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Analysts Warn Lincoln Not to Follow Fords Sedan Purge


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These two nameplates represent 23.3 percent of Lincoln's annual sales so far in 2019, which is a surprising and respectable statistic. One in four cars the company sells is a sedan. The problem is that they accounted for 27.6 percent of the firm's sales in 2018, and that number will continue to fall in 2020 as customers flock towards crossovers and SUVs. And yet, exiting the sedan market isn't the right answer for a company that wants to re-establish its reputation as a luxury automaker.

Lincoln looked at this and I guess it's why they're leaping to a mid sized BEV crossover in 2023,

the way cars survive is by changing to reflect the needs of buyers, not staying museum pieces

to what Mom, dad and Grandpa drove..

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The quote below is exactly what I would like them to do.   Unfortunately for me, they build vehicles to make money rather than to just please me.

 

There are ways to keep buyers in the fold, however. The Continental is a stellar effort from the brand, and a solid foundation on which to build. Noble pointed out Lincoln could use the rear-wheel drive platform found under its Aviator and Ford's latest Explorer to build a four-door model with a fastback-like roof line in the vein of the Audi A7. It's a sleeker, sexier body style that tends to attract more buyers than a more conventional three-box sedan, which is often criticized as old-fashioned. Automakers can normally get away with charging a little bit more for these cars; the A7 is more expensive than the A6, for example.

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I think Ford’s success in trucks vans and commercial is also a problem when it comes to resources for other products.  
 

The other thing is they always seem to be platforms or restructuring something.  I hope C2 and CD6 and the BEV platforms stick around for a long time and they can focus more on individual products rather than infrastructure.

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8 hours ago, silvrsvt said:

I'm going to assume the vast majority of those Lincoln Sedan sales where to Black Car/Limo fleets

On the contrary as most liveries now use Utilities. There may be some MKZs

going to daily rentals but not as many as you'd think..

Edited by jpd80
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2 hours ago, jpd80 said:

On the contrary as most liveries now use Utilities. There may be some MKZs

going to daily rentals but not as many as you'd think..

 

The big company in my area (Metro Car) uses CNG powered Navigators, every one of them painted black. They have a few MKTs and Continentals too (the former are also CNG I believe) as well as some old Town Cars that are still hanging on. 

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2 minutes ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

 

The big company in my area (Metro Car) uses CNG powered Navigators, every one of them painted black. They have a few MKTs and Continentals too (the former are also CNG I believe) as well as some old Town Cars that are still hanging on. 

Pity they couldn't do a new fangled CD6 MKT more suitable for fleets..

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14 hours ago, jpd80 said:

On the contrary as most liveries now use Utilities. There may be some MKZs

going to daily rentals but not as many as you'd think..

 

I haven't seen much in the way of a rental Lincolns (if at all) and the last time I went to the airport I got a ride in a Crown Vic! LOL That was from the car service that my company uses. 

 

I live in Prime Lincoln territory and 95% of them are Utilities that I see on the road. I've seen more Rangers (about half dozen) then I've seen of Contis

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The MKZ and Continental are based on the same architecture so going forward, it would not be hard to make the Continental and then a shortened version called Zephyr (to replace MKZ) with a unique grille fascia for greater distinction between the two. Share a lot of components and keep both sedans in the fleet.

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7 minutes ago, twintornados said:

The MKZ and Continental are based on the same architecture so going forward, it would not be hard to make the Continental and then a shortened version called Zephyr (to replace MKZ) with a unique grille fascia for greater distinction between the two. Share a lot of components and keep both sedans in the fleet.

 

I would think any new Lincoln sedans will move to CD6. 

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38 minutes ago, twintornados said:

The MKZ and Continental are based on the same architecture so going forward, it would not be hard to make the Continental and then a shortened version called Zephyr (to replace MKZ) with a unique grille fascia for greater distinction between the two. Share a lot of components and keep both sedans in the fleet.

The maddening part is that both cars were developed separately and have slightly different widths. I doubt that Hackett has left much money in the bag to do anything. I think the plan is for the BEV crossover to replace both cars in 2023

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1 hour ago, twintornados said:

The MKZ and Continental are based on the same architecture so going forward, it would not be hard to make the Continental and then a shortened version called Zephyr (to replace MKZ) with a unique grille fascia for greater distinction between the two. Share a lot of components and keep both sedans in the fleet.


