Phelan Talks About Lincoln

[RichardJensen]

You know what? You're right.

 

On the other hand, what's done is done.

[BORG]

WTH is going on in here? And I am not reading all of that to find out!

[RichardJensen]

With all due respect, Borg, it sounds much better coming from Lombardi:

 

[RichardJensen]

In short, one member of the board basically spent the day engaging in the kind of rhetoric typically seen in politics, and--sadly--I was, once again, dumb enough to get drawn in.

[jpd80]

I'll offer this, though: as I keep looking at MKZ shots, I find that I am genuinely appreciative of the rear styling in particular. I figured out why, and it's both a win for the styling and a win for people that love some older FoMoCo products:

 

From the rear, it shows lineage to the gorgeous Torino GT of circa 1970. I tried to post pics for comparison, but I got a "you are not allowed...in this community" window. Dammit.

 

We can get behind this styling direction.

On this we agree, a new styling language that doesn't copy others but still reminds people of former great cars has to be a breath of fresh air..

 

In my opinion, this new MKZ is no just a tarted up Fusion Titanium, it is so much more, everything is different.

I love the styling and I sincerely hope that it falls into your different enough from Ford category

and because you asked nicely, This is for you.. enjoy..

 

Edited November 7, 2012 by jpd80

[jpd80]

Lincoln to launch MKZ with a major marketing push next month

 

LINK

The Lincoln brand will launch the MKZ, its first all-new car in years, with a major marketing push next month.

"It will be the biggest campaign in years," said Matt VanDyke, the newly appointed global director of Lincoln.

"It's not just about the car. It's the brand re-launch with the vehicle at the center." He declined to say how much

Ford will spend on this effort beyond "a lot."

 

In addition to a full 100-day advertising campaign with print, television and social media, there are new brochures,

sales materials, website, displays at dealerships and auto shows. Even the logo has been modernized to give it a

cleaner look and actor John Slattery will be retired with the new campaign and tagline.

 

"Everything is being redone," VanDyke said, as he prepared to fly to Las Vegas this week to meet with dealers

getting ready to sell the $36,800 MKZ and offer a more upscale dealer experience than in the past.

There are about 300 Lincoln dealers in the top 130 metro markets, down from 500 two years ago.

 

VanDyke said he recognizes the challenge Lincoln faces to restore past glory as the top luxury brand in the U.S.

That is not even the goal. Nor does Lincoln want to be the mass brand leader. "We recognize we are not on the

radar screen of truly luxury buyers," VanDyke said. But Lincoln sees the premium market growing to 15% of the

U.S. market in five years, or 2.5 million sales from 1.5 million now. Much of that growth is coming from smaller

vehicles with downsized engines.

 

Lincoln's sales don't justify dedicated rear-drive platforms now or in the immediate future. The brand will continue to share

underpinnings with Ford vehicles -- in the case of the MKZ, there are some common elements with Ford Fusion. The MKZ's

three powertrain choices include a hybrid, a 2-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost engine like the Fusion-- but also a 3.7-liter V6,

which the Fusion lacks. MKZ also has larger wheels and brakes and more technology, including an optional glass roof and

higher-quality materials. Other features include continuously controlled damping and pothole detection to adjust the suspension

for a better ride and electric power-assisted steering.

 

"It looks like nothing else on the road," said Dave Sullivan, product analyst with AutoPacific. "It doesn't copy anyone,

and that will appeal to people who want a statement vehicle." "The MKZ is the car that will set the tone for all cars to come,"

said Rich Kreder, vehicle integration manager. The new MKZ should outsell the one it replaces, Sullivan said. The hard part is improving

the dealer experience and the culture change to attract younger affluent buyers.

 

"Cadillac has taken 15 years to shake the image of floaty old-man cars," Sullivan said. Lincoln dealers have not had much volume,

and old models continue to populate showrooms. The Navigator awaits a makeover. The MKT and MKS were upgraded, but they lack

the total makeover appearance of the MKZ. Next up is a small crossover that will be shown at the North American International Auto Show

in Detroit in January. Design chief Max Wolff said the three new Lincolns coming over the next three years will have different characteristics

and personality, but will retain the new DNA evident in the MKZ. That DNA includes a new horizontal split-wing grille with full-width LED taillamps

and push-button gearshift on the instrument panel that frees up interior space.

 

"Product never is enough," said analyst Rebecca Lindland of IHS Automotive. Lincoln needs a dynamic marketing campaign that tells customers

buying a Lincoln will make their life easier and more productive, which comes down to the dealer. ate Pearce, consumer marketing manager, said

the brand knows it must bring attention to the fact something different is going on at Lincoln.

