DOA: Mercury and Mark LT

[Biker16]

Lincoln plans to drop the Mark LT after the 2008 model year

 

 

With little new product in the pipeline, Mercury faces extinction in a few years, industry analysts predict and many dealers fear.

 

 

In the network

At the start of 2007, Ford Motor operated 4,270 U.S. dealerships, with this distribution of franchises.

Ford-brand stores: 2,328

Ford-Lincoln-Mercury stores: 833

Ford-Mercury stores: 590

Lincoln-Mercury stores: 496

Mercury-only: 1

Source: Ford Motor Co., Automotive News Data Center

[rmc523]

Lincoln plans to drop the Mark LT after the 2008 model year

With little new product in the pipeline, Mercury faces extinction in a few years, industry analysts predict and many dealers fear.

 

 

In the network

At the start of 2007, Ford Motor operated 4,270 U.S. dealerships, with this distribution of franchises.

Ford-brand stores: 2,328

Ford-Lincoln-Mercury stores: 833

Ford-Mercury stores: 590

Lincoln-Mercury stores: 496

Mercury-only: 1

Source: Ford Motor Co., Automotive News Data Center

 

I think Lincoln should keep the Mark LT, I realize it doesn't fit in with their new image, but I think it could with some (major) changes.

 

Give it the Navigator's interior, an MKR inspired front end (even the Navigator nose) give it the new TwinForce 6.2L Boss V8, make it the most luxurious and powerful truck available on the market, while still being capable as a work truck. IMO, if Cadillac can have the EXT, why cant Lincoln have the MLT?

 

EDIT: So far, it's not looking too good for Mercury. I believe Mercury has tons of potential though, Ford is just not using it. The plan to badge Euro Fords as Mercurys wouldnt work b/c of the 'One Ford' plan, Mercury right now is essentially a trim line right now. It needs its own distinct product, like a Cougar. Why not build a Mercury Focus hatchback, since the 08 Focus drops the hatchbacks. Ship the Focus CC over as a Mercury (see my other post: Mercury Capri-- in Product Rumor forum). The would give Mercury a few distinct products. Right now, the lineup isnt doing badly, but w/out new vehicles coming........

 

Who knows what will happen with Mercury? Does Ford even know yet??

Edited September 3, 2007 by rmc523

[waymondospiff]

Lincoln plans to drop the Mark LT after the 2008 model year

Just like the Blackwood was dropped, only to return a year after the F-150 redo as the Mark LT.

 

I think the Mark LT failed to capture a market by not providing any noticeable differences between the Ford & Lincoln products. Give it a true Lincoln interior and a more Lincoln-ized nose and it would seem to be a viable product. As it is, I can't imagine that it costs Ford much to have the Mark LT - it uses largely F-150 parts and has a very small advertising budget. Why not keep it?

 

Scott

[LincolnFan]

The Image, the Mark LT doesn't fit in Lincoln's new image. It's a good truck, it's kind of sad to see it go.

[Watchdevil]

Seems the demand for a luxury truck has probably dropped not that there was a great demand for them at all in the first place. Demand is shifting to smaller and more carlike crossovers. The market as a whole won't miss the LT, just a few enthusiasts who like the idea of a Lincoln truck that is a little more special than having a Ford. It's unfortunately the same situation with a lot of specialty vehicles we love (like the Thunderbird). Certainly it's easier to keep a Lincoln LT in the lineup since it is just a Lincoln grilled variant of a Ford truck, so investment is minimal. I see Lincoln is moving away from that and back to focus on higher volume vehicles in key segments.

[FordBuyer]

I think Lincoln should keep the Mark LT, I realize it doesn't fit in with their new image, but I think it could with some (major) changes.

 

Give it the Navigator's interior, an MKR inspired front end (even the Navigator nose) give it the new TwinForce 6.2L Boss V8, make it the most luxurious and powerful truck available on the market, while still being capable as a work truck. IMO, if Cadillac can have the EXT, why cant Lincoln have the MLT?

 

EDIT: So far, it's not looking too good for Mercury. I believe Mercury has tons of potential though, Ford is just not using it. The plan to badge Euro Fords as Mercurys wouldnt work b/c of the 'One Ford' plan, Mercury right now is essentially a trim line right now. It needs its own distinct product, like a Cougar. Why not build a Mercury Focus hatchback, since the 08 Focus drops the hatchbacks. Ship the Focus CC over as a Mercury (see my other post: Mercury Capri-- in Product Rumor forum). The would give Mercury a few distinct products. Right now, the lineup isnt doing badly, but w/out new vehicles coming........

 

Who knows what will happen with Mercury? Does Ford even know yet??

