Lincoln Targets Gen X

[ANTAUS]

LINK-Wardauto.com

[Devodev]

I think it's a good plan on Lincoln's part. Many companies overlook Gen X because they are sandwiched between the larger generations like the article noted. But the Gen X crowd also has a more recent memory of Lincoln's prestige. My dad and uncle had a Mark VIII and it was amazing for its time (it would even morph into a low-rider, the first "Transformer!").

 

However, right now my Gen Y son would not even think twice about the brand. Seeing cars like the MKS certainly grabs his attention.

[morgande]

In developing the new lineup of Lincolns, which now includes the MKS and MKZ sedans, MKX and MKT CUVs and Navigator fullsize SUV, engineers, designers and product planners specifically benchmarked Audi and Lexus brands, the former for its handling attributes and the latter for its quiet interiors.

 

On the Lexus front, kudos for Ford. They really did a good job of taking steps to make their cars as quiet as they could. Not just with Lincoln, but across the board on all three brands.

 

Handling? Outside of the Mustang, Ford offers 1 other car in NA with some aspects of handling, and that's the Focus. Id also say the Fiesta, but its not available yet, and NA didn't make it. One could argue the Fusion, but that is left over DNA from its Mazda roots. And Ford still wont put a 'sporty' powertain in the car to match the chassis.

 

On the Lincoln front, there is no such thing as a Lincoln with great handling. They do ride good though. But until they abandon their FWD bias, they won't ever get to where Audi is with its AWD setups.

[silvrsvt]

But until they abandon their FWD bias, they won't ever get to where Audi is with its AWD setups.

 

huh? You can all Lincolns, outside of the TC with AWD. How do they have a front bias?

[morgande]

huh? You can all Lincolns, outside of the TC with AWD. How do they have a front bias?

 

LOL, yeah towncar excluded. We all know TC is a 'Ring killer.

[Edstock]

they won't ever get to where Audi is with its AWD setups.

 

IIRC they hired the Ford engineer who designed the Control Blade rear suspension. Maybe they can licence RevoKnuckle, too, and finally catch up.

[StevenCaylor]

On the Lexus front, kudos for Ford. They really did a good job of taking steps to make their cars as quiet as they could. Not just with Lincoln, but across the board on all three brands.

 

Handling? Outside of the Mustang, Ford offers 1 other car in NA with some aspects of handling, and that's the Focus. Id also say the Fiesta, but its not available yet, and NA didn't make it. One could argue the Fusion, but that is left over DNA from its Mazda roots. And Ford still wont put a 'sporty' powertain in the car to match the chassis.

 

On the Lincoln front, there is no such thing as a Lincoln with great handling. They do ride good though. But until they abandon their FWD bias, they won't ever get to where Audi is with its AWD setups.

 

The AWD EcoBoost MKS didn't do badly in the 6versus8.com contest.

Edited October 19, 2009 by StevenCaylor

[Deanh]

The AWD EcoBoost MKS didn't do badly in the 6versus8.com contest.

but Steve...its German, so it MUST be superior....

[Deanh]

The AWD EcoBoost MKS didn't do badly in the 6versus8.com contest.

but Steve...its ( insert Foreign manufacturer ), so it MUST be superior....

Edited October 19, 2009 by Deanh

[theoldwizard]

"... born between 1965 and 1976 ..."

 

First, I would not call a 40 something year old person a Gen X'er ! I would say the oldest Gen X'ers would not be more than early thirties.

 

Second (based on my definition) I don't know ONE Gen X'er that could afford a Lincoln ! Most can not afford a house, unless they are married and both are working !

[Deanh]

"... born between 1965 and 1976 ..."

 

First, I would not call a 40 something year old person a Gen X'er ! I would say the oldest Gen X'ers would not be more than early thirties.

 

Second (based on my definition) I don't know ONE Gen X'er that could afford a Lincoln ! Most can not afford a house, unless they are married and both are working !

But Wiz.....its DOMESTIC, so it MUST be cheaper.....lol

[RichardJensen]

First, I would not call a 40 something year old person a Gen X'er ! I would say the oldest Gen X'ers would not be more than early thirties.

you have GOT to be kidding me, wiz.

 

That's THEIR term. THEY get to define what it encompasses.

