BORG Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Article from Automotive News. Insiders say that as the brand tries to reinvent itself, its product strategy will focus on the highest-volume luxury segments. It will not try to cover all segments, create new ones or devote resources to a low-volume halo car. Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20120820/OEM04/308209994#ixzz249V7jLiJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 This approach makes sense to me - make sure to have the core products in place/established and once the brand is healthier/more successful, they can then expand into the lower volume, higher priced segments (flagship, halo car, coupes, convertibles, etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT-Keith Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 *Opens arms* Welcome, Lincoln! *hug* I love the MKZ. What I like: 10.1 inch V-A navigation system Digital suspension The styling(in/out) What I'd like to see in a few years: 8 speed auto Top-end turbo model ~300hp Aluminum interior trim option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Article from Automotive News. Thanks for the link, it looks like Ford is searching for a comfortable put down zone for Lincoln to rest in and grow a new following, I wonder if that simple, easy sounding goal becomes much harder in reality..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgy Girl Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 (edited) Oh man.. Luxury brand to a younger generation who is having tons of trouble in the economy. LIncoln still has a connotation that is attached to the Boomer Generation - the Lincoln would have to be "apple-ized" to strike at the under 35 set. I looked at the MKX, MKZ before ordering my Edge - and neither look as hot or young as my Ford SEL with SEL appearance pkg, Lincoln has got to be seen as a "dope" brand - I just don't see it happening with the styling and current marketing compaign. Edited August 21, 2012 by Edgy Girl 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Oh man.. Luxury brand to a younger generation who is having tons of trouble in the economy. LIncoln still has a connotation that is attached to the Boomer Generation - the Lincoln would have to be "apple-ized" to strike at the under 35 set. I looked at the MKX, MKZ before ordering my Edge - and neither look as hot or young as my Ford SEL with SEL appearance pkg, Lincoln has got to be seen as a "dope" brand - I just don't see it happening with the styling and current marketing compaign. I see Lincoln's target buyer group as being in their forties, instead of the sixty something grandpa brand.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Luxury brand to a younger generation who is having tons of trouble in the economy. So, they should stick with their current demo, which ranges between "Get off my lawn, you punk kids!" and "dead?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I see Lincoln's target buyer group as being in their forties, instead of the sixty something grandpa brand.. Exactly, they should be shooting for Gen Xers...going after anything younger is going to be counter productive. If you can start drawing in people in their 40s,who are normally pretty economically well off to start with, you should hopefully get another 3-4 car purchases out of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgy Girl Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I am the current demographic!! Mid 40s - established single person with $$ to spend... I still assocated Lincoln with my dad!! But I still want a cool hip ride and those punks can play on my grass anytime! ; ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 What I'd like to see in a few years: 8 speed auto Top-end turbo model ~300hp Aluminum interior trim option It already offers a 300 HP engine. It just doesn't have a turbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Exactly, they should be shooting for Gen Xers...going after anything younger is going to be counter productive. If you can start drawing in people in their 40s,who are normally pretty economically well off to start with, you should hopefully get another 3-4 car purchases out of them That's what I thought....a group that has good income and knows what they like An indulgence that says you can have your cake and eat it too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 This is the smart, fiscally responsible way to reinvent the brand. Not the sexiest but the smartest. Bringing out a halo car right now with the current dealer infrastructure would be a disaster. They don't need to "target" anybody - just build some great looking vehicles with good performance and luxury features and upgrade the dealership experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgy Girl Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 If you build it, they will come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
