarrassingly, in my opinion) lowered the boom on them in his negative opinion of the MKZ interior. That said, I didn't think he was totally wrong in his feeling that the MKZ interior, despite seeming like an advanced "sketch" and quite radical for its segment, is missing something in his opinion that he can't put his finger on (I personally think it's both a material quality issue with the center plastic and a lack of attention to details). Listening to the show regularly as I do, it's of note from a Lincoln perspective that the hosts, especially DeLorenzo, tend to be very positive about Lincoln's future, believing that there's room for a luxury maker to do something different. They all like the MKZ as well. DeLorenzo, in his AutoExtremist guise, is something of a professional curmudgeon. He's historically been very hard to impress, so the fact that he's apparently seen and is excited about whatever Lincoln has coming is a good sign. My guess is that an MKS concept is coming to Pebble Beach. That wouldn't be the place to bring a production small sport utility...

And that tone shift continues... Now that the media long ago finished raking the early, $50K+ V6 AWD MKZ's over the coals, they have finally realized that actually, NO!, the MKZ is not expected to single handedly cause Lincoln to dethrone Lexus; and that, YES!, people are actually buying a whole lot of them, the latest batches reviews have a far more positive tone. It appears that Ford, like it did with the Fusion, loaned the gas powered cars out for first round of reviews and then is following those up about 6 months later with hybrid test drives of much cheaper models. Everyone, especially the NY Times and Automobile Magazine, emerge impressed, and even Edmunds "they tricked us with the tires!" dot com takes back some of its earlier vitriol (although they still are grumbling at the end). Good stuff. Here's the list (master guide on the first page updated as well): NY Times Hybrid Specific Review Valley New Review Edmunds Hybrid Specific Review Automobile Magazine Hybrid Specific Review Green Car Reports Hybrid Review Hollywood Reporter Hybrid Review

Owners of several makes I've heard gush about this, especially people who want a minimal-thought-about-the-car experience. Will someone buy a car because of it? I don't think so, but I view it as icing on the cake that makes people happy with their purchase experience. I love the idea of tailoring it to the lease or loan duration. That way, the three year lease person isn't biting their fingernails counting down the days left in year two. For the buyer of that vehicle used, then CPO leases come into play...

My thoughts exactly. It's a confidence thing. I remember when, I think, it was BMW who did this first, it said to me, "This is a company that's confident about their cars and really is trying to win my business." BMW and Caddy are still using the 4 year plans, and I would think Lincoln would be in a "let's stand out positively any way we can!" mode, not a "let's do what everyone else is doing" mode...

From Leftlanenews.com... I think this is really head scratching... Lincoln is a brand with low resale values that just had a shaky launch of the MKZ that's trying to build a reputation for standout luxury. What's the way to do that and attract younger buyers? Cut back free maintance! Sigh... I was previously thinking of a 3 year lease, but not now. From Leftlanenews: For the 2014 model year, Lincoln will trim its free maintenance program from 4 years/50,000 miles – the same coverage length offered by BMW and Cadillac - to 2 years/24,000 miles. Although the move is seemingly at odds with its increased emphasis on customer service [emphasis from Iiari], Lincoln claims the plan still complements the kind of short-term leases that many of its customers choose - and some dealers agree. Bob Tasca Jr., owner of two Lincoln dealerships in Rhode Island, told Automotive News that the shortened plan wouldn’t have an impact on sales. "Most Lincolns are leased for two or three years. A major part of my business is short term. I want to put them out for two or three years, not four or five," he said. However, reactions to the new maintenance program certainly weren’t uniformly positive. "They want to set themselves apart and find a niche in the luxury market. That's sending the wrong message, in my opinion. It's going to be disappointing to the existing customer base," said Paul Mercer, general manager of Diffee Ford-Lincoln in El Reno, Oklahoma. Lincoln isn’t alone in cutting the length of its complimentary maintenance program – both Jaguar and Volvo have announced similar reductions in recent months. Read more at http://www.leftlanenews.com/lincoln-scales-back-free-maintenance-program.html#QKsgqrmBecECOe2W.99Lincoln currently offers one of the most generous complimentary maintenance plans in the luxury segment, but the brand is set to significantly pare down the program in the near future.

On the heels of the largely positive CR review comes this very nice Washington Post review: http://www.washingtonpost.com/cars/2013-lincoln-mkz-awd-the-luxury-of-simplicity/2013/05/24/7f0d3bae-c3c8-11e2-8c3b-0b5e9247e8ca_story.html From the review: "There are those of us for whom driving is therapy. I am one of those, but only in an exceptionally comfortable, easy-to-drive automobile.... The 2013 Lincoln MKZ AWD is such a car..." I am on a phone net link now, but will update the master list later...

