Focus Shifts to Lincoln from Mercury - Car News

[P71_CrownVic]

Ford says Lincoln will become the volume brand of the Lincoln Mercury franchise.

BY ALISA PRIDDLE, November 2007

 

Mercury has traditionally been the volume brand that carried the Lincoln Mercury franchise, but the times, they are a-changing.

 

The Ford Motor Company will place more emphasis on the Lincoln premium brand than on Mercury going forward, Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas, bluntly tells us on the eve of the L.A. auto show. “Lincoln will be the volume piece of that franchise.”

 

Mercury needs an identity, but that identity seems to be a clone of the Blue Oval with different fabric swatches.

 

Mercury customers have the same requirements as Ford customers (read “engines and transmissions”), but with different colors and fabrics, Fields says. The brand attracts more women than other nameplates under the Ford umbrella, and it also scores highly when it comes to conquest sales.

 

“We won’t walk away from Mercury,” Fields says, but “we have higher aspirations for Lincoln.”

 

Fields would not say if Mercury would get any additional products, such as a version of the Ford Flex, as opposed to being limited to replacements of existing products. To that end, the Mariner SUV is new, and a freshened Milan is due at the end of next year, as well as a hybrid version of the mid-size sedan. And at the recent Miami auto show in Florida, Ford unveiled a high-end trim level for Mercury it is calling its Voga (Italian for “vogue”) editions. The trim line will debut with the 2008 Mariner.

 

As for Lincoln, North American design chief Peter Horbury says the brand woke up and got rid of products that had hung around too long, such as the Continental that he jokes was in danger of becoming the “Intercontinental.” He says new Lincoln blood, such as the all-new MKS flagship sedan, should attract younger buyers. Jaguar also had a wake-up call, albeit a bit late, he says, joking that the British brand was “almost to the vinyl-roof state,” in fact, almost to the thatched-roof state, before it was roused and launched the new XK and XJ. Volvo had a similar reckoning when it realized all its vehicles need not be boxy, Horbury says.

 

Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally says the cadence of new vehicles must be faster in the future, as the automaker had fallen to last place in this regard. He promises a 100-percent-new or refreshed lineup by 2010.

 

In a wide-ranging round-table discussion, Jim Farley, who left the Toyota empire to head marketing and sales for Ford, says Lincoln must evolve into a global brand and take advantage of new overseas markets in countries such as China, India, Russia, and in the Middle East. And Farley says it is his job to “open the lid on all stories about Ford’s assets that are secrets,” such as improved quality.

 

In the midst of rising gas prices, Mulally says the B-segment subcompact-car market will be the automaker’s first global platform when it is rolled out in the 2008–10 time frame, to be followed by the C-segment Ford Focus. “In hindsight, we should have started it sooner, but I’m glad we started it when we did,” he says. Eventually, the mid-size Mondeo and Fusion sedans will be brought together “technically and business-wise,” he says, without shortchanging them while both are doing well.

 

Ford has come to realize, better late than never, that young people buy more cars, want lots of features and gadgets, and want to look good in their vehicles, Fields says. “We weren’t focused on the segment,” he admits, but rather on trucks and SUVs. “As a result, we lost market share.” He says Mulally helped the automaker see you can’t ignore a segment because it has had a small return in the past.

 

At the other end of the spectrum, the new management team at Ford says it is committed to maintaining a performance division beyond a Shelby Mustang. A truck with the SVT moniker is still in the works, Mulally says. Performance is a portion of Ford’s heritage, he says, “and we won’t abandon it.”

 

On the business side of things, Mulally says the restructuring plan is on track, and Ford does not need a partner to succeed, it just needs to better integrate its global assets to create one Ford. “The real synergy for Ford is to integrate from within.”

 

To that end, Ford has decided not to sell Volvo but to grow it as a global premium brand while improving its productivity.

 

C&D

[MKII]

C&D

 

Hey Mark Fields Here's an important little tidbit for you: Did you know that in almost 80% of the cases where married couples buy a new or used vehicle that it is the woman who calls the shots and makes the final decision?

 

Even when a woman is shopping with her husband for a car that will be primarily driven by him she still has extraordinary veto power.

 

Maybe Mercury could be more important then what the old boys club thinks.

[Roadrunner]

Hey Mark Fields Here's an important little tidbit for you: Did you know that in almost 80% of the cases where married couples buy a new or used vehicle that it is the woman who calls the shots and makes the final decision?

 

Even when a woman is shopping with her husband for a car that will be primarily driven by him she still has extraordinary veto power.

 

Maybe Mercury could be more important then what the old boys club thinks.

 

 

Yes and no.

 

If Mercury is marketed to women, I'd want to veto being put in a Milan, but it would be a wonderful car for my wife.

[Anthony]

Mercury is sooooooooo dead. This is just a warm up.

