igor Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?...E/70409002/1062 hmm- interesting .. Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 My opinion is that the vehicle is too short to make sliding doors useful anyway. It's less than 68" tall, which would make sliding door entry and egress uncomfortable. I find it interesting that Horbury mentions it as a vehicle for people that no longer need a minivan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 My opinion is that the vehicle is too short to make sliding doors useful anyway. It's less than 68" tall, which would make sliding door entry and egress uncomfortable. I find it interesting that Horbury mentions it as a vehicle for people that no longer need a minivan. Huge market. Look at the demographic trends. Right now, the US has the largest group of teenagers EVER. And when they grow up, Mom and Dad no longer want a minivan. But they like the size and convenience of a minivan. Answer? A minivan that looks like a car/SUV. A crossover. The Flex, Buick Rendezvous, RX350, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark B. Morrow Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I wonder if the Lincoln version will have the Suicide doors? The little we have been told is that the Lincoln will be vastly different from the Flex. The suicide doors would be a great way to differentiate the line and it has the obvious Lincoln heritage. I am looking forward to new clues/spyshots of the Lincoln. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I wonder if the Lincoln version will have the Suicide doors? The little we have been told is that the Lincoln will be vastly different from the Flex. The suicide doors would be a great way to differentiate the line and it has the obvious Lincoln heritage. I am looking forward to new clues/spyshots of the Lincoln. From the tiny clues we have gotten so far, it looks like the Lincoln variant will be a LOT more swoopy in its overall body shape. Suicide doors would be a nice touch, but I don't think it would make or break the deal with most buyers. Overall, I'm not really too sure that this is the best market for Lincoln to be chasing though. Look at how the other competitors with this type of vehicle have fared. The SRX and R-Class aren't exactly flying off of lots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Overall, I'm not really too sure that this is the best market for Lincoln to be chasing though. Look at how the other competitors with this type of vehicle have fared. The SRX and R-Class aren't exactly flying off of lots. How many a year do they sell? I think Lincoln's "Flex" is only slated at 30-50K units a year... MKS is only slated for about 50K cars a year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 How many a year do they sell? I think Lincoln's "Flex" is only slated at 30-50K units a year... MKS is only slated for about 50K cars a year... Not sure on the Mercedes numbers, but they are undoubtedly lower than the 5621 SRX's that Cadillac has moved this year through March. That barely comes to about 22,000 a year for the Caddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Not sure on the Mercedes numbers, but they are undoubtedly lower than the 5621 SRX's that Cadillac has moved this year through March. That barely comes to about 22,000 a year for the Caddy. One of the major drawbacks of the SRX is the lack of 3rd row leg room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 One of the major drawbacks of the SRX is the lack of 3rd row leg room. If the Flex is any indicator, the Lincoln version won't exactly be a comfortable proposal for 3rd row passengers either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 If the Flex is any indicator, the Lincoln version won't exactly be a comfortable proposal for 3rd row passengers either. What makes you say that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 What makes you say that? The specs on the Flex don't exactly indicate cavernous 3rd row leg room. Looks like they could have stolen some room from the 2nd row to make it a bit more evenly distributed in the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 The specs on the Flex don't exactly indicate cavernous 3rd row leg room. Looks like they could have stolen some room from the 2nd row to make it a bit more evenly distributed in the rear. I've sat in the 3rd row of the Freestyle and at 6'0" tall & 240 lbs, I found it to be adequate if not comfortable. From what I understand, the Flex will be even bigger then the Freestyle/Taurus X. If that's true, the 3rd row legroom should be a positive for the Lincoln version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Stated 3rd row space on the Flex is the same as the Taurus X, but the 2nd row seats may slide forward (2nd row has 44" of leg room!