Edited November 7, 2012 by jpd80

[Kris Kolman]

"Product never is enough," said analyst Rebecca Lindland of IHS Automotive. Lincoln needs a dynamic marketing campaign that tells customers

buying a Lincoln will make their life easier and more productive, which comes down to the dealer. ate Pearce, consumer marketing manager, said

the brand knows it must bring attention to the fact something different is going on at Lincoln.

 

To me this is the key and the differentiation from the past failure, in particular the LS... The CTS was the brand revolution that the LS never became because the LS was a small island in a sea of the same-old-same-old. Yes the LS was in the end a flawed product, but that is given far too much credit for the fundamental basis of its failure. The refreshed version was actually quite a nice ride. The lack of a brand, marketing, and most importantly dealer revolution to go along with the revolutionary product is what I believe to be the primary reason from the LS's ignoble death. The death of the LS followed by Dearborn's money problems unfortunately coupled together to put Lincoln on pause. This led to a huge decline in those other criteria that makes a luxury brand able to get the higher sales points. Particularly in an environment where mass market brands easily intrude into traditional luxury brand sales points. I believe this is where I see different from the "new" management in Dearborn... The closure of Mercury and the intense focus on the dealer experience before any product roll-out shows that they understand that is what is the background items that move the dial in terms of changing brand perception. This starts with accepting that Lincoln has earned its reputation in terms of bad motor press, while Lexus has earned the opposite treatment for the ES. I am hopeful that by addressing these background concerns first and moving into China, thus showing a larger goal in mind for the brand, they will start to move the dial in the right direction. That in turn will be supported by better, if not revolutionary, products will continue the ball rolling. This is a different, less aggressive, approach than Cadillac but in terms of cost invested and ROI I understand the strategy and think it has a better than even chance of succeeding. One must understand where you are and what you can do before you can execute a plan. Lincoln simply is in far to weak of a position to take a more aggressiveness position. The risk of failure is too great, and the lack of a foundation strong enough to withstand a large failure results in the less aggressive approach. I understand that to some this seems like another in a long line of plans that did succeed. The cynical response is warranted and earned from past failures, but I will take a wait and see approach... It won't take long (2 years or so) from the product roll out and Chinese market penetration to show any progress.

[jpd80]

To me this is the key and the differentiation from the past failure, in particular the LS... The CTS was the brand revolution that the LS never became because the LS was a small island in a sea of the same-old-same-old. Yes the LS was in the end a flawed product, but that is given far too much credit for the fundamental basis of its failure. The refreshed version was actually quite a nice ride. The lack of a brand, marketing, and most importantly dealer revolution to go along with the revolutionary product is what I believe to be the primary reason from the LS's ignoble death.

For those in the know, apparently DEW bled red ink all over the place, that's what killed the LS.

It couldn't use the Ford engine because it wouldn't fit into the engine bay..lots of stupid expensive things.

 

The death of the LS followed by Dearborn's money problems unfortunately coupled together to put Lincoln on pause. This led to a huge decline in those other criteria that makes a luxury brand able to get the higher sales points. Particularly in an environment where mass market brands easily intrude into traditional luxury brand sales points. I believe this is where I see different from the "new" management in Dearborn...

PAG exercise cost Ford in the region of $12 billion, a staggering amount, probably what nearly sank Ford in 2006

along with over reliance on Explorer and F150 at the start of a gas spike...

 

The closure of Mercury and the intense focus on the dealer experience before any product roll-out shows that they understand that is what is the background items that move the dial in terms of changing brand perception. This starts with accepting that Lincoln has earned its reputation in terms of bad motor press, while Lexus has earned the opposite treatment for the ES. I am hopeful that by addressing these background concerns first and moving into China, thus showing a larger goal in mind for the brand, they will start to move the dial in the right direction. That in turn will be supported by better, if not revolutionary, products will continue the ball rolling. This is a different, less aggressive, approach than Cadillac but in terms of cost invested and ROI I understand the strategy and think it has a better than even chance of succeeding. One must understand where you are and what you can do before you can execute a plan. Lincoln simply is in far to weak of a position to take a more aggressiveness position. The risk of failure is too great, and the lack of a foundation strong enough to withstand a large failure results in the less aggressive approach. I understand that to some this seems like another in a long line of plans that did succeed. The cynical response is warranted and earned from past failures, but I will take a wait and see approach... It won't take long (2 years or so) from the product roll out and Chinese market penetration to show any progress.

Optimists will see areas where Lincoln can quite rightly recover some lost ground, the pessimists can rightly say there's a lot to make up.

Time for Ford and Lincoln to start producing the goods, starting with MKZ next month, Wolff promises three more exciting vehicles by 2015..

 

A balanced view would insist on being positive about Lincolns prospects but also be a hard marker on those results and giving credit where its due.

Edited November 7, 2012 by jpd80

[SoonerLS]

For those in the know, apparently DEW bled red ink all over the place, that's what killed the LS.

