Will FoMoCo Kill off the Lincoln Brand?

[MCompact]

then there's things like Heated Steering wheels... Co worker has that on her Dodge Caravan, and won't go without it now....back in 14, I got my first car with heated seats, and thought they were the greatest thing, she had to one up me with the steering wheel...

My wife's 1991 740 Turbo was our first car with heated seats. Next was my 1988 M6. The first car we got with a heated steering wheel was my wife's(naturally) 1997 528i that she picked up in 2001.
While I like heated wheels, the lack of one isn't a deal breaker- but heated seats are non-negotiable.

 

[01rangerxl]

I made it a point to look for Lincolns this weekend. I drove 160 miles and did not see a single Lincoln until I was almost home tonight and it was an old Navigator.

I noticed two going to get takeout tonight, both 90-97 Town Cars. Not a single MKwhatever though.

 

[bunnspecial]

There have been some "small touch" Lincoln features over the years that I'm really sorry never were carried over.

On the 98-02 Continental(and I think also the Mark VIII, but don't hold me to that) you would of course get two key fobs, and they would be designated for "driver 1" and "driver 2". If you adjusted the seat and mirrors and saved it to the correct driver number(per the fob), when you would unlock it with that particular fob the memory would automatically activate. That was a slick feature to me, and something I don't think anyone else has done.

The Mark VIII used its air suspension to drop a bit at interstate speeds for better aerodynamics.

The LS had a fun mode with the heated and cooled seats. If you pushed both the heat and cool buttons at the same time, you'd get one light lit above each button to indicate they were in "automatic" mode. In that mode, it would track what the heating and cooling system was doing. The automatic setting would stay on until you either turned it off or disconnected the battery. That car had the best climate control I had, and kept me comfortable year round if I just set it to 72º and auto. About the only time I ever even touched the climate control is if someone else messed with it, or the occasional time in super cold weather when the the seat heater would glitch off(and take it out of auto mode). I could often go 6 months if not longer without even touching that panel.

As a side note, I have by far and away the most experience with Lincoln automatic climate control(between several different models). I always just hit auto and let them do their thing. I do fiddle with the thermostat setting in the MKZ somewhat often, but usually over a range of about 68º-74º since it's not PERFECT but I can usually find a setting that's comfortable in there. I never think about the messing with the blower-I let the car figure it out and it's never steered me wrong. In hot weather, that usually means full blast for a minute or so and then gradually bringing it down(so I don't have to listen to the stupid thing droning in my ears) as the car cools. I've irritated many passengers before on cold days because it's smart enough to not crank the blower up until the coolant is up to temperature, and a lot of people seem to want to mess with it and have it blow a lot of ice cold air.

 

[mightymousetech]

nope. as I posted earlier, my Uncle has had 5 Lincolns (4 new, 1 CPO) since 2005, every one of them has had not only heated, but VENTILATED leather. getting that cool breeze up your backside when getting into a HOT car is sooo awesome. kinda like sitting on an air Hockey Table.

until recently he had a 13 MKX, last year I bought a 13 Cmax. totally different beasts in the ford line up, but we had a lot of the same optional extras. over all, the interior of my Cmax, is like any other Domestic in it's segment, lots of "cheap looking plastic-y bits" as the european automotive press likes to say. His MKX, while still plastic-y, was clearly a higher class of plastics, and carpets. even decent looking fake wood trim!
The Lincons do get the new doodads and whizbangs a little earlier, no rear Camera on my C-max, his MKX had one (had to have it replaced not long before selling it, body shop ordered the FORD camera, instead of the LINCOLN camera, b/c it was basically identical, but was half the Cost.)

Lincolns will also tend to get the larger engines as standard. Edge got the 3.5l, MKX 3.7l, etc. dunno about it being a better drive train, but Def. more power...

then there's things like Heated Steering wheels... Co worker has that on her Dodge Caravan, and won't go without it now....back in 14, I got my first car with heated seats, and thought they were the greatest thing, she had to one up me with the steering wheel...

Heated/cooled seats and heated steering wheels are all pretty old tech. Now BMW has heated arm rests, and Peltier heated/cooled cup holders. All of the heat/cool functions can be controlled automatically by the car. The driver can just set the outside temp they want all the heated functions to come on at, and at what level. None of this pressing button like a peasant.

 

[Danh]

Well, Motor Trend just did a comparison of 12 compact SUVs. The Lincoln Corsair came in 3rd, ahead of the equivalent BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Land Rover, Cadillac, Jaguar, et al. Acura RDX was 2nd and a Volvo was first.

You can say what you will about the publication, but it looks to me like Lincoln has upped its game and a lot of preconceived notions are out-of-date. And the Navigator and Aviator have also received really good press. Now it’s a matter of convincing the car buying public to take a look.

 

[MCompact]

Well, Motor Trend just did a comparison of 12 compact SUVs. The Lincoln Corsair came in 3rd, ahead of the equivalent BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Land Rover, Cadillac, Jaguar, et al. Acura RDX was 2nd and a Volvo was first.

You can say what you will about the publication, but it looks to me like Lincoln has upped its game and a lot of preconceived notions are out-of-date. And the Navigator and Aviator have also received really good press. Now it’s a matter of convincing the car buying public to take a look.

I had an absolute ball in the X5 M press loaner I drove a couple of years ago, but the only SUVs I think enjoy driving on a daily basis are are the X3 M40i, X3 M, and the Macan GTS. I have no doubt that the Corsair is a great SUV for people who don't prioritize performance, but it's definitely not for me.

 

[Jake_J]

I doubt that Ford will kill off Lincoln as a brand. The cars are goners after this year as the 2020 Continental is the last car in the lineup. The economics of Lincoln still make sense as they're all luxury versions of existing Ford products, with no show piece money losing exotic engines and platforms. The economies of scale are there, they just need to find some traction with sales in the market but they don't need the global sales of a 3 series to justify their models being on the market. They have 3 new SUV's in the last 2 model years with the Nautilus, Aviator, and Corsair so the sales will improve.

One could argue that Ford could kill the brand and just sell luxury Fords as Fords but as Toyota found out with Lexus, "brand equity" or badge appeal is a powerful motivator when selling expensive luxuxry goods.

 

[parimento1]

I doubt that Ford will kill off Lincoln as a brand. The cars are goners after this year as the 2020 Continental is the last car in the lineup. The economics of Lincoln still make sense as they're all luxury versions of existing Ford products, with no show piece money losing exotic engines and platforms. The economies of scale are there, they just need to find some traction with sales in the market but they don't need the global sales of a 3 series to justify their models being on the market. They have 3 new SUV's in the last 2 model years with the Nautilus, Aviator, and Corsair so the sales will improve.

One could argue that Ford could kill the brand and just sell luxury Fords as Fords but as Toyota found out with Lexus, "brand equity" or badge appeal is a powerful motivator when selling expensive luxuxry goods.

Yes, and Lincoln has little if any brand equity left! They should just sell uprated Ford cars and leave the luxury market, as it is a niche market, anyway.

 

[SeaJay]

My wife bought an MKS around 2009 or 2010. She loved it more than any car she had ever owned. Until it started having problems, big ones that a 2-3 year old car should not see. It finished its warranty with a big repair or two and she dumped a few days after our indy gave us a warning that some serious issues existed in the steering system that should be addressed very soon.

Maybe and exception, maybe not. She wasn't happy about giving it up but it had to be done to save our bank account.

 

[Andrew1972]

What do you think? Does anyone buy Lincoln vehicles anymore? I don't even see them used as limousines anymore.

Nope they just released some amazing, profitable and appealing vehicles to certain people for the SUV Market.