1996 Lincoln Town Car Limo on 2040-cars

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The Lincoln Way seeks to woo customers with unique services

Lincoln has been fighting hard to shed their image as a luxury brand for the elderly. The company has recently introduced or updated nearly every vehicle in its fleet in order to literally put a new face on the brand. Options, like the Black Label program, attempt to pull influence from high-end automakers that provide services extending beyond scheduled oil changes. Now, Lincoln is introducing a program that it refers to as The Lincoln Way, a suite of customer-oriented services that the company hopes will set it apart from the pack. All of this starts this fall when the new Continental goes on sale. Customers will have access to services like vehicle pickup and drop off and complimentary loaner vehicles. The company is planning more incentives for the future, but details are vague. Lincoln parent Ford is offering similar services on the upcoming GT. The Lincoln Way seems to be an expansion of some services already offered under the Black Label program. Right now, Black Label includes scheduled maintenance, car washes, and concierge services, as well as exclusive vehicle colors and options. The program is pricey and only available on some models in some states, though Lincoln plans on expanding Black Label's reach. In addition to these services, Lincoln is opening a showroom of sorts, called the Lincoln Experience Center, in Newport Beach, California. The facility won't actually sell vehicles. Instead, customers can come and learn about the brand, build and price vehicles, and take test drives. The Experience Center will then put customers in contact with local dealers. Lincoln says the increased focus on customer care and satisfaction draws influence from the company's growth in China. Since the introduction of The Lincoln Way services, sales in China have grown greatly. Sales in the United States, like China, have been improving the past few years. With the introduction of The Lincoln Way, the company hopes that Matthew Mcconaughey won't be the only draw for future customers. Related Video: Lincoln Ownership Luxury lincoln black label

Automakers tussle over owners of 'orphan' makes

When General Motors put down several of its brands in recent years, it also let loose thousands of brand-loyal customers who will eventually need another car.
R.L. Polk Associates estimates there are more than 18 million cars from 16 discontinued makes on the road today. Those "orphan owners" have sales-hungry competitors seeing dollar signs. GM is offering Saturn owners $1,000 cash toward a Chevy Cruze, Cadillac CTS or a GMC Acadia. Ford is giving its Mercury lease customers a chance to get out of their contracts with no early-termination penalty and offering to waive six remaining payments if they drive off in a Ford or Lincoln.
Edmunds.com research shows the efforts are paying off somewhat for GM, with 39 percent of Pontiac owners, 37 percent of Hummer owners and 31 percent of Saturn owners taking delivery of another GM-branded vehicle. But that leaves as much as 69 percent of owners going elsewhere. Ford, Honda and Toyota seem to be attracting many former GM owners.

Ford issues four recalls covering 163k vehicles

Recalls! 2014 will be forever remembered as the year that automakers went recall crazy, with millions and millions of vehicles adding up to crush previous recall records well before the end of the year. Adding to that tally is Ford, which announced a call-back for 163,000 vehicles.
Leading that charge are the 2.0-liter, EcoBoost four-cylinder engines of the Ford Focus ST and Ford Escape. 160,000 of the 2013 and 2014 models have bad wiring harnesses that can disrupt the signals traveling to the powertrain control module. That, in turn, could lead to a check engine light, reduced power and stalling. Notably, Ford hasn't recalled any other vehicles that feature the 2.0 EcoBoost, such as the Fusion, Taurus or Explorer.
While the Focus ST and Escape constitute the vast majority of recalled vehicles, they aren't the only problem children in the Ford family. 1,300 Transit passenger vans from model year 2015 were recalled due to brake fluid leaks, while another 600 Transit cargo variants were recalled after Ford discovered the windowless sliding doors could come open in the event of a side-impact crash. Dealers will replace the sealing washers on the passenger variants and add a reinforcement plate on the cargo models, The Detroit News reports.