 

Why not go around insisting that allen wrenches are the star shaped ones and torx wrenches the hexagons?

 

You've got NO authority to arbitrarily impose YOUR rules on a profession that you aren't even remotely connected with...

[RichardJensen]

Handling? Outside of the Mustang, Ford offers 1 other car in NA with some aspects of handling, and that's the Focus.

:snort: from the same 'according to the rules I just now made up' file as TOW's 'generation X isn't people born from 1965-1976, it's people that are at most in their early 30s'

[dante hicks]

"... born between 1965 and 1976 ..."

 

First, I would not call a 40 something year old person a Gen X'er ! I would say the oldest Gen X'ers would not be more than early thirties.

 

Second (based on my definition) I don't know ONE Gen X'er that could afford a Lincoln ! Most can not afford a house, unless they are married and both are working !

 

 

And you'd be wrong. I've seen Gen X as defined as broadly as those born from '61 to '81. Your talking about the tail end of Generation X and the Generation Y (the Millenials).

 

A characteristic of Gen X is, however, that both people in a married couple need to work -- partly because (at least in the past) the men of that generation were the first to make less than their fathers at their age (adjusting for inflation, of course).

 

I know plenty of Gen X'ers who can afford Lincolns. Most of them drive BMWs.

[Deanh]

And you'd be wrong. I've seen Gen X as defined as broadly as those born from '61 to '81. Your talking about the tail end of Generation X and the Generation Y (the Millenials).

 

A characteristic of Gen X is, however, that both people in a married couple need to work -- partly because (at least in the past) the men of that generation were the first to make less than their fathers at their age (adjusting for inflation, of course).

 

I know plenty of Gen X'ers who can afford Lincolns. Most of them drive BMWs.

ahhhh, that would be LEASING BMW's Dante.....

[silvrsvt]

While I like Lincoln's current line up, I wouldn't buy one, maybe when I'm over 40 and have kids (i'll be 35 in december)

[mustang84isu]

"... born between 1965 and 1976 ..."

 

First, I would not call a 40 something year old person a Gen X'er ! I would say the oldest Gen X'ers would not be more than early thirties.

 

Second (based on my definition) I don't know ONE Gen X'er that could afford a Lincoln ! Most can not afford a house, unless they are married and both are working !

Gen X typically represents the children born after the boom period, while Gen Y are the children of the baby boomers. Most sources agree the last year of the baby boom was 1964 and after that births dropped off significantly. Shift time forward 20+ years and you get the children of the baby boomers like myself who were mostly born in the 80s and some in the early 90s. The reason 'Millennial' is often associated with Gen Y is because we were in our teens in the late 90s / early 00s, while Gen X is typically 80s & early 90s.

 

I have a friend who is 32 and barely squeaks into the Gen Y category, although I would associate her more with Gen X.

[morgande]

The AWD EcoBoost MKS didn't do badly in the 6versus8.com contest.

 

Yes, as a mater of fact it did quite well from my understanding. However, I don't think 0-60 is a good indication of a vehicles handling characteristics. Given the article made a point to say that Ford benchmarked Lexus and Audi with respect as to targets of handling and quietness.

 

It just so happens that Audi is well suited for Ford to benchmark because of its AWD/FWD setups. However they tend to use 50/50 neutral setups. Ford went with FWD bias for a reason, and it has everything to do with fuel economy and nothing to do with performance/handling.

 

What is of interest as well is that The Audi V8s just happen to be the weakest of the German V8s. Which also makes them good candidates to put a TTGDI V6 against.

[RangerM]

A characteristic of Gen X is, however, that both people in a married couple need to work -- partly because (at least in the past) the men of that generation were the first to make less than their fathers at their age (adjusting for inflation, of course).

 

I know plenty of Gen X'ers who can afford Lincolns. Most of them drive BMWs.

Guess that means me, and my two best college buddies are exceptions.

 

Regarding Lincoln, I like the product (generally), but I preferred the LS. That was a Lincoln I could easily own.

Edited October 20, 2009 by RangerM

[StevenCaylor]

Yes, as a mater of fact it did quite well from my understanding. However, I don't think 0-60 is a good indication of a vehicles handling characteristics. Given the article made a point to say that Ford benchmarked Lexus and Audi with respect as to targets of handling and quietness.

