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New Lincolns, Same Old Problems

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#1 ·
From Business Week:

Driving Force
By David Welch

New Lincolns, Same Old Problems

The Zephyr sedan and Mark LT pickup are little more than gussied up versions of cheaper models, hardly bait for discerning luxury buyers

Ford Motor's Lincoln division has never had the cachet of rival Cadillac. Nevertheless, there was a time when it had mojo. In the early '60s, John F. Kennedy made the Continental his Presidential limo, and everyone thought it was hip. A decade later, rock 'n' roll band Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen thought the brand was cool enough to sing about it in their 1970s' hit Hot Rod Lincoln.

Lincoln's success isn't just in the pre-import years, either. Get this: In 1990, sales of the Lincoln Town Car alone hit nearly 150,000 -- more than Mercedes and BMW sold in the U.S. combined. And in 1998, Lincoln rode the success of its Navigator SUV and LS sports sedan to win the U.S. luxury-sales crown.

But since then, Lincoln has been in a freefall, and only this year is Ford (F) trying to do anything about it. The new Zephyr sedan and Mark LT luxury pickup are Ford's attempts to transform the Lincoln from also-ran to American luxury. With 102,000 vehicles sold this year, Lincoln trails every serious luxury brand except Saab and some of the pricey niche brands, such as Jaguar.

NOTHING UNIQUE. And guess what? These new cars won't do the trick. Not even close. While the Zephyr and Mark LT are nice, they reflect more of the same wrongheaded ideas that Ford has ginned up for Lincoln for years. They're just spiffier versions of proletarian vehicles sold under the Ford label. To quote Ed Wallace, who runs an auto radio show in Dallas and whose knowledge of car history may be unmatched: "Lincoln's demise has come at the hands of Ford because they don't give it new, unique product."

In fairness, when I climbed into the Mark LT's swanky, cavernous cabin, I was impressed. Ford's designers used some gorgeous dark red wood and splashes of chrome to glamorize something as utilitarian as a pickup. On the road, it's as quiet as a country chapel and drives surprisingly smoothly.

A week later, I tested the Zephyr sedan, which is also a very nice car. Its dashboard was decked out in light-colored wood and creme leather with attractive gauges that reminded me of Lincolns from the '60s.

WON'T BE FOOLED AGAIN. But as my friend Wallace said, neither car is uniquely a Lincoln. You can get a Ford Fusion sedan that offers the same room and comfort of a Zephyr. The exterior styling isn't all that different, either. You can get an F-150 pickup with many of the amenities of the Mark, but for less money.

Wallace points out that the Zephyr is a spruced-up Fusion in the way that the '70s-era Lincoln Versailles was similar to a Ford Granada and Mercury Monarch. Many of the Continentals in the past few decades weren't much better than Ford Thunderbirds.

Consumers won't be fooled by upscale versions of Fords. Even worse, neither offers what luxury buyers really want these days. Just look at what's hot: Cadillac and Nissan's (NSANY) Infiniti brands have come back with sporty rear-drive sedans -- the kind of cars that sparked a love affair between wealthy baby boomers and their BMW's and Benzes.

FUTILE PURSUIT. Luxury buyers prefer rear-drive because the steering is more precise and the handling is better. Front-wheel drive is a nice practical purchase because it's better in snow, but it's not as much fun to drive.

While rear-drive luxury cars and crossover SUVs are hot, Ford brings us a pickup and a front-drive car. Those are good choices for the practical buyer, but that's not what luxury is about. I doubt many Lexus and BMW owners will be trading in their RX 330 SUVs or 330 sedans for a Zephyr or a pickup anytime soon. And that means Lincoln's decline just marches on.
 
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#3 ·
I can't help but feel that this is a bit of a short-sighted commentary, just looking for a critique of Lincoln. Granted, there are some valid points, but at the same time, what about the LS? It may have shared it's platform with the Jaguar S-Type, but that hardly reflects poorly on Lincoln. Furthermore, it had RWD, and a stick-shift (although only on the V6, which was a little unfortunant), and it was relatively well recieved by the automotive press (for what little it's worth, it was Motor Trend's COTY, although I sometimes question the validity of that award).

