A closer look at Lincoln

I've decided to take a closer look at Lincoln and try to decipher what I think is ailing this once great luxury mark, when one looks at their product line over the last few years it isn't terribly difficult to see

where there where mistakes made that brought this almost hundred year old luxury brand down, If you are to walk into a showroom at a Lincoln store today you would have a collection of vehicles in deferent degrees of concept and trying to deliver a message, the problem here is that these vehicles should be giving you the same message in only varying degrees, when you come in to the showroom, the message you receive should be very clear,which car gives me the right amount of this message , should I go after a Big Navigator or the retirees towncar, either way this isn't the case at Lincoln, instead I get the impression that Lincoln is going after different customers that have conflicting opinions of what they want from this luxury mark. And that is the foundation of the problem here. I remember several years ago, former BMW CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder,(yeah That's his name) commented on the formula that BMW followed for it's automobile line, he said something to the effect that BMW's where sort of like sausage, they came in different lengths and sizes, but regardless of the size or the price point they all tasted the same. This is what I consider one of Lincoln's biggest problems,their product lines give conflicting messages, as though Lincoln doesn't know what type of customers they want in their showrooms.

While they seem to want to go after the baby boomer crowd and their usually deep pockets, they seem to have a fear of alienating the traditional and aging Lincoln customer, the sixty and over age group.

The powers that be at Lincoln have to decide what they want, do they want the younger and more affluent customer base that BMW enjoys?

or are they after the shrinking customer base that represents their traditional buyer. This seems to be the question Lincoln has been unwilling to answer the last ten years, they don't have time on their side anymore. They have to stick to a product message and stay there for years to come.

Ok, so now it looks like all of their product lines(except the towncar)

will be front wheel or all wheel drive, this isn't a bad decision, Audi

has been doing this for years with great success, but there can be no variation from this, even if Alan Mulally decides that Lincoln needs another change of direction.

Can Lincoln do this ? only time will tell.

J.

New Ford Mondeo wagon

Ford will unveil a near-production concept for a station wagon variant of its new Mondeo at the Paris auto show on Sept. 28.
The third-generation, upper-medium Mondeo will be the flagship of Ford's European range when it launches shortly after the Geneva auto show next March.
"The new Mondeo is critical to the Ford of Europe business," said the division's CEO John Fleming in a press statement.
The Mondeo is Ford of Europe's No. 3 selling model after the Focus and Fiesta. The automaker sold 86,934 Mondeos in the first seven months, according to UK market researchers JATO Dynamics.
Sales of upper-medium cars in Europe are declining as customers migrate to SUV's, minivans and crossovers. To maintain its position in a tough market, the new Mondeo will have premium technological features not available in any other Ford of Europe models.

When you see the pictures of this upcoming European Ford the first question that comes to mind is why this model isn't being sold in North America, this car could be a hit on these shores if Ford would allow the Mondeo to sell here .

Find out more...

What's next for Chevy.

Chevrolet, like most car maker divisions is way into the process

of designing it's next generation of cars to stay competitive in this

highly combative north American Auto market.

While there are already hints and signs as to what Chevy has in store

for it's upcoming car models,I would like to put in my two cents as to what I think Chevy should do with just a couple of models.

Number 1, the Malibu, Chevy should keep this car frontwheel drive

to utilize the most space in the existing dimensions, give a more

mainstream and less controversial styling touches, such as the rear

fender line, as always improve the overall fit and finish  to the car as

well and refine the engine and transmissions, a five or 6 speed auto should be standard in the next car, as well as a more powerful and refined V6, and 4 cylinder motors.

The styling should hint a Chevy's from the past, this in itself would be

a great asset on their part,at this time it seems that only the corvette really has benefited from this so far.

The  Impala should go up in size to match that of the Toyota Avalon

and the Ford 500, it should also return to rear wheel drive, this

would make it much easier to strike a balance between handling and ride, it would also make it easier to release a SS version of the car and have be more in tune to the 90's model somewhat in size and scope.

As with the Malibu, an attractive and well proportioned styling should  be the objective when doing the exterior, an attractive, ergonomic and high quality interior should be the only accepted standard for the passenger space of the car.

A Silky smooth and competitively powerful V6 should be the only

engine available,there should only be one type of V6 in the car,

not two, one underpowered and less than smooth, with customers

having to pay extra for more power and and polish. A powerful and refined V8 goes in the SS version without question.

And this applies for both of the models I've mentioned.

Details.....Details...Details, these cars must impress and give the

impression of quality and longevity.

This may be an uphill battle, but it's a battle that can be won, the Asian manufacturers have proved it can be done and GM isn't starting

from the point of obscurity,it has engineering corps, momentum

and market share is still on it's side.