[BORG]

Mercury will not be a sustainable brand with only a few products. This will decrease its desirability and customers will dry up. This is part of the phase out plan for Mercury, de-emphasize the brand and focus on Lincoln. It's a gentle but cost effective elimination of a brand. Once Lincoln picks up the volume, Mercury can finally be shuttered.

[silvrsvt]

Mercury will not be a sustainable brand with only a few products. This will decrease its desirability and customers will dry up.

 

Why? Ultimately Mercury is just a Ford with some fancy bits on it that don't cost all that much, and if they want to move up...theres Lincoln staring them in the face at the same dealership..

 

I see it as $35K and under filler at the LM dealership...

[taxman100]

Hey Mark Fields Here's an important little tidbit for you: Did you know that in almost 80% of the cases where married couples buy a new or used vehicle that it is the woman who calls the shots and makes the final decision?

 

Even when a woman is shopping with her husband for a car that will be primarily driven by him she still has extraordinary veto power.

 

Maybe Mercury could be more important then what the old boys club thinks.

 

Not in my house.

[BORG]

Why? Ultimately Mercury is just a Ford with some fancy bits on it that don't cost all that much, and if they want to move up...theres Lincoln staring them in the face at the same dealership..

 

I see it as $35K and under filler at the LM dealership...

 

 

Wow, I had no idea it was so simple! Thanks for enlightening me! I thought it cost Money to maintain a brand, but apparently all they had to do was switch badges around and customers come screaming into the dealerships to buy the cars. Somebody should tell the dealers about this so their Mercury's don't continue to rot on the lots.

 

My point is there is a cumulative effect that will doom Mercury (on purpose mind you). Those who can't see the writing on the wall frustrate me to o end, it's so spectacularly obvious that everything else is just spin. MERCURY IS DEAD!!! STOP TRYING TO CONVINCE YOURSELF! The positive note on this is that Ford is doing it VERY smartly.

Edited November 22, 2007 by BORG

[xr7g428]

I just threw up.

 

Please, Please just put Mercury out of it's misery. Anything is better than being the future described by Fields.

[Jazzhead]

If I were king, I'd postion Mercury as the brand for upscale smaller cars, like the Euro-spec Focus that can't sell as cheaply or in as much volume as the American-spec Focus. And, sure, put more of the marketing emphasis on women, with "designer style". As a complement to the larger and pricier Lincoln products, Mercury should become like what Saturn and (in the early nineties) Oldmobile was trying to become - a brand for import intenders.

[RichardJensen]

I love the "Ford is killing Mercury" as much as I love the "Ford should sell cars built in Europe here" line of reasoning.

 

The idea is so simple. Ford should spend a fortune to reduce volume. It's so easy, you'd think they would've thought of that before.

 

 

Oh wait, they spent $6B-$7B a year on product development and lost over a million units of NA volume.

 

Fact is Ford will keep Mercury as long as it is an asset. Ford will not eliminate Mercury if it is a performing asset, they will eliminate it when it becomes a liability.

 

The people that claim to see behind what Ford is actually doing and saying probably believe that Dan Brown is a non-fiction writer....

 

Face it people. Ford is keeping Mercury as long as it is profitable. And Ford is doing what they should to keep it profitable. That is, they are not dumping a fortune into it, but are also not ignoring it.

 

DUH.

 

Heck. Ford is about the only car company that has done this right. GM screwed up Oldsmobile, and Chrysler, Plymouth. Just like acquisitions. Whatever Ford's transgressions with Jaguar, they pale in comparison to Saab: Born from Jets. Raised by Citations.

Edited November 22, 2007 by RichardJensen

[wescoent]

Anyone notice that SVT is confirmed to be back in business?

[wescoent]

Not in my house.

 

I've found that if you get her exactly the car she wants, she's a lot less judgemental on the vehicle you get for yourself. Then again, your house's vehicle fleet seem a lot more pragmatic than mine. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

Edited November 22, 2007 by wescoent

[wescoent]

Fact is Ford will keep Mercury as long as it is an asset. Ford will not eliminate Mercury if it is a performing asset, they will eliminate it when it becomes a liability.

 

Face it people. Ford is keeping Mercury as long as it is profitable. And Ford is doing what they should to keep it profitable. That is, they are not dumping a fortune into it, but are also not ignoring it.

 

Rich, that makes too much sense from a business and marketing perspective... therefore it certainly can't be a viable plan. That would be the financially responsible thing to do, which is just not acceptable. We need completely unique vehicles that get redesigned from the ground up every 2 years, with turbo V12s that have 700hp and get 60mpg, that handle like a Ferrari and ride like a Town Car. Unless every vehicle is like this, Ford will be bankrupt in 6 months, and even if they do it, we'll then need redesigns every year with V16s that have 1400hp and get 120mpg.

 

Haven't you been paying attention to ANYTHING ANYONE has been saying???

[RichardJensen]

No, I think Ford should get rid of a brand that brings in more conquest customers and women than Ford or Lincoln because dagnabbit if they didn't come out of the womb holding keys to a Mustang, or a Town Car, we don't want their business.

