2006 Lincoln Ls on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lincoln prepping MKZ re-launch?

Launching an all-new car is no easy task. Case in point is the 2013 Lincoln MKZ, introduced with the fanfare of a major nationwide marketing campaign, including expensive Super Bowl ads, just as Ford was curbing production over potential quality issues. The resulting mess was nothing short of a nightmare for any automaker - customers visiting dealerships looking for cars that hadn't been delivered yet. Disappointed buyers walked out of Lincoln retailers without new keys in their hands, or switched to a competing brand to fill empty spaces in their driveways.
The impact was painful, as Lincoln's sales in January and February of this year were among the lowest it has recorded in more than a quarter century. Even though March looked a bit brighter, with the supply crisis reportedly over (there are 3,000 units in transit and production is approaching 200 units per day) the automaker is reportedly studying the feasibility of giving its pivotal MKZ the launch it originally deserved.
According to TheDetroitBureau.com, putting the MKZ back on consumer's radar could cost Ford tens of millions of dollars, but that kind of investment may be warranted if potential buyers have forgotten about the new model... or worse, if they have forgotten about Lincoln.

2019 Lincoln Nautilus replaces MKX crossover as new naming system takes hold

Goodbye, Lincoln MKX, hello Nautilus. And while you're at it, you can start saying goodbye to Lincoln's arcane alphanumeric nomenclature altogether. Lincoln unveiled the 2019 Nautilus midsize crossover in Los Angeles, taking the wraps (literally) off a ceramic gray version that had been hoisted to the rooftop penthouse of the Dream Hollywood hotel via crane ahead of its formal introduction Wednesday at the L.A. Auto Show. Latin for "sailor," the Nautilus joins the Continental and Navigator to establish a travel theme in the luxury brand's lineup. Robert Parker, global director of marketing, sales and service for Lincoln, said the significant changes made to the midsize SUV made this the right time to switch to a more traditional model name. "We'll do it with other products in the future, we're gonna do it one at a time," he said, without committing to a timetable. The company said nothing about renaming the recently refreshed 2019 MKC compact crossover, for example, nor the MKZ midsize sedan. Parker said the letter-based nomenclature was particularly challenging for customers in China, which has emerged as a key market in Lincoln's third year selling vehicles there. "There's an old adage that the name doesn't make the car, the car makes the name. So there's a degree of that that's played into this," Parker said. "This kind of connection that consumers have, especially with American brands and names, we felt like, is something that Lincoln could own, it's something we've owned in the past, and bringing those two back together, it does make it a bit more effortless for customers." The Nautilus gets its siblings' new signature grille and sidebody badging, welcome lighting from the undercarriage and cabin, and a choice of five new wheel options (out of six total) and three premium Black Label interior trim themes and other perks. It boasts an all-new front end, with everything redesigned from the A-pillar forward, plus a suite of driver-assist technologies like a lane-centering feature that pairs with adaptive cruise control; evasive steering assistance, which uses radar and cameras to lower the risk of rear-end collisions and can help the driver steer around the vehicle if needed; pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection; and active park assist. Inside, there's dark-stained wood trim on the console and minimal controls, with Lincoln opting to keep the cabin spacious, quiet and uncluttered. The rear seats offer best-in-class head and legroom.

Ford gets out of car subscriptions, sells Canvas to rival Fair

Ford says it’s selling its Canvas subscription service to competitor Fair, getting out of the subscription game after less than three years. Terms of the deal were not announced. Ford acquired Canvas in 2016 as a wholly-owned subsidiary based in San Francisco as a service to pilot subscriptions to Ford and Lincoln vehicles, eventually rolling out to Los Angeles and Dallas. The company said it had amassed around 3,800 subscribers in that time, who will have the opportunity to join Fair when their current subscriptions end and will receive more information from both subscription companies. But that number pales in comparison with Santa Monica, California-based Fair, which claims more than 45,000 subscriptions in 30 markets since launching in 2017. Ford was always fairly quiet about Canvas, and Automotive News last year reported that Lincoln executives expressed surprise over soft demand, saying that subscribers were looking for short-term solutions and often dropped out after just a few months. Ford is also in cost-cutting mode under CEO Jim HackettÂ’s $11 billion restructuring plan. The Blue Oval joins Cadillac, which put its $1,800-a-month Book By Cadillac subscription service on ice late last year, citing higher costs and fewer customers than expected. Cadillac has pledged to eventually relaunch the service as a pilot in select cities, but mumÂ’s been the word since. More recently, VolvoÂ’s Care by Volvo subscription service has come under scrutiny from dealers and an investigation from the California Department of Motor Vehicles and has made changes to its program. Thought it also has added the XC60, XC90 and V60 to the list of available vehicles. Fair touts itself as a “commitment-free” solution, with all-inclusive plans covering 24-7 roadside assistance, routine maintenance, insurance and other perks. It uses a mobile app to get customers prequalified, and it analyzes their eligibility and targets an affordable range of monthly payments. Customers then shop for cars and sign up for one via an initial payment that ranges by vehicle type, with the ability to keep the cars as long as they want and drop the service at any time. It peddles used cars from more than 30 different brands, none more than six years old or with more than 70,000 miles on the odometer. Fair on Tuesday announced it has raised $500 million in loans from a group of creditors, including Mizuho Bank and Japan's SoftBank, as it looks to expand its leasing services to Uber drivers.