All the General needs is vision and consistency.

J.

New Ford Edge

The Ford Edge front-drive crossover will have a base price of $25,995, including shipping, when it reaches showrooms in November, Ford Motor Co. said today.
That base price is for the Edge SE. An SE with all-wheel drive will have a base price of $27,645, including shipping.
The Edge also will be sold in an SEL trim level, which will have a base price of $27,990 for the front-drive version and $29,640 for the all-wheel-drive version.
As a comparison, the 2006 Nissan Murano crossover has a base price of $28,205 for the fwd version of the S trim level. The awd Murano S has a base price of $29,805. Those prices include shipping.

While this seems a little late compared to the likes of the Nissan Murano, this is still a growing market and Ford looks positioned

to take advantage of it.

Find out more....

Ford to slash 600 dealers.

Ford Motor Co. wants to eliminate as many as 600 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealerships over three years through its store consolidation plan, sources close to the plan say.

Read More.......

Lease or buy?

With Leases having become a mainstay in the Auto Business, it hard

to imagine the car finance business being even as successful without

the ability to offer this option to a potential buyer.

The hard and cold fact is that Leasing is one of the tools that have

in many cases kept the car business afloat, without it, the industry would have long had to admit that cars have for the most part become to expensive for the average middle class American to afford. The Whole business as a whole would have to admit that

auto's have become too expensive.

This is not to imply that everything about leasing is bad, on the

contrary, if you happen to be an enthusiast or just don't mind the

fact that your actually just renting your car, this can actually work

for you, with leasing, many people get to drive cars that would otherwise be beyond their reach.

How many people of average means would get to live the dream

of driving the latest 5 or 7 series BMW if they had to purchase the car and make payments on it's full value.

The down side to this is that people may get into cars that they otherwise shouldn't buy, and one has to wonder that at some point

cars will become so expensive that even leasing won't help the car makers. Stretching the payments out to 72 months or longer isn't

a realistic long term strategy.

There has to be someone that knows what the next move is.

J.

Euro Focus

While Ford is now in the mist of overhauling it's U.S. operations

and rethinking it's product line, my suggestion to them would be

to overhaul it's aging focus small car and replace it with the new Mazda 3 based European car. This would put Ford squarely in the game against the likes of the new Honda Civic and upcoming Toyota corolla, with gas prices what the are, more people are taking a serious look at the small car segment and Ford needs to be competitive in this class of car. This car would put Ford in a favorable position and allow them to build off this momentum .

J.

New Natural Gas Civic

Honda Has introduced a natural gas powered Civic that the average consumer can purchase, like most alternative fuel vehicles there are drawbacks to using one, and this Honda is no different.

Read more

Schumacher F1 Record breaker

Schumacher - F1's Record & Rule Breaker

Sunday September 10 2006

For a man who claims not to care about records, Michael Schumacher has done a pretty good job of breaking them.
From the very start, Schumacher had that bit of something special about him and his rise to become most successful driver Formula One has ever known was no big surprise.

While some in F1 are expressing their pleasure that Michael Schumacher is leaving and believe the sport will be better off

for it, it's hard to deny that the seven time World Champion is

bigger than life and will leave a void that's hard to fill.

It's possible that Schumacher represents the last of a line of

driver that helped define F1 and brought in millions of viewers

by their star power alone. At present there doesn't seem to

be anybody in the series or the lower racing tiers that will rise

to this same type of prominence.

J.

GM and Ford Talking Merger?

This From Automotive News.....

 

DETROIT -- Senior executives at General Motors and Ford Motor Co. have discussed a merger or alliance, according to several sources familiar with the talks.

This is at the least interesting, but exactly how would  a merger

benefit these two companies. It seems a move like this would

only present short term benefits. In the long term Both Ford

and GM should stay the course and get their respective houses

in order.

J.

New Chevy Equinox Fuel cell

From Green car Congress..

General Motors announced its next-generation fuel-cell vehicle—the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell—and said it will begin building the world’s largest fuel cell vehicle fleet.
The company will build more than 100 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles and begin placing them with customers in the fall of 2007, as part of a comprehensive deployment plan dubbed “Project Driveway.” Project Driveway will place fuel cell vehicles with a variety of drivers in three geographic areas: California, the New York metropolitan area and Washington D.C. The project is designed to gain comprehensive data on all aspects of the customer experience.
Another great example of GM's Technical know-how, this is
the kind of technology that will prove that GM is still a major player
in the auto market, and yet this is just a small example of what
their capable of. http://http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006/09/gm_chevrolet_an.html

J.