 

 

I reallly think we need to come to grips with Ford's situation here. Ford is in a fight for its very survival. Every day that goes by brings that home for me. Look at the sales trends guys. They are worse every month and especially for the year. Even the retail only end of sales is not particularly stable. So I think to Mulally Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, and Mercury are nothing more than a distraction to the base brand...the Blue Oval. If Ford cannot get the Blue Oval brand stable soon, nothing else matters. I personally won't feel better until this bleeding stops. I would love to see Mercury stay, but more importantly I want to see Ford itself survive, and if you can only keep the body alive by cutting off the arm, I say cut it off.

[FordBuyer]

Just like the Blackwood was dropped, only to return a year after the F-150 redo as the Mark LT.

 

I think the Mark LT failed to capture a market by not providing any noticeable differences between the Ford & Lincoln products. Give it a true Lincoln interior and a more Lincoln-ized nose and it would seem to be a viable product. As it is, I can't imagine that it costs Ford much to have the Mark LT - it uses largely F-150 parts and has a very small advertising budget. Why not keep it?

 

Scott

 

 

It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of man hours to differentiate this truck further from F-150. That would take away from more important projects Ford is working on. I saw the Mark LT as nothing more than stop gap project until Lincoln gets more product. With the new MKS, MKX, and new Flex variation that will be more differentiated than usual from Ford version, Lincoln finally has some good, new product and doesn't need a fancy F-150 in its lineup anymore taking up space and ruining fleet mpg average. Again, with the Blue Oval suffering so, and a viable Lincoln needed with its potential for big profits, Ford doesn't need distractions right now.

[silvrsvt]

I'd like to know where that Mercury only dealership is!

[ANTAUS]

The MarkLT sells more than the Escalade EXT, although I see it as a falling market. Ford isn't about to take the risk of differentiating it for, for just a few hundred more sales.

[Traveler]

The Blackwood and Mark LT seems to me to have been concocted to compete against the Avalanche-based Cadillac model and both were just not capable of competing with that level of luxury + utility. The Mark LT came close, whereas the Blackwood was more unique and special. Neither fit the mold with the typical Ford buyer in my opinion.

 

I think the Ford F-150, particularly the high end models like the Limited and King Ranch, demonstrate a luxurious pickup truck that most Ford buyers would buy regardless of whether or not it has a Blue Oval or Lincoln badge. Furthermore, anyone could look through the Lincoln bling and see an F-150 anyway. Cadillac does a better job at concealing the Escalade's Chevy roots.

 

Ford is not GM and I think their management sees that the pathway to success is not the same as GM. Ford needs to march to their own tune and not try to follow GM too closely. I think the F-150 represents itself as the premier pickup truck on the market (sans a class-leading engine) and the public realizes that fact.

 

Its time to pull the plug on the Mark LT. For that matter, the Navigator could be next. Who knows? Ford had the foresight to start the full-size luxury SUV craze and maybe they have enough sense to know when to get out. As the Expedition becomes more upscale, does the Navigator have a place long-term? Perhaps the MKX philsophy is to be embraced for the future of Lincoln's SUV products. For that matter, even the name doesn't fit in with the Lincoln naming trend; although it seems to have been the inspiration for it.

[silvrsvt]

Its time to pull the plug on the Mark LT. For that matter, the Navigator could be next. Who knows? Ford had the foresight to start the full-size luxury SUV craze and maybe they have enough sense to know when to get out. As the Expedition becomes more upscale, does the Navigator have a place long-term? Perhaps the MKX philsophy is to be embraced for the future of Lincoln's SUV products. For that matter, even the name doesn't fit in with the Lincoln naming trend; although it seems to have been the inspiration for it.

 

Why Pull the plug on the Navigator? Ford makes like 15K on each one sold...it would be stupid to do so...

 

Though it should be interesting how well the Lincoln Flex does...

[Traveler]

Mercury is done. Grand Marquis is nearly at the end of its production life with no replacement on the horizon. The Mountaineer has never really seemed to be that much of a consideration or alternative to the Explorer for most consumers. The Milan is stepchild of the Fusion/Milan/MKZ trio and the Sable seems to get lost in the Taurus' shadow. What could be the purpose in keeping Mercury much longer?

 

The Edge/MKX production models and the Interceptor/MKR are good examples of what seems to be the distancing of Ford and Lincoln from Mercury as if the company is abandoning Mercury. Sable is likely there to help bridge the gap for Grand Marquis returnees and I suspect that Mountaineer will not be returning once the BOF Explorer.

 

Mercury indeed looks done for. Ford's image looks to be on the mend and Lincoln looks to be returning to be a contender in the luxury market. My bet is that Ford will streamline their line and yank Mercury by 2012.

