alternate REALities: shoulda/woulda/coulda

[2b2]

hey, N.R., somehow I missed your 2 posts...
...like the Prada/JCP analogy

Shuttering Lincoln in favor of Continental would've been very logical.
...
3.)They wouldn't have to worry about deadbeat dealerships(hell, they could be corporate owned=an amazing experience).

If they had shuttered Lincoln in favor of Continental, it would take a while to launch the Continental brand...

I kinda wonder if half of Lincoln-Mercury got saved JUST so they wouldn't have to buy-off all the dealers?
(of course they chose the wrong half!!!**)

I'd like to know How Come it was easier to convince the PowersThatBe to keep Lincoln;
what the arguments were?
(brings up flashbacks of my theory of an maliciously anti-Merc faction within FLincMoCo)



** thinking about a Continental Brand since you brought it up;
think *having* Lincoln actually makes it harder to start Continental;
like they almost have to rebirth the Conti inside Lincoln, make it a success (again), and THEN spin it off on its own
((a few of my other reasons:
- Merc has more potential DNA-wise than Lincoln
- & is the World's Most Perfect Brand
- has a long AND RECENT history of much higher sales numbers
- imho Edsel was the last Ford able to do Luxury (without blushing)
- even taking Merc as high as it can go would strain them
- yada yada...
- ))

[TurboS40]

In the beginning it was Ford with basic affordable transportation. Then in 1922 Lincoln was purchased. Lincoln was considered very elite. There was a gap between Ford and Lincoln as Edsel Ford moved Lincoln to the ultra luxury level by the early 1930's. From this Mercury was born to fill the gap left by moving Lincoln further upscale.

Today it's Ford and Lincoln as it was in the beginning. Mercury had to go because Lincoln was pushed down due to PAG. Someday when Lincoln moves back where it belongs, Mercury will return.

I'm not sure what's going on with Continental lately. It currently was an option package on the Town Car. Perhaps we might see more of this to condition the buying public of the name before they actually bring out a proper Continental Mark 9. But the other side is should Lincoln do like in the 1960's offering Lincoln Continental then bring out the Mark 9?

Being the MKT has "Town Car" attached to it, could MKS someday have "Continental" attached as a higher level vehicle?

[timmm55]

mercCoTeal3.jpg

No Cougar?

[timmm55]

shoSPOILER2.jpg

No Cougar?
Attachment 3340

Cyclone?

caliente222.jpg
Caliente?

capriIII.jpg
Capri III?

Not I kept to "C" names!

[2b2]

^ re-Hi Tim!! good see you here again
& THANKS for posting some of your chops
I've got a new Cougar idea waiting for time/inspiration
(tho hedging by using "C5" as its project name)
&
catching up from an ISP-outage...

Not sure if this is off the subject but would Mercury be around today if Mercury merged with Merkur (using Merkur name) and picked up where the Merkur left off with a full line centered around the Euro theme to distance itself from being a fancy Ford?

Probably not, the problem with Merkur was the price and an unknown name. They were too expensive.

besides what I said before,
I used to rant for Euro-Fords brought over as Mercs but
imho they weren't really worth having until the C1 Focus & the 2006 S-Max
yet tho Mulally's OneFord started soon after that, a Lincoln-Mercury component wasn't part of any Plan ... even a real Lincoln Plan is STILL not complete imho

If Mercury was alive....

...Wagon and coupe versions of...

...Miner(Mariner) = Kuga with Mercury badges, grill, lights.(Ford would have unique tophat, similar to Explorer)...

...Aviator = CUV based on Escape, but on longer wheelbase.

Logan, my current thinking for Merc's RETURN involves more coupes+wagony-Cuvs (together) than sedans
&
using ^this^ as an excuse to post a new Mercury chop:
"miniSport"

Mariner replacement
- drivetrains start with a full hybrid similar to the C-Max's 188hp; next a light hybrid with the coming 1.5EB for 220-250hp, & topped by the "R" model with a gen2 2.0EB and just enough electrics for Awd-antislip/'JATO' = near 300hp;
- using a slightly shortened Grand C-Max wheelbase/still longer than Kuga, for a 90%scale-Edge Cuv
andButHowever
comparing the 'miniSport' specs with my ideal MKG/MKuGa's drivetrains&PRICING
imho
Lincoln isn't ready to allow room for a Mercury yet
so back to my 2020 timeframe for The RETURN

[TurboS40]

IF/When the new Z is a success then we will hear more about the Lincoln Plan. That's probably why we don't (and still don't) know much about all the details of the Lincoln rebirth.

[nruggiero]

IF/When the new Z is a success then we will hear more about the Lincoln Plan. That's probably why we don't (and still don't) know much about all the details of the Lincoln rebirth.

Yup, that's exactly what I'm thinking too.

[2b2]

^ & ^^
do you guys honestly think that FLincMoCo is holding off planning (or contracting stuff for plans)...keeping things as fluid & un-committed as possible STILL?

It certainly would explain why they're moving at a snail's pace (imho)
but
to me that sounds like a major house builder who has been in business for decades,
has decided to now wait for each house to sell before beginning another


this kind of "no-way-to-run-a-business" (imho) might be part of why I'm saying that Lincoln just seems to be a HOBBY for FLincMoCo