Absolutely, possibly the most positive overall review yet. Take away their MFT/MLT bias and, um, the location of the trunk release, and they really had no issues at all. Interestingly, they haven't announced the review on their blog yet. Perhaps they are waiting for the print report to hit the stands first... In comparing their score for the MKZ (82) to others in the class (how I presume they will reported in the print issue), here's how it looks: 87 : Genesis 85: Avalon 82: MKZ 82: Acura TL 80: Lexus ES Pretty close scores overall and, again, an impressive and impartial review (no moaning about the state and history of the Lincoln brand for pages upon pages)

Well, well, well, what do we have here? Two positive reviews hit the web in the last 24 hours! The first is from the Luxury Blog The Pursuitist, which has a hybrid review (and some nice photos I haven't seen elsewhere). The second is from the Miami Herald and happily was widely syndicated around the media world. This link is from the Sacramento Bee. Both have been added to the now large master list at the top of the thread. The absolute rock solid trends of all the reviews to date are simple. Those who judge the car on its own merits tend to really like it, if not finding it class leading. Those expecting a product for the ages to single handedly change Lincoln's fortunes tend to be disappointed. Those expecting an autobahn burning neo-German that will out-slalom a BMW M car tend to, oh, wait, it did do that... (and didn't stop them from disliking it). The happy trend in my opinion has been in the comments section of negative reviews. There, both '13 MKZ owners and admirers alike, from all demographics, have spoken up to criticize the prose and defend the car. Very nice to see some backlash against the hater reviews... I am also awaiting the dropping of the Consumer Reports MKZ review, as their preliminary comments have been very positive. It's still listed as "In testing." I have yet to see a review in the Canadian press as well. I'm especially awaiting for Autos.ca to weigh in, as I find their reviewing in general to be far more balanced, nuanced, and product focused than the more brand focused US media outlets.

Does this mean the 2014 MKZ order guide is out? If so, where?

The USA Today review is in and is far more positive than has been the recent norm. However the usually solid James R. Healey seemed to have missed reading most of, oh, well, I guess all of Lincoln's promotional material by asking why the car isn't sportier, and criticizes the dash shifter for not giving that zoom-zoom type of sensation, saying the push buttons are... No, it's not supposed to be sporty. It goes to show you how much the reviewers bring of themselves to these reviews. Again, though, more positive than usual.

Brutal new Autoweek hybrid review... I read the last paragraph and couldn't stomach reading the rest. Someone else brave enough to do so and report in? Very surprising considering their early reviews of the car were very positive.

I reluctantly added this to the master media list thread, but what a bizarre and warped review. I was about to do the point-by-point reply, then I saw your post appear. You should post it there as a comment (if they allow). How on earth do these guys become car reviewers. It makes me want to offer to write for my local newspaper. The headlight switch location?? Really!?!? That's where it is on every single car and, again, the auto function... Use it... And when did separate audio and climate controls for rear passengers (who already in the MKZ have heated seats, inflatable seatbelts, and more power and audio hookup options than is common) become commonplace on $38K luxury sedans? And I love this line: "Exterior design and an innovative roof are not enough to overcome Lincoln's badly tarnished reputation." We're back to brand context. So merely being an excellent car isn't enough to "overcome" the Lincoln name? So this might be a very good Lexus, but a terrible Lincoln? That's absurd... Judge the car for the car... But memo to Lincoln: Please stop giving reviewers $52K V6 testers with the pano roof that has them filtering every aspect of the car through the lens of its sticker price. Please give them near loaded $43K or so hybrid without the pano roof, especially since far more hybrids will probably be sold (30% of total mix now) than V6's. Please refer back to Saab's experience with their new 9-5's when they gave reviewers 50K+ V6's, which was a disaster. The 9-5 was a great $40K 4 cylinder car, and a hard to justify $50K V6 machine...

This article from the Consumer Reports blog about Jaguar delivery should be read by the Lincoln folks, who should consider cribbing this for their "luxury experience." Here's an excerpt: "Hello, Kitty: Welcoming the convenience of our Jaguar XF home delivery Apr 23, 2013 4:30 PM We just bought a 2013 Jaguar XF 3.0 AWD for testing, and the dealership offered a welcome bit of concierge service: delivery to my home... We arranged a time, and at the appointed hour, lo and behold, here came our new Jag, followed by a second vehicle that the two delivery guys would drive back in. I did a quick inspection to see that everything was correct, and then we moved to my dining room to complete the purchase. The whole transaction took less than 10 minutes... Besides saving a 70-mile round trip, this process spared me a last-minute pitch for an extended warranty, paint sealant, or some other nonsense—an ordeal that often drags out the transaction at a dealership... the convenience was unbeatable."