Except CD4 is going away and they’re not developing an even longer C2 version.

 

1 hour ago, Trader 10 said:

I would think any new Lincoln sedans will move to CD6. 

 

CD6 sedans were all cancelled.  Explorer and Aviator are it for the near future.

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On 12/7/2019 at 10:12 PM, fuzzymoomoo said:

 

The big company in my area (Metro Car) uses CNG powered Navigators, every one of them painted black. They have a few MKTs and Continentals too (the former are also CNG I believe) as well as some old Town Cars that are still hanging on. 

 

What is the bennifit of CNG? 

 

Better MPG? Quieter engine? 

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1 hour ago, probowler said:

 

What is the bennifit of CNG? 

 

Better MPG? Quieter engine? 

There's a perceived "green" benefit to CNG, but the main real benefit is the lower cost of the fuel. If you have natural gas service, it's also possible to install CNG fueling stations in your fleet yard relatively inexpensively, avoiding the expense and the regulatory and logistical headaches of diesel or gasoline fueling stations.

 

The MPG is lower on CNG, but that's offset by the significantly lower cost of the fuel. My brother has a gasoline/CNG 1-ton van, and he used to drive it from Tulsa to Norman (about 130mi) on CNG for about the same fuel cost as his Honda Civic. As for engine noise, the only way you can tell which fuel it's using is to look at the switch on the dash. 
 

ETA: I guess lower engine noise would be a benefit if you were comparing CNG to diesels, which is the case in mass transit, but not when you're talking black car livery.

Edited by SoonerLS
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3 hours ago, akirby said:


Except CD4 is going away and they’re not developing an even longer C2 version.

 

 

CD6 sedans were all cancelled.  Explorer and Aviator are it for the near future.

There is or at least was the Chinese Mondeo, still seems to be a "car" on one of the recent tweets.

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6 hours ago, akirby said:


Except CD4 is going away and they’re not developing an even longer C2 version.

 

 

CD6 sedans were all cancelled.  Explorer and Aviator are it for the near future.

 

This seems such a waste.

 

I always thought that if Ford had bitten the bullet and progressed with the GRWD platform, it could have underpinned some superb cars that would have helped them ride out the recession. Instead they cancelled it.

 

Now they have CD6 and are going to restrict it to two SUVs? Arrrrrrhhhhgggg!!!!!

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2 hours ago, Twin Turbo said:

I always thought that if Ford had bitten the bullet and progressed with the GRWD platform, it could have underpinned some superb cars that would have helped them ride out the recession. Instead they cancelled it.

 

Now they have CD6 and are going to restrict it to two SUVs? Arrrrrrhhhhgggg!!!!!

 

Once again short term Sedans aren't really in the picture due to demographics. Not to mention that the CD6 may not be economically viable for a sedan. 

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7 hours ago, jpd80 said:

There is or at least was the Chinese Mondeo, still seems to be a "car" on one of the recent tweets.


I believe the Europeans are developing a C2 based Mondeo replacement.  I was saying that a Continental based on C2 would be even longer and require a lot more development.

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4 hours ago, Twin Turbo said:

 

This seems such a waste.

 

I always thought that if Ford had bitten the bullet and progressed with the GRWD platform, it could have underpinned some superb cars that would have helped them ride out the recession. Instead they cancelled it.

 

Now they have CD6 and are going to restrict it to two SUVs? Arrrrrrhhhhgggg!!!!!


It’s the same old issue of not enough resources to do everything at the same time.  To do new CD6 sedans would require delaying or cancelling other things that Ford believes is more important.  Doesn’t mean that won’t change down the road, but they would have to be premium vehicles to meet.profit targets due to low volume.

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21 minutes ago, Twin Turbo said:

Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed for the future. A Ford and/or Lincoln 4/5 door "coupe" to take on the likes of the Kia Stinger/Audi A4 Sportsback/BMW 4 Series Grand Coupe........especially in Lincoln trim, would do wonders for the brand as a type of halo car.

 

I think everyone agrees that would be cool (including Lincoln) but I think the resources were redirected to new BEVs.  

 

There may have also been cost issues with CD6 as was mentioned before which made it less attractive from an investment perspective.

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