I think he's talking about why the LS failed in the marketplace, not why it was a bad business decision. If it had come out in the midst of the forthcoming Lincoln revolution, surrounded by new "not old man" products, with a new dealer experience, and built in a plant where it had a chance to be profitable, it's entirely possible that it could have been a successful product.

It couldn't use the Ford engine because it wouldn't fit into the engine bay..lots of stupid expensive things.

The Mod Motors will fit in the LS's engine bay; they just had to be top-loaded, which made them a no-go on the assembly line. With the current management, that particular design flaw almost certainly would have been corrected, which would've helped a lot in the profitability arena...

[akirby]

To me this is the key and the differentiation from the past failure, in particular the LS... The CTS was the brand revolution that the LS never became because the LS was a small island in a sea of the same-old-same-old. Yes the LS was in the end a flawed product, but that is given far too much credit for the fundamental basis of its failure. The refreshed version was actually quite a nice ride. The lack of a brand, marketing, and most importantly dealer revolution to go along with the revolutionary product is what I believe to be the primary reason from the LS's ignoble death. The death of the LS followed by Dearborn's money problems unfortunately coupled together to put Lincoln on pause. This led to a huge decline in those other criteria that makes a luxury brand able to get the higher sales points. Particularly in an environment where mass market brands easily intrude into traditional luxury brand sales points. I believe this is where I see different from the "new" management in Dearborn... The closure of Mercury and the intense focus on the dealer experience before any product roll-out shows that they understand that is what is the background items that move the dial in terms of changing brand perception. This starts with accepting that Lincoln has earned its reputation in terms of bad motor press, while Lexus has earned the opposite treatment for the ES. I am hopeful that by addressing these background concerns first and moving into China, thus showing a larger goal in mind for the brand, they will start to move the dial in the right direction. That in turn will be supported by better, if not revolutionary, products will continue the ball rolling. This is a different, less aggressive, approach than Cadillac but in terms of cost invested and ROI I understand the strategy and think it has a better than even chance of succeeding. One must understand where you are and what you can do before you can execute a plan. Lincoln simply is in far to weak of a position to take a more aggressiveness position. The risk of failure is too great, and the lack of a foundation strong enough to withstand a large failure results in the less aggressive approach. I understand that to some this seems like another in a long line of plans that did succeed. The cynical response is warranted and earned from past failures, but I will take a wait and see approach... It won't take long (2 years or so) from the product roll out and Chinese market penetration to show any progress.

 

This is EXACTLY what I was trying to convey 6 pages ago. You don't fix Lincoln with a halo vehicle. The LS was too expensive with no supporting premium dealership experience and while it was certainly different from any other Ford in all respects there were areas where it wasn't much better like the dash and interior materials.

 

Lincoln is putting the foundation in to a long term successful brand. Foundations are never sexy but they're required to sustain the parts you can see and interact with. Lincoln will never match Lexus or MB without a premium dealership experience.

 

The reason a lot of past and present Lincolns get no respect is that they were styled by the same folks who did the Ford vehicles. That's no longer the case with a dedicated Lincoln design team.

 

The MKZ doesn't have to be perfect. At this point it just has to be a big step in the right direction to show that Ford is serious about Lincoln's being different. It will have room for improvement. It will also be the litmus test to see if buyers will accept the new Lincolns.

 

I think it will be successful over the next several years and by successful I mean they'll sell more vehicles than they do now and turn a nice profit doing it. That's why Ford is keeping Lincoln - for no other reason than to generate more profits. It's not about winning magazine comparisons or other awards. LS won COTY - how'd that work out?

 

I do think Ford will try to do one or more performance versions based on existing platforms. Whether that's CD4/AWD or Mustang/RWD I'm not sure but I do know they'd like to do something special - they just have to figure out how to do it without spending billions in the process and that may take some time.

[akirby]

I think he's talking about why the LS failed in the marketplace, not why it was a bad business decision. If it had come out in the midst of the forthcoming Lincoln revolution, surrounded by new "not old man" products, with a new dealer experience, and built in a plant where it had a chance to be profitable, it's entirely possible that it could have been a successful product.

 

The Mod Motors will fit in the LS's engine bay; they just had to be top-loaded, which made them a no-go on the assembly line. With the current management, that particular design flaw almost certainly would have been corrected, which would've helped a lot in the profitability arena...

 

What are you - some kind of LS club member?

[SoonerLS]

What are you - some kind of LS club member?

Takes one to know one. :bag:

[BORG]

With all due respect, Borg, it sounds much better coming from Lombardi:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocV5bGHdYag

 

I need a GIF of this as my avatar!

 

Getting back to MKZ, it doesn't even represent the full ambition of Lincoln's new design staff. But I think it's safe to assume they like what they've done there and wish to continue it.