 

It just so happens that Audi is well suited for Ford to benchmark because of its AWD/FWD setups. However they tend to use 50/50 neutral setups. Ford went with FWD bias for a reason, and it has everything to do with fuel economy and nothing to do with performance/handling.

 

What is of interest as well is that The Audi V8s just happen to be the weakest of the German V8s. Which also makes them good candidates to put a TTGDI V6 against.

 

You obviously did not watch the test. It had absolutely nothing to do with 0-60 times. It was a race up the Loveland Pass. It was a test of both power and handling. The fullsize MKS beat the midsize Mercedes E550 and Jaguar XF and the fullsize Maserati. It came in second to the midsize BMW 550i.

[RichardJensen]

they tend to use 50/50 neutral setups. Ford went with FWD bias for a reason

Please, in a paragraph or two, explain how the Ford AWD system works and how the Audi AWD system works.

 

After all, if you "know" that Ford's system is FWD biased, you should be able to explain how it works.

[morgande]

Please, in a paragraph or two, explain how the Ford AWD system works and how the Audi AWD system works.

 

After all, if you "know" that Ford's system is FWD biased, you should be able to explain how it works.

 

Sure, or at least I'll certainly do my best.

 

Fords AWD system is FWD biased in that FWD is its primary operation. Power is transfered to the rear wheels under two main conditions:

during hard acceleration and/or slippage of the front wheels.

 

However, power ratio is never 100% to the rear. It will never transfer all of the power to rears. The exact percentage I'm not sure, but I believe its 80% max. Or at least I read that somewhere.

 

Fords AWD system is different that most, in that it only transfers power under certain driving conditions. Its not an 'always on' condition. This was intentionally developed by Ford to reduce the negative fuel economy aspects of traditional AWD systems. This is in stark contrast to other manufacturers configurations like Audi, who run 50/50 always on.

 

Thats what I know about Fords AWD system. It it 100% accurate, no. But its pretty accurate, or at least I think it is.

 

Fords AWD system works very well in flat out acceleration. However, because of its tendency towards FWD, it will naturally understeer in certain driving scenarios. Especially when the accelerator is lightly feathered or not used at all. In the majority (if not all) of the reviews of MKS/SHO vehicles, you will find that the Fords setups tend to understeer. And in some cases, torque steer as well. I have yet to read a review of Fords AWD car that praised its handling characteristics.

 

That being said, I think I clearly have an understanding of how Fords AWS setup works. Going back to the 6verses8 site, you will find that the driver was pretty quiet about speaking on the MKS handling. It had power sure (and in the case of that test, ample power at altitud compared to its naturally aspirated rivals), but he didn't mention anything about how the car actually handled around the corners. You won't hear anyone else on the videos speak about the MKS handling as well.

 

But since you were implying that I didn't know what I was talking about, Please show me some evidence of why Fords AWD setup has such superior handling. And please show me some examples, reviews, editorials, etc that back up this claim. In particular, backing up the claim that Fords AWD is comparable to the Audi Quattro.

[Edstock]

Right now, the AUDI is probably superior in terms of high-performance handling. However, the future should be interesting if Ford goes to work on the Fusion. Time will tell. Maybe we'll get an SVT Fusion.

[rmc523]

That being said, I think I clearly have an understanding of how Fords AWS setup works. Going back to the 6verses8 site, you will find that the driver was pretty quiet about speaking on the MKS handling. It had power sure (and in the case of that test, ample power at altitud compared to its naturally aspirated rivals), but he didn't mention anything about how the car actually handled around the corners. You won't hear anyone else on the videos speak about the MKS handling as well.

 

Just because they didn't talk about it's handling in the edited, released version doesn't mean it didn't handle well....obviously it did something right to finish 2nd in that company of vehicles...

[Biker16]

"... born between 1965 and 1976 ..."

 

First, I would not call a 40 something year old person a Gen X'er ! I would say the oldest Gen X'ers would not be more than early thirties.

 

Second (based on my definition) I don't know ONE Gen X'er that could afford a Lincoln ! Most can not afford a house, unless they are married and both are working !

 

you are confusing Gen X with Gen Y

 

I am 32, I am Gen X, and I can afford a lincoln. Alot of my friends are driving BMWs and Audis.