mackinaw Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 From today's Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20111230/AUTO01/112300403/Ford-brand-s-U-S-sales-top-2-million-first-time-since-2007?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 "Bububububu Ford is supposed to be bankrupt by now!!!!!!" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 (edited) Dropping Mercury helped! More Ford branded cars, and less badge jobs. Shows that there was no need for it anymore. Also phasing out the Panthers didn't affect sales, too! Some swore that Ford would 'go out of business' from lost CV/GM/TC sales, since "the tooling is paid off". Edited December 30, 2011 by 630land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 (edited) It's hard to say whether a full line of Mercury vehicles would have helped or hindered those figures, but by choosing to have the Ford brand only, Ford simplified all of its processes and eliminated duplication, that has to be good for business... As we say farewell to the old BOF favorites like Panther, Explorer and Ranger, we say hello to new and exciting sedans and utilities. Edited December 30, 2011 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker16 Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 If ford is going for better margins, with a less emphasis on sales, They need to add more variety to their lineup. derivitives of exsisting models, hatchs wagons, coupes where appropriate, and niche models that go after a specific group of customers, like the C-max7, Evos Coupe, small SUV, etc. if they don't expand their offerings they will lose volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT-Keith Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Dropping Mercury helped! More Ford branded cars, and less badge jobs. Shows that there was no need for it anymore. Also phasing out the Panthers didn't affect sales, too! Some swore that Ford would 'go out of business' from lost CV/GM/TC sales, since "the tooling is paid off". You better be careful saying this. The badge-job brigade will bombard you with semantics about how Lincoln/Merc aren't badge jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005Explorer Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 You better be careful saying this. The badge-job brigade will bombard you with semantics about how Lincoln/Merc aren't badge jobs. Mercury was a re-badge. Lincoln is badge-engineering. There is a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 You better be careful saying this. The badge-job brigade will bombard you with semantics about how Lincoln/Merc aren't badge jobs. Some were, some were not. If you share interiors, drivetrains and options then it's a rebadge. (Fusion/Milan, CV/GM, Ranger/B series, Explorer/Navajo) If you have unique drivetrains, interiors and options then it's platform sharing which then breaks down into 2 categories depending on whether they share sheetmetal/greenhouses (like the Fusion and MKZ) or not (like Flex, MKT and Explorer). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT-Keith Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Mercury was a re-badge. Lincoln is badge-engineering. There is a difference. I know there's a difference, but I'm just not convinced that the difference is noticeably to consumers. Anecdote: My mother was parked next to a 2008/9 Lincoln MKZ, she drives a 2010 Mercury Milan and she walked to the MKZ as if it were hers. Granted, both cars were the same color. I just don't see Passat owners mistaking their car for an A6 despite both sharing the same platform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 I know there's a difference, but I'm just not convinced that the difference is noticeably to consumers. Anecdote: My mother was parked next to a 2008/9 Lincoln MKZ, she drives a 2010 Mercury Milan and she walked to the MKZ as if it were hers. Granted, both cars were the same color. I just don't see Passat owners mistaking their car for an A6 despite both sharing the same platform. Exactly why new Lincolns won't share any sheet metal, roofs or doors with Fords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT-Keith Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Exactly why new Lincolns won't share any sheet metal, roofs or doors with Fords. Indeed! I like the '11 MKZ, the packaging is great. Can't wait for the '13. Lets hope Ford offers at least a TiVCT 3.5/7 as the mid- or or range-topping engine until the smaller V6 Ecoboosts arrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Mercury was a re-badge. Lincoln is badge-engineering. There is a difference. No Badge engineering and rebadging are the same thing. Mercury was basically a rebadged ford with very minor changes, Lincoln is currently a reskinned and heavily upgraded Ford vehicle but will soon become true platform sharing by having a unique top hat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Mercury was basically a rebadged ford with very minor changes, Lincoln is currently a reskinned and heavily upgraded Ford vehicle but will soon become true platform sharing by having a unique top hat. Depends on the model. The current MKS and Taurus do not share top hats. The current Fusion and the MKZ do. Etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Depends on the model. The current MKS and Taurus do