Focus Shifts to Lincoln from Mercury - Car News

[RichardJensen]

NO more rebadged NA fords.

 

We are using FOE products and re badging them mercury

 

http://www.leftlanenews.com/mays-to-unify-...sign-theme.html

 

"Everyone's focus will be slightly shifted," Mays told Automotive News. The new designed theme is intended to succeed both of Ford's current U.S. and European themes and while it will be global, it will have some regional adjustment. The new design will also help keep Ford vehicles looking fresh well into the future.

 

And so the truth emerges. If it's a rebadged FoE product, it's fantastic. If it's a rebadged FNA product, it's crap.

 

And when Ford unifies its global design language, it's a rebadged FoE product AND a rebadged FNA product and is, per this logic, FANTASTIC CRAP!!!

[Biker16]

Tell me why you deserve a better one.

because I am great person

 

I have great ideas.

 

:happy feet:

[RichardJensen]

Yeah. That's why you think that Ford should import Fords from Europe and sell them at Mercury dealerships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOBODY ever had that idea before.

 

[Biker16]

I didn't see one vehicle there I would buy (well, maybe the Reflex, but - 3 seats??), and I am in their target demographic.

I did not not know you were a woman between 35 and 45.

 

These product hit their demographic.

 

Do you realize that the Aura and Malibu look more alike from that angle than the Milan and Fusion do?

you are right lets try this angle

 

notice no panel is shared between the two.

And so the truth emerges. If it's a rebadged FoE product, it's fantastic. If it's a rebadged FNA product, it's crap.

 

And when Ford unifies its global design language, it's a rebadged FoE product AND a rebadged FNA product and is, per this logic, FANTASTIC CRAP!!!

 

I don't have to live with the embarrassment of have to sale the same car with different grille, on the same showroom floor. At least the re badged mercury's clone would only be sold in Europe. not down the street.

 

doo the buyers care that the TSX is a European Honda accord? no. most buyers have never seen the EU accord, but every milan buyer knows they own a fusion with a different grille, we can do much better.

 

Yeah. That's why you think that Ford should import Fords from Europe and sell them at Mercury dealerships.

NOBODY ever had that idea before.

 

 

who said import? I thinking we would actually export to Europe.

 

Our european product have never been this good, and the markets have not been this close before.

[Edstock]

And when Ford unifies its global design language, it's a rebadged FoE product AND a rebadged FNA product and is, per this logic, FANTASTIC CRAP!!!

 

FANTASTIC CRAP!!!

 

FANTASTICRAP!!!

 

Sounds like a Chinese concept car.

[RichardJensen]

At least the re badged mercury's clone would only be sold in Europe. not down the street.

Right...... Of course. Except for that part about Ford unifying its global design language (an idea which I consider risky, but which has been committed to, and which sort of moots your whole point).

 

As to the markets being 'closer than ever before', that's hogwash. The only thing that is converging is a desire in the U.S. for more fuel efficient transport. Until there's a massive exodus from the Camry to the Passat, you can use the whole "Markets converging" argument as bumf, because it suits no better purpose.

Edited November 26, 2007 by RichardJensen

[ItaloKnight]

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.

That's a very good point that I wouldn't have considered...

[RichardJensen]

This is, however, common knowledge in the auto industry.

[one2gamble]

pffft, womans crazy if she thinks shes going to tell me what to drive. Though all the women I know have impeccable taste.....

[RichardJensen]

Though all the women I know have impeccable taste.....

I take it you're single, then....

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CEb81HVp4gU

[LincolnFan]

this is not

 

I will take a lame rebadge job over a car that sits on the world's most pathetic platform alive.

 

Atleast the Milan has a Navigation and AWD as an option, the Saturn which is supposed to be upscale doesn't even have these two.

 

Did I mention that the Saturn weights 3700 pounds and can only be had with a V6? (With the good one being pricey as hell).

 

I will take my chances with the Mexican spice, thank you.

[MKII]

AWD Saturns in the pipeline?

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpr...all_vectra.html

[RichardJensen]

So is C2 Focus.

[one2gamble]

I take it you're single, then....

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CEb81HVp4gU

 

 

ouch...but ummm no lol

 

Though, that clip is laughs it needs to be of better quality.

Edited November 26, 2007 by one2gamble

[RichardJensen]

ouch...but ummm no lol

 

Though, that clip is laughs it needs to be of better quality.

It's on youtube. They only have one kind of quality there.

 

Bad.

[MKII]

So is C2 Focus.

 

Indeed :happy feet:

[NickF1011]

I will take a lame rebadge job over a car that sits on the world's most pathetic platform alive.

 

Atleast the Milan has a Navigation and AWD as an option, the Saturn which is supposed to be upscale doesn't even have these two.

 

Did I mention that the Saturn weights 3700 pounds and can only be had with a V6? (With the good one being pricey as hell).

 

I will take my chances with the Mexican spice, thank you.

 

There is a 4 cylinder Aura on the way.....

[one2gamble]

Is 3700lbs a lot for a 4 door vehicle now?

 

I think LF needs to take a peak at vehicle weights these days as they continue to go higher and higher with safety and technology features driving weight up.

[P71_CrownVic]

Is 3700lbs a lot for a 4 door vehicle now?

 

I think LF needs to take a peak at vehicle weights these days as they continue to go higher and higher with safety and technology features driving weight up.

 

The Mustang GT447 convert. weighs ~4000 pounds.

[morgande]

It seems to me like Ford hasn't figured out what it wants to do.

