Lincoln becomes the new Acura; Ford nixes V8 for MKS

SoonerLS said:
Wide (wheel well to wheel well) isn't the problem. The Mod Motor V8s are fairly compact front to back (water pump to bellhousing interface), with a narrow bore spacing specifically for accommodating transverse mounting applications. This is a transverse mounting application, and it would probably fit between the wheel wells, but it's too wide (valve cover to valve cover) to fit between the firewall and radiator bulkhead.
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makes sense. I noticed on those conti pics that the entire engine was in the left half of the engine compartment. Is the car way out of balance???
 
I think that is pretty common with FWD cars, as there has to be room "behind" the engine for the tranny.
 
could be, I've just never seen one quite that extreme. My 4.0L FWD aurora looked pretty centered.
 
Why are they not using the supercharged V8s they have in Jaguar "R" cars (400hp) or the turbo V6s in the Volvo "R" cars? (the S60R pushes 300hp stk with bolt-ons to put it at ~362hp)
 
..despite everything, I would support the move to V6s if, and only if, they actually produced a Lincoln that would compete with the CTS-V or the G35 in terms of performance, style and handling.

The Zephyr isn't going to cut it.

Otherwise, we're going to see the continued decline of Ford/Lincoln/Mercury. Uninspired, passionless cars with mediocre Mexican/Canadian build quality.
 
Midas78 said:
Why are they not using the supercharged V8s they have in Jaguar "R" cars (400hp) or the turbo V6s in the Volvo "R" cars? (the S60R pushes 300hp stk with bolt-ons to put it at ~362hp)
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I believe that is the question on all of our minds
 
Calabrio said:
..despite everything, I would support the move to V6s if, and only if, they actually produced a Lincoln that would compete with the CTS-V or the G35 in terms of performance, style and handling.

The Zephyr isn't going to cut it.

Otherwise, we're going to see the continued decline of Ford/Lincoln/Mercury. Uninspired, passionless cars with mediocre Mexican/Canadian build quality.
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yyyepp.

Looks like the only market FLM is aiming at with the MK-Zeph is rental fleets.

I mean seriously...the hot V-6 FWD sedan market segment has been around for years. And THIS is Lincoln's entry??? Give 'em 3 years to catch up...so by 2010, they'll be where the competition was in 2006.
 
elhelmete said:
Looks like the only market FLM is aiming at with the MK-Zeph is rental fleets.

I mean seriously...the hot V-6 FWD sedan market segment has been around for years. And THIS is Lincoln's entry??? Give 'em 3 years to catch up...so by 2010, they'll be where the competition was in 2006.
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Spoken by someone who hasn't seen the Zephyr's sales figures. You may notice that the Zephyr has $0 in incentives--they don't have no cash incentives on cars that aren't selling (just look at the $8K cash they were offering on the LS).
 
are you serious? what are the sales figures? I've seen a grand total of TWO on the road.
 
In July, Lincoln sold just over 3,000 Zephyrs, and a hair under 18,700 Zephyrs for the year through July. (August sales numbers aren't available yet, for obvious reasons.) To put it in perspective, Lincoln's car sales are up over last year (up almost 25%, July '06 vs July '05, and up almost 20%, Jan-Jul '06 vs jan-Jul '05), despite the Town Car and LS both being way down--the Zephyr is carrying them.
 
I have seen alot of white hairs in Zephyrs, I guess it is "their" Linc Continental replacement. They do have their loyalty to American engineering. :)
 
SoonerLS said:
That's not what I've heard...
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Hey Sooner, have you heard anything about the MKZ coupe based off a 2 door Fusion coupe (Motor Trend)? Now if Lincoln made that and put a tt V6 in it and renamed it the MKZR. I would be interested. Might even have a chance against a Cadillac CSTV
 
SoonerLS said:
Spoken by someone who hasn't seen the Zephyr's sales figures. You may notice that the Zephyr has $0 in incentives--they don't have no cash incentives on cars that aren't selling (just look at the $8K cash they were offering on the LS).
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OK, great. I see lots of them in rental car lots, truth be told. I'm not saying they won't sell...just that for me, as far as I'm concerned, it's not going to draw me into the Lincoln showroom. Well it did once, but...
 
SoonerLS said:
Spoken by someone who hasn't seen the Zephyr's sales figures. You may notice that the Zephyr has $0 in incentives--they don't have no cash incentives on cars that aren't selling (just look at the $8K cash they were offering on the LS).
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I see where Zephyr qualifies for the 0% for 72 mos. That tells me they are not selling. I have seen 3 in the Tidewater (VA) in the last month. I see 4-5 LS's every day.
 
doug03ls said:
I see where Zephyr qualifies for the 0% for 72 mos. That tells me they are not selling. I have seen 3 in the Tidewater (VA) in the last month. I see 4-5 LS's every day.
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Just about everything is on 0%...all FLM vehicles except the F-650/750, LCF, and GT.
 
doug03ls said:
I see where Zephyr qualifies for the 0% for 72 mos. That tells me they are not selling. I have seen 3 in the Tidewater (VA) in the last month. I see 4-5 LS's every day.
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Not really--the 0% financing is pretty well across the board, with a very few exceptions. The $0 in cash incentives tells you that the Zephyr is selling. Ford also says that sales of the F/M/Z increased in July (over June).

Retail sales for the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln Zephyr were a record 19,440 in July, up 18 percent compared with June. Total sales (including fleet deliveries) for the company's new mid-size sedans were 20,129.
-- http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=F&script=414&layout=-6&item_id=890390
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That means that a total of 689 Fusions, Milans, and Zephyrs were sold to fleets in July, or roughly 3% of sales were fleet sales.

Plus, those numbers are exceeding the sales expectations--which, combined with the lack of cash incentives, means that they making money for Lincoln (and Ford). That is exactly what Ford (and Lincoln) needs.
 
And sales just came out- the Fusion, Milan, and Zephyr were sold in record numbers in August '06, to the tune of 22,000 cars. I think the new MKZ will sell well.
 
i think it will sell well too if they price it right - the fusion,milan,zypher all are good looking cars they dont look bland but the price for these cars are great especially compared to most of the competition.
 
The Montego is the Mercury version of the Five Hundred. It's on the D3 platform, so it's on the same platform as the Five Hundred, the Freestyle, the forthcoming MKS, and the Volvo S80.
 
SoonerLS you beat me to the punch - but i also heard that ford will be giving the five hundred/montego more HP since they are not selling like they are supposed to..
 
Actually, they're giving the Five Hundred/Montego more HP because the D35 (the 3.5L Duratec) is replacing the D30 (3.0L Duratec) across the board as the main corporate V6, and the D35 produces more power than the D30.
 
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