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AN: After a difficult year, Lincoln sees better days ahead


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Lincoln has the design language to pull off a beautiful car like the A5.

 

Yes, and the new Mustang is a great place to start. Something like that is maybe 3 years away, if it appears. The big question is if the floorpan/firewall area can accept the extra mechanicals for AWD, and if not, how much does it take? :)

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a favorite rant of mine: using electrics on the non petrol-driven wheels for Awd (as well as hybrid)

Packaging would be difficult. Wouldn't say impossible, since I'm not an automotive engineer, but have you looked under the hood of a Mustang recently? Not a lot of room to spare for additional drivetrain components.

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Packaging would be difficult. Wouldn't say impossible, since I'm not an automotive engineer, but have you looked under the hood of a Mustang recently? Not a lot of room to spare for additional drivetrain components.

 

The motors would be built into the hubs at the wheels. I don't think packaging would be all that difficult - I think it's the software to control it all.

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The motors would be built into the hubs at the wheels. I don't think packaging would be all that difficult - I think it's the software to control it all.

Is there room in the hubs given the suspension design of the Mustang? Then you'd need to stash a battery pack for those motors somewhere.

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Is there room in the hubs given the suspension design of the Mustang? Then you'd need to stash a battery pack for those motors somewhere.

 

I don't know but there's more room there than anywhere under the hood. I assume that's what they've been working on with the new supercar - if you believe the rumors.

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Packaging would be difficult. Wouldn't say impossible, since I'm not an automotive engineer, but have you looked under the hood of a Mustang recently? Not a lot of room to spare for additional drivetrain components.

 

There was some kind of Lincoln "super car" floating around the Glass House with this set up right after they made their Renaissance plans public.

 

I don't know how far it made it, but it was being worked on.

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Ford sells around 4.300 more MKZs last year, basically replacing lost MKZ and MKT sales and dealers see a 30% jump in profit.

It just shows how important MKZ, MKX and the new MKC will be to Lincoln this year, the others are "nice to have" but those three will do the lifting.

 

Sales of hybrids have jumped significantly in MKZ, they're now around 30% of sales, I think Ford should try MK energi, the response might surprise,

especially with Cadillac prepared to put ELR out there at $75,000. I see electrification as far more important than just providing a HP model,

but maybe electrification and HP can live hand in hand as a guilt free experience for the Luxury buyer...

Edited by jpd80
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Ford sells around 4.300 more MKZs last year, basically replacing lost MKZ and MKT sales and dealers see a 30% jump in profit.

It just shows how important MKZ, MKX and the new MKC will be to Lincoln this year, the others are "nice to have" but those three will do the lifting.

 

Sales of hybrids have jumped significantly in MKZ, they're now around 30% of sales, I think Ford should try MK energi, the response might surprise,

especially with Cadillac prepared to put ELR out there at $75,000. I see electrification as far more important than just providing a HP model,

but maybe electrification and HP can live hand in hand as a guilt free experience for the Luxury buyer...

Yes! This is especially true as Lincoln seems to aspire to be a technologically driven brand. An electric MKZ and MKC would be the ultimate expression of technology. (Short of a Jetson's car.)

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this:

...maybe electrification and HP can live hand in hand as a guilt free experience for the Luxury buyer...

plus

Is there room in the hubs given the suspension design of the Mustang? Then you'd need to stash a battery pack for those motors somewhere.

(I'd prefer in-board motors if possible)

my top HP LincStang rather addresses both^^

...with a 5.0EBv8 perhaps NO battery (or even capacitors?) would be needed for electrics to just provide traction upon request - as the petrol-driven wheels slip, just use the engine to power a generator feeding directly into the electric motors

then

with smaller engines, there'd be more room in the engine compartment anyway - batteries there could also help keep the weight distribution constant

Edited by 2b2
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  • 2 weeks later...

The Continental Mark II sold for about $10,000 in 1956, which works out to roughly $84,000 today.

 

What's really interesting is how much that car went against the styling trends of the day - it features no tailfins, not much chrome, no dagmar bumpers and no outlandish sheet metal sculpturing. As a result, it now looks much better than a Cadillac from those years.

Edited by grbeck
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The Continental Mark II sold for about $10,000 in 1956, which works out to roughly $84,000 today.

 

What's really interesting is how much that car went against the styling trends of the day - it features no tailfins, not much chrome, no dagmar bumpers and no outlandish sheet metal sculpturing. As a result, it now looks much better than a Cadillac from those years.

If Lincoln and Cadillac had stayed with their market as it existed in the 1950s they would still be low production marques with a starting price of around $60,000. Cadillac went down market in the '60s to boost production and Lincoln ultimately followed. Now even Mercedes has an entry level car that competes on price with Ford and Chevy.

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If Lincoln and Cadillac had stayed with their market as it existed in the 1950s they would still be low production marques with a starting price of around $60,000. Cadillac went down market in the '60s to boost production and Lincoln ultimately followed. Now even Mercedes has an entry level car that competes on price with Ford and Chevy.

The original "suicide door" Lincolns were priced against the Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special, which meant that they competed in the top of the luxury market as it existed at that time. Too bad that Lincoln went down market in the 1970s in an attempt to match Cadillac's volume.

 

While Cadillac easily outsold Lincoln in the 1960s, I'd be curious to see the demographic of each marque's buyers. I'll bet that Lincoln buyers had more income. A fair number of Cadillac buyers really weren't all that wealthy by the mid-1960s.

Edited by grbeck
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If Lincoln and Cadillac had stayed with their market as it existed in the 1950s they would still be low production marques with a starting price of around $60,000. Cadillac went down market in the '60s to boost production and Lincoln ultimately followed. Now even Mercedes has an entry level car that competes on price with Ford and Chevy.

The 70s and 80s were crazy times. The premium makes were trying to go downmarket and Ford and Chevy were trying to go upmarket. You coud get loaded out Fords and Chevys that stickered up around lower level Lincolns and Cadillacs. That is when both Lincoln and Cadillac really started to loose their luster. Point of reference - a fellow I worked with bought a brand new loaded Lincoln Town Car in 78. He had always bought Olds 98s before that, but bought the Lincoln because it was less expensive than the Olds. And the downmarket rush only accelerated from there.

Edited by lfeg
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