A new, somewhat lightweight, but overall positive MKZ review from Auto Media has been added to the master list.

Again, aiming at that "luxury experience" thing, it would have been nice if your dealer called and said, "Your cargo net came in and we'd be happy to install it for you at your convenience." When I owned a 1 series BMW in the past and ordered accessories that's what my dealer used to do... Just sayin'...

I think everyone is right here, actually. Expecting the EPA MPG is totally reasonable. In all the cars I've previously owned (my Fords, my current Saab Turbo-X) I've routinely matched or (in the cases of my two BMW's) exceeded the EPA estimates in regular driving, and I believe that most people expect their vehicles to do so, at least the people I know. That said, expecting hybrids to not match the EPA is also totally reasonable. I also know from the experience of friends and family who have owned hybrids (Prii, Escape Hybrids, etc) that hybrid MPG varies enormously based upon loads, driving style, condition, etc. Several publications have tested all variety of hybrids and haven't hit the EPA estimates. Now, those two things said, I think many MKZ Hybrid owners, having seen the Fusion experience, know what they're getting into already. Personally, if I were to get the 36-39 MPH on the MKZ hybrid I'm buying in the 2014 model year that many here are getting, I'd be doing cartwheels considering my Turbo-X gets an average of 18-20. However, I can totally understand how some of the early Fusion hybrid owners, expecting 47, were ready to burn down the Dearborn HQ getting 36 or 38... By everyone's account, Ford seems to have a larger discrepancy than average here...

Me three... There's no doubt it warms the interior up, but there's a bit of a kit-car feel with the haptic buttons sitting in the wells like that... Very, very split...

39mpg with the panoramic roof is pretty astounding in my opinion. I think I recall reading earlier somewhere that pano roofed hybrids would be around 42 average, and you're pretty much right there. Looking at Fuelly, there's a non-hybrid listed there that (while it's early) is at 32 mpg average, which is pretty amazing as well.

Looking at overall industry sales numbers, there are some things that just amaze me: The German big luxury three do about 60,000 sales per month. That's amazing. MB alone did 25,000. Lincoln did 7600 with record MKZ sales, and a resurgent Cadillac did about 13.000... Wow, there's a way to go, but it shows how much potential Lincoln has with a competitive full lineup... It's believable with new MKC and MKX's down the road that they could double these numbers... And no wonder Ford wants Lincoln in China, or anywhere else for that matter... Showing that no one listens to reviewers (or us on boards), the lackluster Acura, who has done everything possible to shoot themselves in their collective feet, is UP for the month, and they did about 14,000, more than Cadillac.. Again, wow... No one listens to enthusiasts case number 2 is Lexus, who again proves it's better to have momentum than be good. They're UP and at about 18,000 sales, almost 50% more than Cadillac and more than double Lincoln... Wow again... Lincoln and Infiniti are neck and neck in sales. Given that Infiniti has a pretty full, competitive lineup (compared with Acura and Lexus, and especially with Lincoln's MKZ and friends current lineup) that has to be expensive to develop, the Renault/Nissan folks have to be pulling their hair out... How long can Tata keep Jaguar in the US with only 1000 sales per month? That's only 25% of Porsche's volume and a third of Land Rover's. I hope they make a lot per car. How can you invest in future product and compete with, oh, say, MB with only 1/25th of MB's volume? No wonder Ford looked to dump them... Same for Maserati at 200... What on Earth is Nissan's appeal? They are up a ton to 80,000 per month, always 4 times what the infinitely more interesting Mazda (who was down) sells...

So 10 yrs AFTER an already worthy lineup. So assuming about 5 years per generation, that's talking three full generations per line. That sounds about right. Look at the CTS, for example. The first generation was the breakthrough, "proof of concept model." The second generation was the, "Wow, they're for real" model. And the third generation CTS (just introduced) everyone is treating as the eagerly anticipated next generation of an "established" competitor. Same thing for the three generations of the Audi A4. So, assuming that the "new" Lincoln is established as MKZ, C, X, S, and Navigator plus or minus a model or two (I still want to see a new T be a JX competitor), that means they'll have that "worthy" lineup by around 2016. Assuming Ford does their part and delivers great products over the subsequent generations that means that 10 years and two more generations on from there is roughly 2026 to be an "established" player, around the 2030 nruggiero suggests. That's believable, if Ford put pedal to the metal and delivers great vehicles...