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Not sure on the Mercedes numbers, but they are undoubtedly lower than the 5621 SRX's that Cadillac has moved this year through March. That barely comes to about 22,000 a year for the Caddy. seeing as how its just a CTS wagon, its not like the tooling isnt being paid for already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sim Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 (edited) I've sat in the 3rd row of the Freestyle and at 6'0" tall & 240 lbs, I found it to be adequate if not comfortable. From what I understand, the Flex will be even bigger then the Freestyle/Taurus X. If that's true, the 3rd row legroom should be a positive for the Lincoln version. Slightly larger guy, but i had similar results when i sat back there. The problem was that there was no room in the trunk for stuff when that third row is up. I did like in a few other 3rd row cars that you could move the 2nd row fore/aft about 6-inches or so - however even then most of those were very claustrophobic for anything but a pre-teen! If you have the 3rd row up in the Flex, what room is supposed to be back there? I also was wondering about how the Freestyle's engine/transmission might deal with the additional load of having 6/7 full size passengers and probably having to take their luggage in a roof-mounted carrier as there is no space. Thankfully they are looking at putting a better engine/transmission in the Flex - the Edge seems to have enough power to move around when loaded up (although i have yet to have more than 5 big adults (200#+) and a trunk full of stuff in there! But back to the initial post - if they are freeing up money for interior improvements, i assume those will come standard rather than optional? They could really base price this thing if they didnt have the sliders and didnt jazz up the interior all the way, leaving the option to bring it up towards the $40k mark with the rest of the fully loaded mini's out there. Edited April 9, 2007 by sim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCK Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 How many a year do they sell? I think Lincoln's "Flex" is only slated at 30-50K units a year... MKS is only slated for about 50K cars a year... The SRX will probably be pushing about 25-30k with its new interior, I think the previous inteiror forced a lot of people away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Stated 3rd row space on the Flex is the same as the Taurus X, but the 2nd row seats may slide forward (2nd row has 44" of leg room!) If that 2nd row of seats is a slider, that would be sweeeet. Doesn't look like it from the press photos though. You'd think they would have highlighted it somewhere, as that would be a pretty unique feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM. Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 My opinion is that the vehicle is too short to make sliding doors useful anyway. It's less than 68" tall, which would make sliding door entry and egress uncomfortable. I find it interesting that Horbury mentions it as a vehicle for people that no longer need a minivan. Sliding doors may not be that useful for the owner of the car, but as the guy that might park next to one of these I personally would prefer anything that carries kids to have sliding doors. I've seen kids whack many a car by throwing heavy "adult" doors open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme4x4 Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Then you should smack their parents. My son has never done that, and respects other peoples property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OAC_Sparky Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Then you should smack their parents. My son has never done that, and respects other peoples property. If the kids don't have sense enough to control their own doors, their parents should have the child locks "on". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Huge market. Look at the demographic trends. Right now, the US has the largest group of teenagers EVER. And when they grow up, Mom and Dad no longer want a minivan. But they like the size and convenience of a minivan. Answer? A minivan that looks like a car/SUV. A crossover. The Flex, Buick Rendezvous, RX350, etc. Interesting analysis ! Most folks in this demographic are buying the Edge or Freestyle. I've talked to several people who have children younger than 16. They are adamant. They all still want 2 power sliding doors and a power rear lift. The Flex is probably too big for Gen X or Gen Y types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 The Flex is probably too big for Gen X or Gen Y types. I'd have to disagree...Gen X are the ones having kids right now (hell we better be if we are in our 30s!) and we have the Anti-minivan stigma ingrained in us. Gen Y is still too young for a vehicle like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sim Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 I'd have to disagree...Gen X are the ones having kids right now (hell we better be if we are in our 30s!) and we have the Anti-minivan stigma ingrained in us. Gen Y is still too young for a vehicle like this. I am borderline, a bit X, a bit Y, call it XY if you like, at 29. Definitely having kids in the next year or two. Just bought the Edge and planning on keeping it a while, probably 5-6 years at least. My wife's car is 2 years old and might want replacing a couple of years before mine. So there is enough room now for a couple of kids (3 max) in the Edge with all the crap that comes with them and if we need to move up a size to the Flex we could always do so when the need arises and her car needs replacing. Gen Y are at the oldest mid-20's, about the time when people start considering kids (unless they got in some "trouble" at school age), so they could quite readily start buying these if they expect a small soccer team to come along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 I've talked to several people who have children younger than 16. They are adamant. They all still want 2 power sliding doors and a power rear lift. I'm sure there are many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 I'm sure there are many. I'm also sure that Ford will have no problem selling Flex either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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