Edmunds CarPool

freemanzhu, I agree. There's something of an argument for the Crown Vic to exist for things like cabs and police cars, (athough the fact that they explode when rear-ended hard enough somewhat nullifies the argument that a body-on-frame car is "tougher" than a uni-body one.
 
There's absolutely no reason for the Grand Marquis and Town Car to still exist though, but since replacing them with a modern vehicle would cost R&D effort and money, Ford just continues to sell them to the retirement crowd. I think in maybe another 10 years, even if Ford is still making these dinosaurs, there will be no more market left for them.
 
As for this particular Lincoln concept, here's the million dollar question. Where does the platform come from? Ford has nothing, and Volvo and Mazda have nothing to donate to the cause, because they dont make large, rear drive cars either. DEW98 might be fine for the Mustang, but it's too obsolete to compete with any modern FE\RD luxury car. As far as I know, the LS will be replaced with yet another rebadge, the Ford 500. If Volvo is supposed to compete with Mercedes and BMW, what is even the point of Lincoln, other than as a Mercury clone, which is itself a brand of clones?

You're both right. Ford is in the not-so-unique position of either fixing Lincoln or killing it, and fixing it will cost plenty (this accurately describes half of GM's brands, too). What's painful is watching them do neither while the brand dies a slow death. I fear that somewhere in the corporate halls of Dearborn a decision has been made that, essentially, "Lincoln is too expensive to fix properly, but if we put minimal $$$ into it we can keep it moderately profitable for a few more years. Then we let it die -- just as its primary buying demographic dies." I cold be wrong, but with only rebadged Ford's on the horizon for Lincoln, I have no reason to think otherwise...

I agree with all of you. Lincoln needs such a model. Its current portfolio pretty much sucks. The Mark LT is dumb rebadge of an F150. I sat in a Lariat F150 and the interior was good enough for me, why spend the extra $$? The LS is too old and is pretty much dead anyway.
 
That leaves the Town Car, Navigator and Zephyr. The Town Car looks very elegant and classy, but its platform is too old and it needs to be completely updated for this decade. A refresh now and then doesnt cut it. The Zephyr is a new model so we'll give it a chance. So far it looks like a winner, and the 3.5 is coming.
 
The Navigator is IMO Lincoln's best model. Large, comfortable, luxurious and powerful. The upcoming redesign will be even better. However fullsize SUVs have lost their demand due to gas prices.
 
Which brings me to the Continental. Lincoln needs models like this to revive the brand. The upcoming Aviator may help too. A fullsize RWD sedan priced between 40-55K with a strong engine and sharp handling would be an instant hit with the buy american crowd. And it needs a luxurious interior, like the Navigator and Zephyr.
 
Please Ford, find the cash and do something good for Lincoln. Lincoln is one my favorite brands, I'd hate to see them die. Look with GM has done with Cadillac. Cadillac seems to be the best of all GM brands now, thanks to some time and investment.
 
Sorry for the long post, just had a lot to say.

It was devastating to let the LS sit for so long without an update. That thing had so much potential. We should have seen Sport models (SVT?) and maybe LWB models to replace the Conti.
 
I fear that Jaguar limits what Lincoln can be. Ford has them positioned as a "lesser" Jaguar the way it is now. Jag is a lesser Aston.
 
Problem with PAG is all the brands limits what the entry brand can do.

"The Mark LT is dumb rebadge of an F150. I sat in a Lariat F150 and the interior was good enough for me, why spend the extra $$?"
 
See, in my opinion, the very same thing could be said about the Zephyr. (And dont even get me started on that awful name). What are you getting for a good $8K+ over the Fusion or Milan, other than a stability control switch? The new 3.5L engine will help matters, but thats the kind of thing Ford should've had about 5 years ago. The Duratec just cant compete with engines like the Altima or Accord V6s.
 
There is one very significant difference between Lincoln and Cadillac, and its what makes Lincoln so difficult for Ford to position between its own cars. Cadillac is GM's flagship brand, no other GM badge including Saab is allowed to use GM's best platforms and engines.
 
Lincoln is stuck with Volvo and Jaguar. Where exactly does Lincoln fit with those brands? With the C30, Volvo will range from maybe $25K, up through $50K with the XC90 V8 and upcoming V8 powered S80. Ford seems to want Jag to focus on the area of $50K+.. so I dont really see a gap there for a third badge. Any modern Lincoln product would seem to be competing directly with Volvo for attention.

Ford’s mistake IMHO was acquisition of Jaguar. Ford did not gain anything buying Jag except $$ that could go development were wasted on Jaguar life support. Ford lost Scorpio, pretty decent RWD car popular in Europe, it lost LS that was supposed to replace Scorpio. Ford did not develop RWD platform to compete against Omega and E class.

The company that narrowly lost Jaguar to Ford was GM. If they had won the bid instead, I wonder if it would be Cadillac languishing with a sorry, front drive STS while they pumped money into Jaguar. Based on what's happened to the company that used to be Saab, I hate to think what would've happened to Jag under GM's "management". Most likely the first new Jag would be a Chevy Tahoe with a leaping cat on the front. At least under Ford, Jag has access to Aston Martin talent, instead of pathetic Chevy and Opel rebadges.

Lexusguy, Your expertise may be needed to get the LPS forum started again! .... :-)
JJAcura

We're discovering on the primary disadvantages of owning many brands. In an attempt to allow one to be distinguished, the others, by default, are not.

Excellent characterization ateix.
 
And once again the Japanese offer a successful alternative: two (or three for Toyota/Lexus/Scion) brands at the most -- thus allowing each one to be fully developed/realized, versus being compromised to avoid stepping on one of the various "corporate brothers" in the family tree.