Potatogod93 Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 My wife works in the office of a Ford Dealership which allows us access to the Ford D-plan so we were thinking getting a couple new vehicles. Each of our situations are a little different. With her Leasing maybe makes more sense as she is the type of person who gets bored with a vehicle. She would like to look at either an Edge or a Fusion. My situation I am not sure if I should Lease or Buy and if I lease I would very much consider buying at the end of my lease. Part of the reason I am considering Lease is if I don't like the MyFord/Lincoln Touch I wouldn't be permantly stuck with it. I am looking at the MKZ, but definetly need to test it first I haven't driven anything yet. With her D-Plan it would lower the lease payments, but if I'm buying it later the residual Value will be unchanged. With the current MKZ I fear they are making the residual value a little high to encourage leases. I may not mind dropping the car at the end of the lease, but if I do this than I strongly considering the THX system as sound is somewhat important to me. I've heard mixed reviews of the audio system, but as I have gotten older sound isn't as important as it once was, but still fairly important. Anyway my main inquiries are should we test-drive act now? OR should wait off a couple monhs for the 2014's? I've heard one rumor, though I cannot seem to find it again, that the 2014 Fusion was coming at a lower pricepoint than 2013. I have not heard anything about the 2014 MKZ which somewhat scares me if the price were to increase. Any advice is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FusionNewbie Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I would personally wait if it's viable. The second round of these vehicles should show a much improved build quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybridbear Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Edmunds & KBB have pricing available now for 2014 Fusions. You can see both MSRP and dealer invoice. Prices have increased for 2014, assuming that their data is accurate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailey151 Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I would personally wait if it's viable. The second round of these vehicles should show a much improved build quality. I would rephrase that, build quality is likely to remain the same (very good) - some fit & finish issues along with production improvements (different switches). FWIW - THX is marketing rubbish, pay a fee to be "certified"..............any you wonder why many would take a pass on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 FWIW - THX is marketing rubbish, pay a fee to be "certified"..............any you wonder why many would take a pass on this. No it's not. For Lincoln it means they tune the system to the vehicle and in some cases modify the vehicle for better sound. It's engineering not marketing. I'm not saying it's the best but it's not a marketing label. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailey151 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 No it's not. For Lincoln it means they tune the system to the vehicle and in some cases modify the vehicle for better sound. It's engineering not marketing. I'm not saying it's the best but it's not a marketing label. Yes it is, it is rubbish all the way around for everything...............ask yourself why do high end makers NEVER pay for it? Simple, it's rubbish. And nobody is going to engineer the vehicle to match the sound, the best (like even the cheapest home AVR does these days) they'll do is use the audio unit to shape the sound to match the vehicle (speaker delays etc)....................which is what they do at some level for every audio system. Speaker placement, size, capability.......all are used to offer the best sound possible @ the given price point. But ain't a damn body changing anything in the car - they have enough trouble fitting in the required equipment once the engineers & designers get through with it. Buy a $100K Lexus & get a Mark Levinson audion system...............have "THX"? No, won't pay for a rubbish label............why should they it's much better. $80 grand Merc gets you a Harmon/Karden....THX? Nope. 7 series? Audi A8? Nope, just Bose. All the way "down" to VW's Fender audio.............number with THX = zero. Reason? Why pay a fee for marketing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Yes it is, it is rubbish all the way around for everything...............ask yourself why do high end makers NEVER pay for it? Simple, it's rubbish. And nobody is going to engineer the vehicle to match the sound, the best (like even the cheapest home AVR does these days) they'll do is use the audio unit to shape the sound to match the vehicle (speaker delays etc)....................which is what they do at some level for every audio system. Speaker placement, size, capability.......all are used to offer the best sound possible @ the given price point. But ain't a damn body changing anything in the car - they have enough trouble fitting in the required equipment once the engineers & designers get through with it. Buy a $100K Lexus & get a Mark Levinson audion system...............have "THX"? No, won't pay for a rubbish label............why should they it's much better. $80 grand Merc gets you a Harmon/Karden....THX? Nope. 7 series? Audi A8? Nope, just Bose. All the way "down" to VW's Fender audio.............number with THX = zero. Reason? Why pay a fee for marketing. You're not listening. They're not just certifying the EQUIPMENT - it's an engineering process that just happens to come with a THX certification. If all they were doing was marking the equipment as THX certified I would agree but they're not. And they do change the vehicle to produce better sound in some cases if they can't tune around it. It was done for the Lincoln LS years ago when the Lincoln THX system first debuted. THX engineers spend over 200 hours custom-tuning Lincoln automotive audio systems. Everything from speaker placement and distance to the listener’s position in the car, to the materials used in the vehicle’s interior cabin –along with the size and performance characteristics of each individual speaker are taken into account when designing, building and tuning the THX II Certified Audio system in your Lincoln.That’s why when you’re inside a Lincoln with a THX IICertified system, you’ll hear every musical detail in uncompromised clarity through its available 14-channel 700 watt amplifier.The quiet acoustics of the luxury cabins bring out nuances from your favorite music – nuances that possibly, until now, were heard only by the sound engineer who recorded them. According to THX's Vice President of Certification Engineering Peter Vasay, the THX specialist get in on the Lincoln prototypes early in the design phase.