2b2

afaik China requires 31 e-miles

wonder how/if they'll make changes

5 hours ago, dfelt said:

...

at first I just thought it was OK

but

after seeing this video

I'm more than surprised...ASTONISHED how Beautiful the remade Navigator is!

Max(imum)Wolff is a GENIUS!!

Lincoln won't develop a RWD flagship but I wish it would develop a large roomy sedan using the Flex wheelbase to replace the MKS.

I'm trying my best to believe that the "large" sedan Mr. Mulally recently mentioned is the MKS's bigbrother (E386) to replace the MKT!!...

...imho eventually the MKS will be replaced with a new RWD Continental

My question is: what is Lincoln?

I mean, does Ford intend to duplicate the Toyota/Lexus business model? Will a RWD Falcon and a large Lincoln share a platform? What does Ford want to do with Lincoln?

just imho

we won't find out for at least a year

^ I really disliked the new Z until I saw an early video - either on a turntable or the camera orbiting around the car

THEN it made sense

tho

I'm still withholding judgement until I see it in person

&

Kudos on keeping an open mind, ocnblu

^ oops, sorry, I didn't double check on the Z

as for Smoked Quartz,

I think it's one of those new paints that change greatly with its surrounds

but basically a rich gray

here's a recent video

favorite frame:

for some reason can't edit ^

so

...One thing Lincoln could do quickly and cheaply to distance themselves from corresponding Fords is to create a unique color palette. And not just in name only. Every color on the MKZ is also available on the new Fusion. Lazy on Ford's part.

I'm ashamed I forgot

there IS a unique color for each the MKZ & Fusion

MKZ gets the lovely Smoked Quartz

while the Fusion gets Ice Storm (tho only on the Hybrid)-(which may or may not be the same as their old Ice Blue Metallic)

They still make Lincolns?

"...maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon..."

...One thing Lincoln could do quickly and cheaply to distance themselves from corresponding Fords is to create a unique color palette...

still hoping to hear about a "Bespoke Program"

Is there any real difference between MyLincolnTouch and MyFordTouch?

afaik: graphics

Anyone know what the highest volume luxury model is?

or the highest "volume segments in the luxury segment"?

Without looking, I'm going to guess the Lexus ES is the highest volume luxury model.

tsk

finally found and (slightly) updated/added to my

Top Lux Mfg Sales List

_2011____2010___models

94,371 - 100,910 - 3 series

82,595 -- 95,790 - L. RX

69,314 -- 58,785 - C class

62,736 -- 60,922 - E class

57,511 -- 45,644 - Mini Brand

51,491 -- 39,488 - 5 series

40,873 -- 48,652 - L. ES

40,547 -- 35,776 - X5

35,835 -- 29,698 - M class

35,234 -- 34,672 - A4

29,669 -- 34,129 - L. IS

27,793 --- 6,075 - X3

25,139 -- 19,943 - GL class

24,908 -- 23,518 - Q5

24,310 -- 20,946 - GLK class

15,385 -- 16,379 - A5

14,381 -------- 0 - L. CT

12,258 -- 13,608 - S class

11,609 -- 16,450 - L. GX

11,299 -- 12,253 - 7 series

11,124 --- 8,675 - A6

-9,568 -- 12,275 - L. LS

-8,998 --- 7,976 - Q7

-8,832 -- 13,132 - 1 series

-6,561 --- 6,558 - A3

-6,270 -------- 0 - A7

-6,192 --- 6,257 - X6

-5,700 --- 1,521 - A8

-3,903 --- 2,418 - 6 series

-3,746 --- 7,059 - L. GS

-3,479 --- 3,804 - Z4

-3,167 --- 3.983 - L. LX

-2,864 -- 10,663 - L. HS

-2,236 --- 1,531 - TT

-1,145 ----- 799 - R8

if anyone could redo the list by segments, that'd be great!

I don't know all the models listed well enough to do it without research I don't have time/energy for

THO

imho the 5-series is Not the same segment as a Lexus ES

...etc...

even if they are cross-shopped

Anyone know what the highest volume luxury model is?

or the highest "volume segments in the luxury segment"?

as I've gone from forum to forum on this subject

I'm becoming actually AGAINST marketing Lincoln performance.

(possibly except for a subtly different badge:

based on the original Continental MkII)

Fomoco needs to develop a comprehensive program/philosophy for it,

but imho it'd be better to not make a big a deal about one trim

and adopt more of a Rolls Royce attitude of, "We have more than adequate performance for you - at whatever level you prefer"...

