Ford to post record Q1 profit

[jpd80]

I guess Lincoln Financial Services has been spun-off from Ford Credit into it's own subsidiary so maybe in the future they will do the same with the Lincoln Motor Company.

Or is that just clever marketing by re branding existing Ford Credit services...there doesn't seem to be any separation in Ford's financial summaries.

[MKII]

I think they did it to try and make people forget that Lincoln is built by Ford, but the Ford brand is so successful right now I don't see why it is such an issue.

 

You have not been reading any Lincoln vehicle reviews?

Fords success does not seem to carry any cred with the auto critics constantly harping about Lincolns being "just a dressed up Ford"

[Biker16]

Oh, I have a feeling that Lincoln is very important to Ford but not for the reasons being said.

 

China is begging for a luxury brand that can be built alongside existing Fords in that country

I see great opportunity for MKC, MKZ and MKX over there and the sales may indeed justify all

costs of development of those Lincoln models.

 

My concern is why aren't these profits being invested? Ford are not spend nearly enough money for Lincoln to have a fighting chance at being the luxury brand Ford says it needs.

 

they are being timid when they should be aggressive.

[silvrsvt]

My concern is why aren't these profits being invested? Ford are not spend nearly enough money for Lincoln to have a fighting chance at being the luxury brand Ford says it needs.

 

they are being timid when they should be aggressive.

 

Who says they are not? If all Ford is doing is new tophats with new features on the new Lincolns, its not going to cost billions of dollars to be successful...do you want Ford to go the route of Caddy and spend many billions of dollars on platforms with dubious results?

 

The biggest problem with Lincoln is perception from nearly everyone...seems like everyone wants them to be like "fill in the blank" Luxury maker and when they don't do that, they get derided by the auto press and trolls on message boards. Ford has a plan for Lincoln and their going to it Fords way, not way everyone else thinks they should be doing.

[RichardJensen]

My concern is why aren't these profits being invested?

 

You don't know what Ford's investing. There's a $1B figure floating around, but no one has supplied even the smallest amount of context for that figure.

[mackinaw]

You don't know what Ford's investing. There's a $1B figure floating around, but no one has supplied even the smallest amount of context for that figure.

 

The one billion dollar figure came from an article in the Wall Street Journal who talked to several dealers, off the record, at a LIncoln briefing event. Hearsay at best.

[akirby]

Hearsay at best.

 

And 2 years old. Things change.

 

If Ford wanted Lincoln to win magazine comparisons and critical acclaim then they'd pour billions into new platforms like Caddy. But that's not likely to be very profitable.

 

Ford wants to sell Lincolns for additional profit so their conservative approach makes sense.

[jpd80]

The one billion dollar figure came from an article in the Wall Street Journal who talked to several dealers, off the record, at a LIncoln briefing event. Hearsay at best.

Te article was mentioned by Ford themselves in 2010, seven new or refreshed Lincolns in the next four years,

that deal presumably concludes ta the end of 2014...LINK

 

 

DEARBORN, Mich., June 2, 2010 – Ford Motor Company will expand and enhance its Lincoln brand lineup with seven all-new or significantly refreshed vehicles in the next four years as part of an aggressive growth plan focused on standout product design, class-leading technology and new powertrains – all aimed at competing with Cadillac and Lexus in North America

The one Billion dollar figure was presumably was leaked by a Lincoln contact to the press..

Edited April 29, 2013 by jpd80

[NickF1011]

My concern is why aren't these profits being invested? Ford are not spend nearly enough money for Lincoln to have a fighting chance at being the luxury brand Ford says it needs.

 

they are being timid when they should be aggressive.

The money can only be invested so quickly. What can they really rush? MKC is coming online this year. All of the other vehicles they likely have planned will arrive when it makes sense for them to be designed in-cycle with their Ford cousins. Lincoln will not and should not (at least at this time) be doing heavy platform development work on its own, so the timing of new vehicle launches will continue, in the near term, to be entirely dependent upon the scheduling of its donor platforms.

 

In other words, they can't go any faster than they already are.