 

Ford has 3 lines of product available for Lincoln that aren't on the chopping block. There is one about to launch, and another in the queue. And two are headed for the auto yard in the sky.

 

Not one product from Lincoln is unique to Lincoln. The only product that has a significant distinction from its platform siblings is the Navigator. Maybe the MKZ...but not as distinct as the Navigator. The MKX is just barely over a rebadge of the Edge. In the case of the MKZ, its done in by the fact that there are 3 vehicles with the same platform with too little difference between them: Fusion, Milian, and MKZ. Whats worst, the same problem exist with the Taurus, Sable, and the MKS.

 

In the case of the sedans, there is a good-enough distinction between the MKS and Taurus, Fusion and MKZ. But the Mercury siblings blur the line.

 

I am somewhat a fan of Mercury. The first Ford in my family growing up was a Mercury Sable. The car was nice, stylish, and had good power. It served our family well, and as such I carry a fondness for the brand.

 

But I'm not sure what Ford wants. Especially out of Lincoln/Mercury. Does Ford want volume out of Lincoln? A big-wig of the company seems to think that Lincoln can be positioned as a volume brand. But does Lincoln NEED to be a volume brand.

 

I don't think you can be a volume brand and a Luxury Brand at the same time. You can have a model within a brand that represents volume. Something your price well, and market well under the target of it being the volume 'bread-n-butter' of a specific brand. But can you have a real 'volume' brand, and still maintain the distinction of being luxury?

 

Is Cadillac a volume brand? What about Lexus, Acura, or Infinity? And I'm not asking this as a retorical question, I'm asking this because I wonder what luxury brand that does not exist stand-alone is considered 'volume'. Acura, Infinity, Lexus, and Cadillac all have siblings brands that move far more units than they do. So their respective manufactures don't need their luxury brands to function as a volume brand, or at least not IMHO.

 

Volume or no, you can't have much of ANY brand without product. That being said, once Ford does give Lincoln some REAL product, the question comes in: does Lincoln need to be a volume brand? And if so, why would it need Mercury, and what justification would Ford have to keep it?

[silvrsvt]

Not one product from Lincoln is unique to Lincoln. The only product that has a significant distinction from its platform siblings is the Navigator. Maybe the MKZ...but not as distinct as the Navigator. The MKX is just barely over a rebadge of the Edge. In the case of the MKZ, its done in by the fact that there are 3 vehicles with the same platform with too little difference between them: Fusion, Milian, and MKZ. Whats worst, the same problem exist with the Taurus, Sable, and the MKS.

 

The MKS shares NOTHING with the Sable and Taurus besides their platform and some peoples favorite nickpick...gauges.

 

I don't think you can be a volume brand and a Luxury Brand at the same time. You can have a model within a brand that represents volume. Something your price well, and market well under the target of it being the volume 'bread-n-butter' of a specific brand. But can you have a real 'volume' brand, and still maintain the distinction of being luxury?

 

Is Cadillac a volume brand? What about Lexus, Acura, or Infinity? And I'm not asking this as a retorical question, I'm asking this because I wonder what luxury brand that does not exist stand-alone is considered 'volume'. Acura, Infinity, Lexus, and Cadillac all have siblings brands that move far more units than they do. So their respective manufactures don't need their luxury brands to function as a volume brand, or at least not IMHO.

 

Volume or no, you can't have much of ANY brand without product. That being said, once Ford does give Lincoln some REAL product, the question comes in: does Lincoln need to be a volume brand? And if so, why would it need Mercury, and what justification would Ford have to keep it?

 

Your missing one big fact here..the difference in sales between Lincoln and Mercury isn't that big, its only about 60K units a year, which will be made up of the new MKS, MKR, and MKFlex, which will surpass that by a considerable margin.

 

I'd rather see Ford Razor focus on just a couple Mercury products that fill in the low end of the spectrum that is under the 35K mark, which the MKZ would start at. A Mercury Focus, Milan, Sable and a small SUV with a possibly of a unique Crossover (like the Taurus X when it goes away) would be fine for Mercury..

[Biker16]

I will take a lame rebadge job over a car that sits on the world's most pathetic platform alive.

 

Atleast the Milan has a Navigation and AWD as an option, the Saturn which is supposed to be upscale doesn't even have these two.

 

Did I mention that the Saturn weights 3700 pounds and can only be had with a V6? (With the good one being pricey as hell).

 

I will take my chances with the Mexican spice, thank you.

 

worse platform alive? i thought that was the panther?

 

SAt nav how long did it take to get SAT NAV on CD3?

 

BTW this isn't about the aura.

This about the new cougar

[papilgee4evaeva]

SAt nav how long did it take to get SAT NAV on CD3?

 

Fusion/Milan: Debuted in 2006, nav available 2007.

 

Zephyr: Debuted 2006 with nav available.

Edge/MKX: Debuted 2007 with nav available.

 

Mazda6: Debuted in 2003, nav available 2006.

CX-9: Debuted in 2007 with nav available.

 

Since you asked and all...

[P71_CrownVic]

worse platform alive? i thought that was the panther?

 

SAt nav how long did it take to get SAT NAV on CD3?

 

BTW this isn't about the aura.

This about the new cougar

Far from it Skippy.

 

If it was the worst platform, 80% of police agencies wouldn't bother with it.

[silvrsvt]

If it was the worst platform, 80% of police agencies wouldn't bother with it.

 

If your only concerned with police sales, not to mention the since the car hasn't changed all that much, if they replace them, they can reuse the old equipment on them, saving money.

 

Theres a big difference between being a good business choice and a good car.