focus05 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 "We're only going after volume..." Then why the heck do you still have the MKS? That car competes with no one other than itself. It's not engaging enough to be an A6 competitor, let alone an A8/7-series/S-class/LS competitor. It's too big to be a 5-series, GS or E-class competitor. What is it's function? "We're targeting a younger demographic..." with a car like the MKZ? The primary buyers of luxury cars in their 30s and 40s are men. The MKZ will be a woman's car. Women, being the far more intelligent gender, are more prudent with their money and will hold off on luxuries like this until their 50s and 60s. So, you might gain some traction under 70, but it's going to be a lot like the ES's traction below 70. Female, dual-income, kids in college or graduated, 55-60. Lincoln's product plans as it should be: start by copying Volvo. Build volume. Add interesting stuff. I'm serious. 1. Phase out the MKS and MKT. 2. Create a direct Q5/XC60/X3 competitor. Built on a shrunken EUCD platform, shorter than the existing MKX with less bulk and more toned muscle. Weighing in at 3700-4000 lbs depending on config, it should be powered by a premium fuel only 270 hp 2.0T. The hybrid should be more "performance" tuned than the 2.0-hybrid system in the Ford's. It should probably be based on a 2.5 or 2.7 engine 3. Create a direct A4/S60/3-series/IS competitor. Doesn't need to be RWD. Built on a shrunken EUCD (see, Volvo...), shorter than the MKZ by about 7-8 inches with less niceness and more naughty. Weighing in at 3400-3600 lbs depending on config, it should have similar engine and tech options as the CUV. 4. Once there, build out the GRWD for Lincoln. Make the MKZ (or some new name) a real 5-series competitor. Or make a real D platform that is AWD-focused, shrink the length relative to the current Taurus and make a real A6 competitor. Either will do. This would be a candidate for the 330-350hp 2.7 turbo along with a diesel and hybrid. 5. Add in your 3-row luxury CUV here on the D/GRWD platform. The Q7/GX/sort-of-X5/Land Rover-type competitor. 6. Keep the Navigator and do just what I think you're doing. Update, differentiate from Expedition, add an ecoboost, and look at alternative power trains (diesel/hybrid). Keep it an almost real truck. 7. When the brand is steady in, say, 2016/7... Create your flag: the Continental. Think 7-series/LS/S-class/A8... Probably a mostly unique platform (if MKZ is D, then a unique AWD like A8; if it's RWD, then a unique RWD like LS) with innovative drivetrains - probably some hybrid that is "experimental" in that it's expensive to produce but that cost nets you uniqueness in the class. 8. A coupe, probably built on the same platform as MKZ or Mustang (or both if it's GRWD). Again focus is on unleashing engagement while using an innovative powertrain. 9. By 2018/2019 a 1-series/A3 competitor built on a heavily modified (from now) C-platform. Cities are getting crowded pushing basically everyone into smaller and smaller vehicles globally. Then, you have 8 products. Globally, by the end of the decade, if things go ok, your top-end sedan and coupe will muster only 50k combined, and your BC-segment might make it another 50k. But your CD class will likely be rocketing through 200k units per year combined while your D-ish car and CUV will likely add another 100k globally. All in, you're at 400k globally (4x now). Lincoln becomes your "cutting edge" brand where you test out things like tech, self-driving, powertrain innovations, etc that are hard to scale because of price, production, or any number of variables. But it also leaves room for Ford brand to scale up without hitting Lincoln directly. Your sizes are slightly different. Technology adoption curve is faster in one than the other. Because of that, a very refined and extraordinarily well-equipped Fusion could push into the mid-$40s without stepping on the MKZs toes or your slightly smaller CD car's toes. The dynamics, room, design, and function of the vehicles has some divergence other than a fancy panoramic roof. It seems like for all their bravado, they are still trying to bootstrap this operation and reinventing the wheel when Volvo has shown them exactly how to modify EUCD and Audi has shown them what they need in terms of dynamics in a FWD/AWD world. I also still don't know what the obsession with MKS or MKT is. Kill them. Frankly, they didn't work. And they won't given Ford's current contextualization of them. They have no competitors, really. The MKS is completely unique as it can't hold a candle to the A6 or A8 and is too big for 5-series, GS, etc. A bloated, boring barge in a taut luxury world. So... what's next with them, really? I wish them luck with Lincoln, but I don't actually see a really good product plan yet. That said, I also don't know what they are discussing internally... so I'll wait patiently while this drama unfolds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 (edited) "We're only going after volume..." Then why the heck do you still have the MKS? That car competes with no one other than itself. It's not engaging enough to be an A6 competitor, let alone an A8/7-series/S-class/LS competitor. It's too big to be a 5-series, GS or E-class competitor. What is it's function? Ummm...cuz they haven't had the time or resources to redesign it yet? Even the 2013 MKZ wasn't 100% in the mold of where they plan to go moving forward. It's close, but not quite there. The MKS is still a holdout from the previous "regime". There's no reason to discontinue it, but it will need to be redesigned, which is in the cards. And frankly, even if you don't think it stacks up well against its competitors, it's still selling 1000+ units a month, which is somewhat a feat for a fullsize luxury car. Edited August 21, 2012 by NickF1011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 but I don't actually see a really good product plan yet. And you won't. Ford, unlike some others, doesn't show their cards in advance. Lack of information doesn't mean they're not working on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I see Lincoln's target buyer group as being in their forties, instead of the sixty something grandpa brand.. No way 40's, but upper 50's and early 60's is very likely. Maybe a sharp looking small CUV could get the 40's female though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted August 21, 2012 Author Share Posted August 21, 2012 (edited) One way to get younger followers is to offer cheaper and smaller cars, which is what they aim to do. However, I don't know how you appeal to younger customers on the current Lincoln philosophy of "middle ground" luxury. Unless Lincoln dramatically changes tone and design, they will continue to attract significantly older clientele than the competing marques. Good luck to them, but they really need to stop talking until they start delivering some examples. Edited August 21, 2012 by BORG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgy Girl Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 No way 40's, but upper 50's and early 60's is very likely. Maybe a sharp looking small CUV could get the 40's female though. LOL.. Bingo... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted August 21, 2012 Author Share Posted August 21, 2012 Oh man.. Luxury brand to a younger generation who is having tons of trouble in the economy. LIncoln still has a connotation that is attached to the Boomer Generation - the Lincoln would have to be "apple-ized" to strike at the under 35 set. I looked at the MKX, MKZ before ordering my Edge - and neither look as hot or young as my Ford SEL with SEL appearance pkg, Lincoln has got to be seen as a "dope" brand - I just don't see it happening with the styling and current marketing compaign. Nice new Edge! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Good luck to them, but they really need to stop talking until they start delivering some examples. They're only talking because people like us keep asking them the same questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timf Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Ford's practice of dumbing down the Ford version of vehicles compared to their Lincoln equivalents is the only thing that could get me into a Lincoln. When looking at the Edge, I also took a look at the MKX since the price was not substantially more (only about $50 a month, and still less than I was paying for my previous car). In the case of the Edge vs MKX, the features the Lincoln offered did not bring with them enough incremental value to overcome the stigma of purchasing an "old person's" car as a 29-year-old. When contemplating my next vehicle for when my lease is up in 18 months, I am leaning heavily towards a Hybrid. The new Fusion looks very nice, but the way Ford has stripped down the Fusion Hybrid to only an SE version without many of the features I want makes the MKZ the more logical choice. I have my fingers crossed that they expand their offerings in the second model year, but it could all be part of their plan to drive more younger customers to Lincoln. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmm55 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 "Most conspicuous of those is a retractable panoramic sun roof, which Lincoln says is the world's largest. It will be offered as a $2,995 option on all models. Also optional will be a second smaller sun roof. ' Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20120820/OEM04/308209994#ixzz24D0DjOEO Not true on either accounts. You can't get it on the base (Premiere) model. Also the second one isn't a sunroof at all, or smaller, but a fixed glass roof like the Mustang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcthorne Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 No way 40's, but upper 50's and early 60's is very likely. Maybe a sharp looking small CUV could get the 40's female though. Yep, would get my wife....Especially if they included a PHEV drive train. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmm55 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Ford's practice of dumbing down the Ford version of vehicles compared to their Lincoln equivalents is the only thing that could get me into a Lincoln. When looking at the Edge, I also took a look at the MKX since the price was not substantially more (only about $50 a month, and still less than I was paying for my previous car). I have to disagree. If anything, Ford's top tier Titanium models are intruding into Lincoln's market. In GM speak Ford trim levels are everything from base Chevy to Upmarket Buick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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