 

And as for women? They shouldn't be allowed to drive.

 

 

Or buy booze or land.

 

 

 

Or wear pants.

[suv_guy_19]

No, I think Ford should get rid of a brand that brings in more conquest customers and women than Ford or Lincoln because dagnabbit if they didn't come out of the womb holding keys to a Mustang, or a Town Car, we don't want their business.

 

And as for women? They shouldn't be allowed to drive.

Or buy booze or land.

Or wear pants.

 

 

They have to land sometime. They can't stay up there forever.....especially if they've been drinking and they aren't wearing pants.

[RichardJensen]

Hey, this is serious stuff. If you let women buy land, the next thing you know they'll want to be paid for the work they do (well except for the kind of work that, you know, doesn't require pants), and we can't have that.

 

And besides, Ford sucks, Mercury sucks, Ford isn't Mercury, and it's all ergonomics anyway, and you're a cheerleader and I'm the only one that tells the truth around here, and all everyone else does is spin, and now I'm going to go to my live journal page and tell all my friends what jerks you are and I'm going to flame your my space pages if I ever find out where they are and I haven't been outside in five days and my mommy hasn't made my hot chocolate all day and Ford sucks and you suck and you're all cheerleaders. So there. Oh, and just so you know how much I hate you, I'm going to do this !!!!11!!!1!!!, see because you are too stupid to hit shift and one at the same time, that's how stupid you are. So there. Cheerleader.

[suv_guy_19]

Hey, this is serious stuff. If you let women buy land, the next thing you know they'll want to be paid for the work they do (well except for the kind of work that, you know, doesn't require pants), and we can't have that.

 

And besides, Ford sucks, Mercury sucks, Ford isn't Mercury, and it's all ergonomics anyway, and you're a cheerleader and I'm the only one that tells the truth around here, and all everyone else does is spin, and now I'm going to go to my live journal page and tell all my friends what jerks you are and I'm going to flame your my space pages if I ever find out where they are and I haven't been outside in five days and my mommy hasn't made my hot chocolate all day and Ford sucks and you suck and you're all cheerleaders. So there. Oh, and just so you know how much I hate you, I'm going to do this !!!!11!!!1!!!, see because you are too stupid to hit shift and one at the same time, that's how stupid you are. So there. Cheerleader.

 

 

Richard, one of these days your going to make me laugh so hard that I die. You could very well be house. "We have rectal bleeding." "What, all 3 of you?" or "Its called a white board for a reason you know. I don't make the rules, I only follow them."

Edited November 22, 2007 by suv_guy_19

[RichardJensen]

Why don't you hand me that 'black' marker?

[suv_guy_19]

Why don't you hand me that 'black' marker?

 

 

:lol: Its so amazing. Somone can be dying right in front of you on the show and he says something and you can't help but laugh uncontrollably.

[mustang84isu]

Hey, this is serious stuff. If you let women buy land, the next thing you know they'll want to be paid for the work they do (well except for the kind of work that, you know, doesn't require pants), and we can't have that.

 

And besides, Ford sucks, Mercury sucks, Ford isn't Mercury, and it's all ergonomics anyway, and you're a cheerleader and I'm the only one that tells the truth around here, and all everyone else does is spin, and now I'm going to go to my live journal page and tell all my friends what jerks you are and I'm going to flame your my space pages if I ever find out where they are and I haven't been outside in five days and my mommy hasn't made my hot chocolate all day and Ford sucks and you suck and you're all cheerleaders. So there. Oh, and just so you know how much I hate you, I'm going to do this !!!!11!!!1!!!, see because you are too stupid to hit shift and one at the same time, that's how stupid you are. So there. Cheerleader.

Your tangents lately have been mucho hysterical!

[RichardJensen]

Your tangents lately have been mucho hysterical!

Tangents?

 

 

Why if anything ever called for the abuse of my authority as moderator that's it!!

 

You dare call my well placed and serious on-topic comments 'tangents'?

 

I could be well moved, if I were as you;

But I am constant as the northern star,

...

And men are flesh and blood and apprehensive;

Yet in the number I do know but one

That unassailable holds on his rank,

Unshaked of motion, And that I am he,

 

My tangents are not hysterical! They are brilliant, insightful, and you, sir, are a cheerleader and what is more, an...an....APOLOGIST!!!!

 

Only I have achieved such brilliance as to draw the jealosy of Brutus, I mean Biker16...... and the traitorous schemes of Cassius, I mean PCsario......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The funny part is that PCSario's real name is Cesar.

Edited November 22, 2007 by RichardJensen

[silvrsvt]

The funny part is that PCSario's real name is Cesar.

 

The Dog Whisper? :hysterical:

[RichardJensen]

The Dog Whisper? :hysterical:

That's not what the police, the DA, and the judge called him.

Edited November 22, 2007 by RichardJensen

[LincolnFan]

Rick, too much information. TOO MUCH.