[ANTAUS]

The LS did accomplish a few things for Lincoln at the time. One of them is bringing in new customers, its just they had no cohesive plan to really retain them. And that was one of their goals, but those people jumped ship soon after. It also sent a message to the public that Ford was serious to turning around the Lincoln brand. So it did have it's positive points, its not all negative either.

[BORG]

The LS did accomplish a few things for Lincoln at the time. One of them is bringing in new customers, its just they had no cohesive plan to really retain them. And that was one of their goals, but those people jumped ship soon after. It also sent a message to the public that Ford was serious to turning around the Lincoln brand. So it did have it's positive points, its not all negative either.

 

The LS was my first Lincoln, but I managed to stay. My family had Lincolns before, but they were pretty terribly vehicles compared to the silkyness of the LS. I will never forget driving the LS for the first time, bottomless power without the noise of that horrible boat anchor 4.6LV V8. It was just a night and day experience and truly emphasized the difference between a luxury car and a tarted up marginal Ford.

Edited November 7, 2012 by BORG

[akirby]

The LS did accomplish a few things for Lincoln at the time. One of them is bringing in new customers, its just they had no cohesive plan to really retain them. And that was one of their goals, but those people jumped ship soon after. It also sent a message to the public that Ford was serious to turning around the Lincoln brand. So it did have it's positive points, its not all negative either.

 

I remember Jim Rogers (VP of marketing at the time) talking about all the plans for multiple new Lincoln vehicles including a 3 series competitor. But then the business case for the LS fell apart and so did PAG.

 

I still think about what Lincoln could be today if they had hired Mulally 5 years earlier.

[jpd80]

I need a GIF of this as my avatar!

 

Getting back to MKZ, it doesn't even represent the full ambition of Lincoln's new design staff. But I think it's safe to assume they like what they've done there and wish to continue it.

Lincoln buyers can take great heart in what you say, the MKZ is a very distinctive and attractive vehicle that adopts some of the

changing style philosophy at Lincoln whilst still maximizing efficiency with its mostly unseen Ford underpinnings.

[ANTAUS]

I remember Jim Rogers (VP of marketing at the time) talking about all the plans for multiple new Lincoln vehicles including a 3 series competitor. But then the business case for the LS fell apart and so did PAG.

 

I still think about what Lincoln could be today if they had hired Mulally 5 years earlier.

 

Jaguar maybe, since they are still using DEW. Im looking at the XF lately to replace my LS, and I dont want to defect either.

[akirby]

Jaguar maybe, since they are still using DEW.

 

Plus crossovers and suvs. I don't think he would have stuck with DEW - too expensive and inflexible.

 

Don't forget there was a global RWD program in place when the bottom fell out in 2008 and it had to be killed. I think it would have been a joint effort with team mustang and the aussies. Great performance options but lower cost than DEW.

[ZanatWork]

The LS was my first Lincoln, but I managed to stay. My family had Lincolns before, but they were pretty terribly vehicles compared to the silkyness of the LS. I will never forget driving the LS for the first time, bottomless power without the noise of that horrible boat anchor 4.6LV V8. It was just a night and day experience and truly emphasized the difference between a luxury car and a tarted up marginal Ford.

 

The 4.6 wasn't in the LS, it was the 3.9 shared with the T-Bird.

[akirby]

The 4.6 wasn't in the LS, it was the 3.9 shared with the T-Bird.

 

That's what "without" means......

 

bottomless power without the noise of that horrible boat anchor 4.6LV V8.

[TomServo92]

The 4.6 wasn't in the LS, it was the 3.9 shared with the T-Bird.

 

He didn't say it was. You misunderstood his post.

[FordBuyer]

"Optimistically," we will know more once the new entry level MKZ starts selling in numbers after full launch, and even more once the entry level small CUV is shown at NAIAS and then starts showing up at dealers. Those two should put some pop into Lincoln sales, especially the new, small CUV that will be new to lineup and all extra sales. It stands to reason that these two entry level luxury vehicles will represent the bulk of Lincoln sales with MKS, MKT, and Navigator barely showing up. MKZ and MKEscape will do the heavy lifting and at least give Lincoln dealers some reason for being. Then whatever comes next will take some time and will have a rough road to hoe.

[jpd80]

It stands to reason that these two entry level luxury vehicles will represent the bulk of Lincoln sales with MKS, MKT, and Navigator barely showing up. MKZ and MKEscape will do the heavy lifting and at least give Lincoln dealers some reason for being. Then whatever comes next will take some time and will have a rough road to hoe.

Might want to rephrase that as three Lincolns,to do the heavy lifting - MKZ, MKE and MKX...

Edited November 8, 2012 by jpd80

[Marginal Economist]

Might want to rephrase that as three Lincolns,to do the heavy lifting - MKZ, MKE and MKX...

MKZ, MKX, and MKC will be the three volume lines. Followed by a new MKS and a refreshed Navigator.

 

New Ecoboost engines will be powering the next Gen Lincolns.