Ford's Farley on Lincoln's Renaissance
1 - 20 of 56 Posts
Lincoln is going to look like Buick
Joined
·
2,900 Posts
Lincoln's definition of world class luxury is a joke. Poor Lincoln. Their spin on luxury is embarrassing. Lincoln is trying to pretend but they don't have to. They just need to be real with their place in the automotive world. Lincoln is an upscale alternative to mainstream brands, like Buick, Acura, or Volvo and that's fine. Just don't pretend to be something you aren't.
That would be if they are successful. Don't bet on it. Buick has a lot going for it such as the Opel connection, success in China, etc. What does Lincoln have going for it? You can only put krill strainers and leather seats on your bread and butter cars for so long. And of course they aren't going to build a halo car. Not because this guy is "genuine" or "authentic" - please - but because slapping krill strainers on a car such as the Taurus is not a failing strategy. It's a non-strategy. How much of a halo car do you expect to get rebadging a car which is already selling in mediocre numbers (I almost never see those cars on the road) at a low price point, if you intend to also raise the price because you have deluded yourself into believing the resulting rebadge is actually an upmarket vehicle? Lincoln is years and years away from any viability as a genuine luxury brand.
Joined
·
1,447 Posts
1. Keep in mind that it takes years to develop a new car. Whatever you see just showing up in dealerships today was laid out 3 to 5 years ago. Back then, Mulally was ready to pull the plug on Lincoln.
2. Fields was key in convincing Mulally otherwise. Fields seems more committed to revamping Lincoln than Mulally was.
3. Any plans for new cars that Fields and team created for Lincoln is only halfway gestated considering how long it takes to create a new vehicle. Any changes we see over the next year or so are simply cosmetic changes and/or Lincoln's late arrival into nearly complete projects.
4. China is a way of keeping Lincoln relevant (and producing some type of volume as well as market) while newer products come down the line.
Lincoln certainly isn't going all out to eventually be the American Bentley that GM is pushing Cadillac to be. But at least Ford is finally backing away from making Lincoln some type of environmental statement division they once considered.
![]()
.....plus, it now seems that a RWD Mustang based vehicle (could be either coupe or sedan) has finally been moved from the "twilight zone" and to the front burner.
2. Fields was key in convincing Mulally otherwise. Fields seems more committed to revamping Lincoln than Mulally was.
3. Any plans for new cars that Fields and team created for Lincoln is only halfway gestated considering how long it takes to create a new vehicle. Any changes we see over the next year or so are simply cosmetic changes and/or Lincoln's late arrival into nearly complete projects.
4. China is a way of keeping Lincoln relevant (and producing some type of volume as well as market) while newer products come down the line.
Lincoln certainly isn't going all out to eventually be the American Bentley that GM is pushing Cadillac to be. But at least Ford is finally backing away from making Lincoln some type of environmental statement division they once considered.
.....plus, it now seems that a RWD Mustang based vehicle (could be either coupe or sedan) has finally been moved from the "twilight zone" and to the front burner.
That car is old and is due to be replaced in a year or two. While they should have been updating the chassis to keep it current, I'm not even going to try and hold this one against them given their budget constraints.
GM is pushing Cadillac to be an "American Bentley"? First time I've heard about that. Sounds unrealistic and wishful.
Anyway, Lincoln isn't doing anything new. They're merely bringing back their old formula from the 80s and 90s - classy mid-range vehicles. Black Label is pretty much a replacement for Designer Series.
Anyway, Lincoln isn't doing anything new. They're merely bringing back their old formula from the 80s and 90s - classy mid-range vehicles. Black Label is pretty much a replacement for Designer Series.
Joined
·
3,303 Posts
When did Acura, Buick, and Volvo become mainstream?
I think you have your separation of mainstream, premium, and luxury wrong.
Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen are mainstream brands.
Buick, Mercury, Oldsmobile, and to some extent Hyundai/Kia (depends on which model) are premium brands.
Lincoln, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Acura, Porsche, BMW, etc. are luxury brands.
If you want to break it down further:
Tier 1/entry level luxury: Lincoln, Acura, Infiniti, Volvo, etc.
Tier 2: BMW, Lexus, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, etc.
Tier 3: Rolls-Royce, Mayback, Bentley, Lamborghini, etc.
Joined
·
11,034 Posts
For the moment, that's as good of a goal as any.
Glad to see his son is a Pontiac fan. Good boy! That must get under Dad's skin a bit, eh?
Joined
·
5,964 Posts
Joined
·
2,173 Posts
I'd bet that as we write Fields and Farely are carving out a new GRWD strategy for Lincoln and the next Mustang. Basically Ford's Alpha platform.
Joined
·
16,774 Posts
The only "Clone" left at Lincoln is the MKX (Most sheetmetal shared with Ford Edge). That will be the case only a few more months.
Navigator will likely always be recognizable as an upmarket Expedition, like most of its competition is based on lower models.
You may know that the MKC is an Escape underneath, but none of the people buying EITHER VEHICLE know or care, if sales figures are any indication (and they always are).
Maybe they don't want or need to?
Joined
·
1,447 Posts
Will Cadillac compete directly with Bentley? Probably not. If I'm going to buy a Bentley, I'm going to buy a Bentley because I've already made up my mind. But it's clear that the orders are to put Cadillac out on the forefront of premium brands. I know they want to go back to where they were before the 50s. Before the 50s, they were still a choice considered against cars like Bentley. Only Cadillac wasn't hand made.
guionM said:
Joined
·
1,061 Posts
I don't hold much hope for Lincoln. They are really just on par with Buick and Buick sells better than Lincoln. Lincoln is just really Mercury taken over with the Lincoln name.
Joined
·
16,774 Posts
I think you're largely correct about Lincoln being a new Mercury, and that's just fine.
Mr. Mulally set this course years ago. Lincoln would be a line of up-market vehicles based on standard Ford platforms. If these vehicles were successful enough, then Lincoln would continue to exist. It's really that simple.
There's positively NOTHING WRONG with this. Given the circumstances the company had little choice.
Though Lincoln, and especially its dealers, have had a rough time of late, the new products have been well received by the market. We'll see if that continues. But Lincoln does not have to sell vehicles in huge numbers under this plan to prosper.
Joined
·
3,495 Posts
+1
In Mercury's last full year of existence (2010), the U.S. sales tally for the brand was 93,195. It would be miraculous if Lincoln manages to reach that number in calendar year 2014 (YTD sales for Lincoln as of Sept. 30, 2014 came to 67,788).
Back in those days, there weren't many luxury brands to pick from. Most died during the Great Depression. Cadillac was popular because there wasn't much competition in the luxury segment, and there were only two ultra-luxury brands at the time. That's why people believe they were just as good as Bentleys. However, Cadillac during that era was exclusive.
1 - 20 of 56 Posts