...whether that's Light/efficient/green or enthusiast driving 'con brio' and everything in between.

for enthusiasts:

a nextgen MKS (AWD) with a 400hp 3.5EB or

a nextgen MKS (AWD) with a 400hp 5.0v8 (LINK) OR

a nextgen MKZ (AWD) with the 400hp 3.5EB or

a nextgen MKZ (AWD) with a (upto) 350hp 2.7EB OR

an AWD Focus/GCMax-based "MKE" with the (upto) 350hp 2.7EB OR

a RWD Lincoln "Zodiac" (LincStang) with one of the above engines or

a RWD Lincoln "Zodiac" with a 600hp 5.0EB OR

a RWD Lincoln Continental (GRwdP) with any of the above engines

Lick Charlie Sheen, he's likely the antidote.

isn't that a case of the cure being worse than the disease?

^ well, if we consider Ford's Titanium trim to be a large part of what Mercury was (& I do)

then FORD is now competing with Buick, ocnblu

4 - They need a halo vehicle or two. Lincoln will have it's 3 basic sedan sizes and crossover sized (small, medium and large) but they need something sporty. I wonder if they can get an SLK or z4 competitior off the next Mustang platform. It could be 3.5 tt only with the 3.5 tuned to for max RWD performance.

Imho a Mustang-based Lincoln coupe-cabrio & sportsedan is a no-brainer...

...add a Falcon-sibling Continental & that's all the RWD (&or halo) Lincoln needs, imho

btw

re: #2, I got ask Nancy Gioia, Ford's director of global electrification , a question about hybrid leadership by Brand & she said they would never restrict technology to just one Brand ... fwiw

was that really Bob Lutz, Chris?

That is the kind of jet they race at the Reno Air Races.

are you in Reno too, JB?

hmm ... couldn't edit my above post

so

for discussion purposes (if there is any)

since

I've gotten a good chunk of the web to refer to the small Lincoln Cuv as the MKG (for KuGa)

please

refer to the small Lincoln car as MKE ('rhymes' with XKE - cuz I'm lobbying for it be very sporty )

altho I don't consider ^this^ definite confirmation,

I remember seeing the C-car mentioned in the Media.Ford.com article announcing the murder of Mercury - - only to have that part re-worded by Ford very quickly as "vehicle".

Also just recently refound where I saw them say specifically that the Mercury Tracer (C557) would be reworked to be a LincolneTTe ... it was InsideLine

The Happiest Man in Detroit - BusinessWeek (page 4 of 5)

Ford CEO Alan Mulally took a broken car company and made it the world's most profitable.

Here's why this fairy-tale turnaround is still far from complete

By Keith Naughton

February 3, 2011, 5:00PM EST

...The first glimpse of Lincoln's new look was scheduled to arrive in April 2011 at the New York Auto Show, say three people familiar with Ford's plans. Mulally had intended to unveil a concept of the next-generation MKZ sedan. Larger than the current model, it also looks more elegant while retaining the prominent split-bow grille Lincoln introduced three years ago, according to two people who have seen the car.

Just last month, Mulally opted to hold back that concept car to give Lincoln's new chief designer, Max Wolff, a chance to put his stamp on the brand. Ford poached Wolff, 38, from Cadillac in December. Just when the new Wolff-designed Lincoln will make its debut remains unclear; dealers remain anxious. "They need to refine their styling," says IHS Automotive analyst Rebecca Lindland, "because some of their products are turning heads for the wrong reasons."

In 2012, Lincoln will debut its small car, known tentatively as the MKC, which is based on the foundation of the Ford Focus. A small Lincoln SUV, based on the Ford Escape, will also hit showrooms in 2012 along with a larger sport-ute aimed at taking on the Lexus RX 350, the people say. The next generation of Lincolns designed entirely by Wolff, however, lies beyond those remakes...

TONS More, but this the Lincoln part

finally saw it - Yes, very good review

&

tho I haven't seen the American Top Gear, just judging from the British version I saw a few times a couple years ago...

if this is a serious audition tape as a performer, I wonder if having some "out-takes" (goofing-up, clowning around, and being silly with 'the crew') might be a worthwhile addition?

...I mean unless you're applying for a writing position OR if the performers are expected to create their own scripts?

A Cruze wagon with a high roof, like the old Tercels and Civics might come close to replacing the HHR on a versatility level, but the HHR sold as much on style as it did on space. And the Cruze, even in nifty 5-door, is no match for HHR's style.

a mini-VistaCruiser >> VistaCruZer!

hmmm ... since some wouldn't go for 'pitiful'

& based on their explanations :eek:

I'm upping the ante to PATHETIC

I hope this story helps shame GM into keeping this program.

The best critic is one in house as they can correct the mistake before you waste the money putting out a bad product...

even after time was already wasted making those mistake!

But it sounds to me that if in house opinions were valued, how much more progress could've been made in the Right Direction from the get-go?

but that's just me

from the article it seems like it helped

but

Does anyone else find this sort of pitiful?

...that apparently there was no way the constructive criticism could be found in-house

I was abandonned/imprisoned on this planet after being surgically

altered to pass for human