not share top hats. The current Fusion and the MKZ do. Etc. MKS actually lead off on changes to D3 sedan and the Taurus was meant to follow but Mulally intervened and insisted that changes were made to Taurus to make it better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) I just don't see Passat owners mistaking their car for an A6 despite both sharing the same platform. The '00 era Passat & A6? Same color parked right next to each other? I can see that happening. And unlike the MKZ/Fusion, they *don't* share the same platform, nor are they the same size. Edited January 1, 2012 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss444 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Mercury was a re-badge. Lincoln is badge-engineering. There is a difference. Yeah...Mercury had better sales than Lincoln. :shades: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Yeah...Mercury had better sales than Lincoln. :shades: Fleet and employee discounts. :shades: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Fleet and employee discounts. :shades: And price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Ford had another great year. Let's hope Ford especially and the domestic industry as a whole has another great year. This country badly needs its homegrown auto industry to do well. Yeah, I know Chrysler is owned by Fiat, but it would be foolish and counterproductive to think of Chrysler as "foreign." For that matter, I hope 2012 is a great year for everyone, but not at the expense of Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackinaw Posted January 1, 2012 Author Share Posted January 1, 2012 .......I know Chrysler is owned by Fiat, but it would be foolish and counterproductive to think of Chrysler as "foreign." ....... Chrysler is foreign. The new Dodge Dart is based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta that was engineered in Italy by Fiat. The Detroit 3 is now effectively the Detroit 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Yeah...Mercury had better sales than Lincoln. :shades: Only just, last full year was 2010: Lincoln 85,828 Mecury 93,195 I bet that Lincoln's average transaction price was at least $10,000 more than Mercury...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Only just, last full year was 2010: Lincoln 85,828 Mecury 93,195 I bet that Lincoln's average transaction price was at least $10,000 more than Mercury...... No matter how you cut it, Ford had a very good year and Lincoln had a very poor year in an improving luxury market. Not much to cheer about with Lincoln right now. Hopefully 2012 will give us a clue on where this brand is going. By end of year we should know, with at least production versions of MKZ and MKEscape being shown later in year. Lincoln is going to have to up the incentives on the present, dated products in the meantime. Lincoln's best selling vehicle is the MKZ, and it doesn't measure up in my book and will be long year selling it until new one hits market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT-Keith Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 No matter how you cut it, Ford had a very good year and Lincoln had a very poor year in an improving luxury market. Not much to cheer about with Lincoln right now. Hopefully 2012 will give us a clue on where this brand is going. By end of year we should know, with at least production versions of MKZ and MKEscape being shown later in year. Lincoln is going to have to up the incentives on the present, dated products in the meantime. Lincoln's best selling vehicle is the MKZ, and it doesn't measure up in my book and will be long year selling it until new one hits market. There's so much wrong with this post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev-Mo Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Ford had another great year. Let's hope Ford especially and the domestic industry as a whole has another great year. This country badly needs its homegrown auto industry to do well. Yeah, I know Chrysler is owned by Fiat, but it would be foolish and counterproductive to think of Chrysler as "foreign." For that matter, I hope 2012 is a great year for everyone, but not at the expense of Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Think what you want but foreign is foreign! Owned by Fiat is foreign - any questions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 No matter how you cut it, Ford had a very good year and Lincoln had a very poor year in an improving luxury market. Not much to cheer about with Lincoln right now. Hopefully 2012 will give us a clue on where this brand is going. By end of year we should know, with at least production versions of MKZ and MKEscape being shown later in year. Lincoln is going to have to up the incentives on the present, dated products in the meantime. Lincoln's best selling vehicle is the MKZ, and it doesn't measure up in my book and will be long year selling it until new one hits market. And you're a little too critical.... Fords main priority has been to focus on its own brand, without that being truly strong, nothing else matters. Lincoln doesn't really matter to Ford's profitability, but now that Ford is stable and strong, it will get the funds needed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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