And, as far as unique product goes, don't think for a second that Cadillac is any different. GM may give them certain components, engines, or chassis first, but at the same time, the General can't resist giving it to the rest of the divisions later.

Also, I feel a little sorry for Lincoln, since if it weren't for the Navigator, it's questionable that we'd have the Escalade.

But, if nothing else, I'm a little biased, since I like the stylistic direction that Lincoln's going in right now.

I dunno, one thing I'm thinking is that it'd be good for Lincoln, if they put the Continental concept into production (maybe riding on the Jaguar XJ platform, maybe), something to give them a little more prestige than they've got right now (unfortuantly, the Town Car is synonymous with airport limos and cars for old people).
 
#4 ·
Hecubus, I do agree with you to a certain extent. I love where Lincoln has always been with their styling (even in the late 70's into the 80's) because I think it's pure class. But whenever I think Lincoln, I think "old". Cadillac has refreshed itself beginning in 03' by bring out some absolutely kick ass machines that young people would be attracted to by, especially with the introduction of the high performance V series. From what I've heard in history, however, is that luxury brands of General Motors faded from Cadillac, to Chevrolet, then to Buick, all mixed up and all over the place. Also, since you are right that other GM brands get Cadillac technology, it's still all about the name "Cadillac" and not necessarily about the machinery all the time. The other brands may get the technology, but that's also because Cadillac is the General's leading performance brand all-around (no matter what Pontiac enthusiasts like myself would say) with their line-up and most technology is tested if not introduced initially on their vehicles. It all goes around and comes around and it has since the 50's.

So yeah, bringing this back to Lincoln, they need to be upgraded with their own special models again (like the Continental) to make them stand-outish again. It's not enough to just have their Town Car and some Ford lookalikes.

Bring back the Lincoln!
 
#5 ·
How come nobody mentioned new Aviator (and his twin, Ford Edge)? Both of those cars will be introduced at Detroit Auto Show in January.
There will also be 2 new sedans from Lincoln in the future. At least one of them will be introduced at Detroit Auto Show as concept.
And there is also talk about Lincoln's version of Mustang.
 
#11 ·
Red Star 1 said:
Zephyr's power is pretty much same as competition

Lincoln Zephyr 221 hp
Jaguar X Type 227 hp
Mercedes C Class 215 hp
Audi A4 220 hp
BMW 3 Series 225 hp
Power is about the same, but I highly doubt performance would be anywhere near the 3 series or the G35.
 
#13 ·
Red Star 1 said:
How come nobody mentioned new Aviator (and his twin, Ford Edge)? Both of those cars will be introduced at Detroit Auto Show in January.
There will also be 2 new sedans from Lincoln in the future. At least one of them will be introduced at Detroit Auto Show as concept.
And there is also talk about Lincoln's version of Mustang.
Correct me if i'm wrong, but since its inception, the aviator has been nothing but an explorer wearing a pretty dress...
 
#14 · (Edited)
LOUD98ES said:
Correct me if i'm wrong, but since its inception, the aviator has been nothing but an explorer wearing a pretty dress...
I'm not sure about Aviator, I know Explorer and Mountaineer are same vehicle. However, Explorer and Mountaineer have same engine which differs from Aviator's engine (same engine used in Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition).

But it doesn't matter really because new Aviator will be nothing like old one. New Aviator will share many parts with Ford Edge and they will have Ford's new 3.5L V6 250 hp engine.

Pic of new Aviator


Edge
 
#15 ·
Red Star 1 said:
Zephyr's power is pretty much same as competition

Lincoln Zephyr 221 hp
Jaguar X Type 227 hp
Mercedes C Class 215 hp
Audi A4 220 hp
BMW 3 Series 225 hp
Except the current 3.0 is gutless, only 205ft-lbs of torque at something like 4500 rpm. The AW 6 speed auto isn't a miracle worker.

