Lincoln Tenatively Planning Rear-Drive Coupe

[2b2]

It's Lincoln's new product team that put this plan together. They have only existed a year. Sometimes, things just take time...

good point

it sounds to me like FLincMoCo put the team together to actually DO something,
now we'll see if the Approvers let any of that get built.

also... "Lincoln's new product team" raises a question for me to pose:
Has FLincMoCo announced or talked about any of the Product Planners (as opposed to style guys) on Team Lincoln??
(&
not sure I understand how/what those positions are or IF they are,
since it seems a LOT of execs have their hands in Ford Brand product planning...
...but I wonder what/who an entry level Product Planner would be like?)

[ZanatWork]

It doesn't have to be a "Mustang Clone". In fact, a 4-door "coupe" like others in the luxury car world would likely be a solid idea.

[T'Cal]

It's Lincoln's new product team that put this plan together. They have only existed a year. Sometimes, things just take time.


Sent from my iPhone using AutoGuide.com App

While you are correct, time is a luxury Lincoln doesn't have. Move your tail, FoMoCo!

[germeezy1]

what's a "results horizon", germeezy?

Meaning that it seems that their plans are a bit shortsighted, and not forward thinking in many ways.

[2b2]

^ imho FLincMoCo is very forward thinking in most-every way possible, germeezy, with Plans upon Plans reaching decades ahead.
The only way I can agree with term "shortsighted" is that they may not reach high** enough...without outsider encouragement.

Was it you who said their PAG experience may have made them a bit timid about true Lux ambitions?
Whoever did, I think that's a valid observation.

** kinda wondering if that 'Reach Higher' ad phrase was really targeted INternally at the Approvers

It doesn't have to be a "Mustang Clone". In fact, a 4-door "coupe" like others in the luxury car world would likely be a solid idea.

sorta precisely I strongly agree with a 4-door preferably First, but think the whole 4-d-coupe look is hard to do with anything smaller than a midsize
though I do hope the LincStang(s) is/are a bit swoopier than the ATS

[MaxLegroom]

Need? By 2020? 3-cylinder. Definitely.

How about no cylinders at all? What if you had Lincolns that were pure electric? If Tesla succeeds, there will be increased pressure to bring electric cars online, and a luxury car would be a good place to get a better return on investment. Indeed, Lincoln has progressed in that direction by making the Hybrid MKZ and the regular MKZ the same price.

Another thing that bothers me now that I've actually thought about it. The fact that this will be coupe only worries me. That puts the car into the specialty category, and we've seen often how quickly this industry gets bored with those when they aren't the hot product on the market. I would feel much better if they were to create a full range, sedan, coupe, and convertible off of the platform, that way we would know they are both financially and emotionally invested in its long term success.

A full range might be coming, and it doesn't bother me in the least that they decided to start with a coupe. There has to be a reason that Mercedes Benz has one on every platform that can reasonably support one (no GL based coupe, then) I'm considering my first luxury car, and I am definitely tired of sedans, indeed, before the Prius, it had been a long time since I'd owned one. I'd heard from a friend of mine, who works at a Mercedes dealer, that their coupes are, in fact, doing fairly well here.

Is Ford so in love with badge-engineering that it cannot think outside the box in order to create a distinctive product for Lincoln?

A Mustang clone is not the answer. Any D2C based Lincoln should be introduced as a 4-door sport sedan to give Lincoln something that cannot be found in a Ford showroom. A coupe and convertible can come later. Few buyers are going to buy Mustang clones for $10,000 more when they can get the less expensive original down the street. Lincoln should be a RWD marque but to start by mirroring a popular Ford offering is to start with an immediate handicap.

Holding a RWD Lincoln hostage to the success of a cloned Fusion is a sure sign that Ford intends to kill Lincoln eventually. Customers are not going to beat down dealers' doors to buy the MKZ because they know that paying a premium for a dressed-up Fusion makes little sense.

Mulally wants "One Ford" and hostage-taking is his way to get it because he knows that the MKZ will not meet expectations. Unwittingly, he just showed us his hole card.

First thought here is that the Mustang based coupe will probably not look like a Mustang, nor drive exactly like one, either. The new Mustang will not be a bad car to base a Lincoln coupe on. Even the new MKZ, while clearly based on the Fusion, isn't as naked a copy of the Fusion as its predecessor was.