[ANTAUS]

Question is, does Ford want to walk away from 300-400K unit sales from Mercury ? And if, and, or but, can they supply 200K units of Lincoln vehicles to make up for those L/M dealerships ?

[Traveler]

Why Pull the plug on the Navigator? Ford makes like 15K on each one sold...it would be stupid to do so...

 

Though it should be interesting how well the Lincoln Flex does...

 

I wasn't really implying that they should kill off the Navigator, but they likely would in coming years. I suspect we'll see higher end Expedition models to compensate for the loss and that most who would buy the Navigator, may consider to move to the Ford instead. Heck, it was the 'in' thing to have a Explorer in your driveway during the nineties, so the general public proved that owning a Ford isn't beneath them. I think we've seen the pinnacle of the BOF full-size luxury SUVs in total sales and only a small few will continue to consider them. Most will move on to other alternatives and its up to Lincoln to be prepared with those alternatives.

[RichardJensen]

Even the retail only end of sales is not particularly stable.

What?

 

Retail marketshare is almost exactly what it was in October.

 

The entire market is off by a million units, annualized.

[silvrsvt]

Question is, does Ford want to walk away from 300-400K unit sales from Mercury ? And if, and, or but, can they supply 200K units of Lincoln vehicles to make up for those L/M dealerships ?

 

 

Well all depends...I think the thing you'll see in the Future is more Ford-Lincoln Dealerships, which may or may not be a good thing since the Lincoln dealerships have better customer service then Ford dealerships...in general.

 

As for the loss in units, how much is Ford really making off a Mercury vs selling a similar Ford? How much more money can be made off Fords that have more expensive options like Mercuries have now to make up that difference?

[RichardJensen]

I think the Mark LT failed to capture a market

As was pointed out, it outsells the Escalade.

 

However, I don't think it has met Ford's internal targets, and having failed to meet them, it certainly doesn't bolster the brand's image, so why keep it?

[RichardJensen]

Ford-Mercury stores: 590

Lincoln-Mercury stores: 496

Those are some interesting numbers. There are more F-M stores than L-M stores.

 

However, knowing where most of those F-M stores are, I wonder what the difference in volume is.

 

Also, I wonder how Ford (and Auto News) account for a dealership like McKie in Rapid City, SD; where they have both a Ford franchise and a L-M franchise, but in separate buildings some distance apart.

[RichardJensen]

As for the loss in units, how much is Ford really making off a Mercury vs selling a similar Ford?

The real question is 'Would they sell a similar Ford?'

 

Mercuries don't have much in the way of additional options. So it's not as though Ford will be able to add all sorts of goodies to the Fusion that are Milan exclusive (for instance).

 

Rural F-M dealers will be most able to absorb a change, but I don't know how much of Mercury's volume comes from these tiny dealers. Judging by the on-lot inventory, I would say very little.

[akirby]

As was pointed out, it outsells the Escalade.

 

However, I don't think it has met Ford's internal targets, and having failed to meet them, it certainly doesn't bolster the brand's image, so why keep it?

 

I think it did meet internal targets because those targets were very low.

 

The Mark LT was a cheap way to give Lincoln dealers more vehicles to sell. Nothing more.

 

Has nobody recognized that the Mark LT is being discontinued at the same time a new F150 is debuting? I'm sure that has something to do with it.

[RichardJensen]

I think it did meet internal targets because those targets were very low.

The 'insider' reports have pretty uniformly said the Mark LT missed targets. I've never seen a report that they hit their targets. I think Ford wanted to sell 12k a year, and the Mark LT hasn't hit that.

[J-150]

Question is, does Ford want to walk away from 300-400K unit sales from Mercury ? And if, and, or but, can they supply 200K units of Lincoln vehicles to make up for those L/M dealerships ?

 

 

Every LM dealer I've seen has been getting their volume from Ford badged products: trucks & Ford cars for which there is no Merc clone (ie Focus)

 

As much as they bicth about no Mercs, they certainly haven't been bitching about sales of the F150 which is not a LM vehicle.

[suv_guy_19]

The 'insider' reports have pretty uniformly said the Mark LT missed targets. I've never seen a report that they hit their targets. I think Ford wanted to sell 12k a year, and the Mark LT hasn't hit that.

 

 

I remember that before the truck debuted, there was talk that it would push F series type units over 1000000 based on growing F series sales and the addition of the LT. We all see how that went lol.

[ANTAUS]

As I understand it, their goal was about 12-15K, which isn't that far from actual target. I'm looking thru the Ford site for the media release about it, but it's outdated info not on their website.

 

The one with the 100K goal was the Avalanche.

[RichardJensen]

There's nothing on Ford's website stating their goals for the Mark LT. You'll only see that in the press from 'unnamed' sources.