The '06 c-class has 201hp 2.5, 228hp 3.0 V6, 268hp 3.5 V6, '06 3 series 215 & 255 3.0 I6s, A4 has chippable 2.0T up to about 240hp with stock turbo, intercooler, exhaust, & 3.1 V6 255hp. Lexus IS 204hp 2.5V6 & 306hp 3.5V6 (probably will get GS's 3.0 in lieu of 2.5 in near future)

Even Ford's new 3.5 stinks 250hp&240ft-lbs, as proposed. 300hp from that would be nice. Couple that to the haldex type system from the Mazda6speed standard for $30, and ford has a winner.

But they won't, so why choose the zephyr over the VR6 passat, which can be equipped with haldex. (front wheel drive VR6 14.4@100.6, Zephyr 15.9@90.5-latest motor trend)
 
#16 ·
MikeW said:
Except the current 3.0 is gutless, only 205ft-lbs of torque at something like 4500 rpm. The AW 6 speed auto isn't a miracle worker.

The '06 c-class has 201hp 2.5, 228hp 3.0 V6, 268hp 3.5 V6, '06 3 series 215 & 255 3.0 I6s, A4 has chippable 2.0T up to about 240hp with stock turbo, intercooler, exhaust, & 3.1 V6 255hp. Lexus IS 204hp 2.5V6 & 306hp 3.5V6 (probably will get GS's 3.0 in lieu of 2.5 in near future)

Even Ford's new 3.5 stinks 250hp&240ft-lbs, as proposed. 300hp from that would be nice. Couple that to the haldex type system from the Mazda6speed standard for $30, and ford has a winner.

But they won't, so why choose the zephyr over the VR6 passat, which can be equipped with haldex. (front wheel drive VR6 14.4@100.6, Zephyr 15.9@90.5-latest motor trend)
Yeah, C-Class, 3-Series, A4 ... have all those engine options, but they also cost more. Zephyr have only 3.0L so the base price can't go up a lot by adding options.
3.5L will be great engine, its pretty hard to imagine for any domestic company to have 300 hp from V6 (why would you do that anyway, if you wanna 300 hp use 4.6L from Mustang). And 300's and Charger's 3.5L is not any stronger.
 
#17 ·
Uhh, the Crossfire SRT-6 has over 300hp out of a V6 (admittedly, it's a Benz engine, and it's supercharged, but, hey, it's been done). Anyways, would the Mustang's V8 be refined enough for a luxury car? It'd make for an interesting compartison to the CTS-V, but in a regular Zephyr, I'm not sure if it'd work (there's also issues such as weight distribution, getting the engine to fit, I dunno).

Oh, and I'm not sure if the Mazdaspeed 6's four would really suit a luxury car either, although I can't really say.
 
#19 ·
Hecubus said:
Uhh, the Crossfire SRT-6 has over 300hp out of a V6 (admittedly, it's a Benz engine, and it's supercharged, but, hey, it's been done). Anyways, would the Mustang's V8 be refined enough for a luxury car? It'd make for an interesting compartison to the CTS-V, but in a regular Zephyr, I'm not sure if it'd work (there's also issues such as weight distribution, getting the engine to fit, I dunno).

Oh, and I'm not sure if the Mazdaspeed 6's four would really suit a luxury car either, although I can't really say.

doesn't the lincoln town car share the same 4.6 as the mustang?
 
#20 ·
Red Star 1 said:
3.5L will be great engine, its pretty hard to imagine for any domestic company to have 300 hp from V6 (why would you do that anyway, if you wanna 300 hp use 4.6L from Mustang). And 300's and Charger's 3.5L is not any stronger.
Firstly the 4.6 is a 90 degree engine, not going to happen in transverse engine front wheel drive. Try the 60 degree yamaha/volvo engine.
DCX's new 4.0 V6 better put out 300hp.
The DCX 3.5 has variable resonance and variable length intake manifold, peak torque happens at 4000 rpm and doesn't use cheater 5w-20 oil (no roller followers in this 'new' engine)
I would like to see GM chop two cylinders off the V8s from the vett for something like a 325hp 4.5 liter V6, or 425hp 5.3 liter V6.
 
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