I can't remember what model my sister in law had in the late 80's or early 90's but the design on their big sedan was beautiful...seems like all the other cars copied it. Audi still has some impressive vehicles. It may have been an Audi 5000 after doing a little research.

 

LINCOLN needs a reboot. they should compete side by side against cadillac.

they should have a sports sedan - coupe like the ctsv and they should upgrade the navigator . there styling has an older crowd look. While it is true that the older crowd has the money, it is the 30 and 40 somethings that actually spend it.

it should be an exclusive premium brand, it just dosent feel like that. i like this car but by itself, it is not enough, i agree that the rims are not it

 

if they took some styling ques from the Australian Fords, such as the falcon, that'd be a step up for Ford and lincoln north America.

 

Ford has got a heck of a challenge on their hands creating an upscale or even premium brand. They totally screwed-up Mercury by making them nothing more than "tarted-up Fords" for decades, and Lincoln has developed the stigma of being an "old man's car" over that same time period.

Ford has a nasty habit of ignoring segments forever, and then acting surprised when their standing in that particular market goes south. It would be nice if Ford would actually invest in building a brand, rather than chasing the quick and easy buck based on the immediate whims of the market....

 

Lincoln needs a new Mark Series. Mark 9 with AWD 3.5 EB pushing out 450+ HP.

 

Just remember dodge is offering 480 and 707 hp cars. Cadillac will roll out a 640 hp ctsv.

Lincoln need a performance sedan using either a supercharger 5.0 or a 3700 to 3800 pound car using the new 5.2 v-8 currently in the Gt350. Only way you are going to go after that mid level Lexus bmw Mercedes buyer. At $50 k plus a buyer does not want a sedan with the truck motor. It is a marketing thing

 

I don't look at the Ecoboost V6 as being a truck motor - it's a car motor (think Taurus SHO and the Ford GT) adapted for use in a truck. Other than the 6.2, the last true gas truck motor that Ford had was the 300 I6. The 5.4 and 6.8 were based on the Triton 4.6 from the Crown Vic and Lincoln.

 

Dont forget Police interceptor, Flex and MKT as well

 

the motor they will put in the GT is the same as the other 3.5 eco boost except it will have different block, heads, pistons, and intake, plus bigger turbos. also a dual-injection system, a combination of port and direct fuel injection.

kind like saying the motor in your 96 , 351 f150 and a nascar motor are the same. except all the parts are different.

the 3.5 ecoboost is the most talked about motor in the #1 sales leader f150. reguardless of where it originated or came about. the public will think of it as the f150 motor. it is called perception and marketing. i assure you ford does not use the fact that it first appeared in a car in its marketing.

my point , which obviously is not taken, is that the lincoln need an exclusive motor to compete in the premium car market. the 5.2 or a supercharged 5.0 meets that need.

 

That's going to be a real tough one to get past the bean counters.

 

Why do they need a special engine for only them to use? Audi doesn't and they do just fine. Their 2.0T used in the A3, A4, A5, Q3, Q5 is shared with a ton of VW (possible Skoda and Seat too) models and these can push or top $50k easily. The 3.0 used in the A6, A7, A8, Q7 is also shared with VW. These models start between $50-65k and go up quickly. It's not until you get into the S or RS models that you get a different engine than is offered in other "lower level" cars. Audi is selling a lot of cars right now. Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infinity are all the same way. The current FoMoCo engine line up is good enough that it could easily compete in the luxury car world. They could easily advertise increased power by using a 93 octane rating which would give them paper bragging rights. The real problem with Lincoln is they don't have much to offer. Their cars are bland, boring and made for coffin dodgers. They need to spice things up to appeal to the younger buyers that are snapping up the German marquis because they offer a much better driving car.

 

This is one place where GM is being successful with Cadillac. The CTS-V is a world class performance car.

 

I couldn't agree more Cadillac is killing it!

 

Yep, to me it looks like they are going after the drug dealer and pimp market.......all it needs is an air suspension with a "donk" setting.

 

No. They're not. The year to date sales for Cadillac are down from last year and they were down from the year before. They sell a bunch of Escalades and 5-10 -V models a year. The rest of the models are not selling. They sold a good amount of cars in 2011-2012 but since have tanked. They still suffer from using too much junk from the GM parts bin and it makes the car feel cheap. Look at the ATS and the gauge cluster, It really wouldn't have cost much to put something nice in front of the driver. Instead, they take something from a late 90 Pontiac and slap in on there. If Cadillac and Lincoln want to play with the big boys they will have to understand that doing that sort of thing just won't fly.

The rimmzos on this Lincoln are nothing more than auto show pieces. What hits the dealer lot will look much different than something like this.