“We see the prototype,” Vasay said. “We advise on the speaker position while we work with the automotive designers. But, we have to deal with structural issues, airbag positioning, passenger ergonomics and other issues unique to working in a car’s space.” Vasay said Lincoln engineers and the THX crew would go back and forth on the debate of art and substance. Suffice to say, driving safety and automotive performance always win the day when pitted against audio enjoyment. But, the end result of the 14-channel placement still provides a clear, powerful listening experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 In other words - they hired the THX engineers to help engineer the vehicle and the system and not just to test and certify the equipment. Apples and oranges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailey151 Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 In other words - they hired the THX engineers to help engineer the vehicle and the system and not just to test and certify the equipment. Apples and oranges. Marketing bullchit, it's a certification period ...........as in Certification Engineering Peter Vasay Certification, but hey Bose sells a ton of equipment but it's better known as Buy Something Else by audiophiles (of which am I not none). You want to pay $$$ for some bullchit certification knock yourself out I really like this load of horsechit - THX engineers spend over 200 hours custom-tuning Lincoln automotive audio systems. Everything from speaker placement and distance to the listener’s position in the car, to the materials used in the vehicle’s interior cabin –along with the size and performance characteristics of each individual speaker are taken into account when designing, building and tuning the THX II Certified Audio system in your Lincoln.That’s why when you’re inside a Lincoln with a THX IICertified system, you’ll hear every musical detail in uncompromised clarity through its available 14-channel 700 watt amplifier.The quiet acoustics of the luxury cabins bring out nuances from your favorite music – nuances that possibly, until now, were heard only by the sound engineer who recorded them. Um, every single audio system in a car has certain placement, certain size, certain quality.............all dependent on cost, so what are they adding again...........oh crap, that's right a certification. That’s why when you’re inside a Lincoln with a THX IICertified system, you’ll hear every musical detail in uncompromised clarity through its available 14-channel 700 watt amplifier.The quiet acoustics of the luxury cabins bring out nuances from your favorite music – nuances that possibly, until now, were heard only by the sound engineer who recorded them. Now that's funny right there, I don't care who you are............"nuances............." wouldn't that be dependent on the source or would the magic THX even make AM radio as the "sound engineer" intended LAMO, yeah okay. In audio there are more than a couple companies that are "all hat & no cattle" but two of the leaders are THX & Bose.........though Monster Cable looks to be giving them a run for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Marketing bullchit, it's a certification period ...........as in Certification Engineering Peter Vasay Certification, but hey Bose sells a ton of equipment but it's better known as Buy Something Else by audiophiles (of which am I not none). You want to pay $$$ for some bullchit certification knock yourself out I really like this load of horsechit - THX engineers spend over 200 hours custom-tuning Lincoln automotive audio systems. Everything from speaker placement and distance to the listener’s position in the car, to the materials used in the vehicle’s interior cabin –along with the size and performance characteristics of each individual speaker are taken into account when designing, building and tuning the THX II Certified Audio system in your Lincoln.That’s why when you’re inside a Lincoln with a THX IICertified system, you’ll hear every musical detail in uncompromised clarity through its available 14-channel 700 watt amplifier.The quiet acoustics of the luxury cabins bring out nuances from your favorite music – nuances that possibly, until now, were heard only by the sound engineer who recorded them. Um, every single audio system in a car has certain placement, certain size, certain quality.............all dependent on cost, so what are they adding again...........oh crap, that's right a certification. That’s why when you’re inside a Lincoln with a THX IICertified system, you’ll hear every musical detail in uncompromised clarity through its available 14-channel 700 watt amplifier.The quiet acoustics of the luxury cabins bring out nuances from your favorite music – nuances that possibly, until now, were heard only by the sound engineer who recorded them. Now that's funny right there, I don't care who you are............"nuances............." wouldn't that be dependent on the source or would the magic THX even make AM radio as the "sound engineer" intended LAMO, yeah okay. In audio there are more than a couple companies that are "all hat & no cattle" but two of the leaders are THX & Bose.........though Monster Cable looks to be giving them a run for the money. Did you wife run off with a THX engineer? Good grief. All I said was it's not just a THX certification like they do for home audio equipment. And I agree with you that things like that and Bose are more marketing than anything else. It has nothing to do with the name THX - it's just a nice stereo system with more engineering put into it than your normal run of the mill stereos. It's no different than the other high end stereos from other brands. And they do make changes to the vehicles in some cases. I remember several changes to the interior of the Lincoln LS which was the first vehicle to get the THX treatment. Forget the THX name and just focus on the several hundred extra hours of engineering and tuning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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