Still, your guess about Mulally's intentions seems to be right. This is set up to fail...

[2b2]

How about no cylinders at all? What if you had Lincolns that were pure electric? If Tesla succeeds, there will be increased pressure to bring electric cars online, and a luxury car would be a good place to get a better return on investment. Indeed, Lincoln has progressed in that direction by making the Hybrid MKZ and the regular MKZ the same price...

imho pure-electrics just aren't ready for primetime
tho
I *do* highly recommend (ie RANT) for Lincoln to move toward using various amounts of electric assist in EVERY drivetrain
&
AGREE Lincoln should keep Tesla (& Fisker?) "in their sights"...
...more important than BMW imho

...A full range might be coming, and it doesn't bother me in the least that they decided to start with a coupe...

here I don't agree - primarily for perception
I *hate* the term LincStang (even tho I use it - soooo hard not to, just for convenience)
but think it adds a huge hurdle to the 'mission' for the car
btw
based just on my chopping experience ,
a sportsedan canNot be built on the coupe's chassis without significant alterations
(fwiw)
Imho the "proof of this pudding" will be how the sportsedan turns out

Is Ford so in love with badge-engineering that it cannot think outside the box in order to create a distinctive product for Lincoln?...

...Holding a RWD Lincoln hostage to the success of a cloned Fusion is a sure sign that Ford intends to kill Lincoln eventually. Customers are not going to beat down dealers' doors to buy the MKZ because they know that paying a premium for a dressed-up Fusion makes little sense.

Mulally wants "One Ford" and hostage-taking is his way to get it because he knows that the MKZ will not meet expectations. Unwittingly, he just showed us his hole card.

...First thought here is that the Mustang based coupe will probably not look like a Mustang, nor drive exactly like one, either. The new Mustang will not be a bad car to base a Lincoln coupe on. Even the new MKZ, while clearly based on the Fusion, isn't as naked a copy of the Fusion as its predecessor was.

Still, your guess about Mulally's intentions seems to be right. This is set up to fail...

I *believe* in FoMoCo's engineering
and see No insurmountable reason that sharing platforms canNot work for Lincoln (& Mercury!).

With the Lincoln DriveControl,etc. + my drivetrain proposals (& judicious swapping in of alloy parts); the ONLY challenge will be aesthetics IMHO
and of course
a ball-busting determination to get things right

for that last quality, I trust Mr. Mulally
for the aesthetics, I hope on who's in Team Lincoln...
...AND the "Approvers" (the weakest link imho)


ps
afaik, NO ONE at FLincMoCo has said anything to justify this "hostage" idea...
...Links?

[2b2]

THE AUTOEXTREMIST
By Peter M. De Lorenzo
January 9, 2013

On the eve of another Detroit Auto Show the industry is predictably poised for… more of the same...

...And then there’s Lincoln. Ford will show a smaller CUV concept for Lincoln utilizing the Escape underpinnings. It’s desperately needed, because the launch of the MKZ isn’t going to be enough to sustain Lincoln in the market. Is this the year Lincoln finally unveils a proper rear-wheel-drive concept that points to the direction of the next Continental? And will it be a true Lincoln for the hardcore aficionados who are clamoring for it? We’ll see about that too...

[sfbreh]

THE AUTOEXTREMIST
By Peter M. De Lorenzo
January 9, 2013

On the eve of another Detroit Auto Show the industry is predictably poised for… more of the same...

...And then there’s Lincoln. Ford will show a smaller CUV concept for Lincoln utilizing the Escape underpinnings. It’s desperately needed, because the launch of the MKZ isn’t going to be enough to sustain Lincoln in the market. Is this the year Lincoln finally unveils a proper rear-wheel-drive concept that points to the direction of the next Continental? And will it be a true Lincoln for the hardcore aficionados who are clamoring for it? We’ll see about that too...

God do I hope that overly opinionated, slack-jawed fat bastard is right about a RWD concept this year...

Show a big RWD sedan at Pebble Beach to build hype for your brand before the MKC launch. Sales may follow from a temporary halo effect.

[AM222]

What are the chances that the upcoming RWD Lincoln which is supposedly a coupe is not a traditional 2-door coupe, but a 4-door coupe like a Mercedes CLS or BMW 6-series Gran Coupe?