Browsing Lincoln MKZ's Archives »»
Filed under: Sedan, Lincoln, Luxury
If you're a fan of
Lincoln, get ready for "a really great story" come May 1. That's how Ford marketing boss Jim Farley, in a call with analysts, characterized the coming April sales report for the
MKZ. At the moment, there are probably few things that the executive VP could want more than a happy ending for the ballyhooed sedan that has made people cry boo-hoo for the past six months.
The massive glass roof of the MKZ is trying to
support a burden that would make Atlas tap out, and it hasn't shattered, but it has shown a few cracks. The car we called "
a big step in the right direction," the embodiment of the
reinvention of the brand and a test of Lincoln's commitment to a
new rear-wheel drive offering was given an
$8-million dollar Super Bowl ad spend earlier this year, then quality control issues during its assembly
scuttled deliveries. Lincoln
got over that and
kept up the ad blitz, now it just wants the good work to take hold.
If Farley's not leading us on, April could be the month. He said the results (so far) show "the product is being very well-received," inventory is finally where it should be and the
MKZ Hybrid is doing better than expected. It bears noting that Lincoln is offering
some aggressive incentive programs at the moment, including 0.9-percent APR and $1,000 off for conquest buyers stepping out of competitors' vehicles.
Either way, the proof comes in less than a week, so stay tuned.
Ford's Jim Farley hints at Lincoln sales rebound originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |
Email this |
Comments
April 25th, 2013
Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Marketing/Advertising, Lincoln
Those of you that caught
yesterday's op-ed about Lincoln will have heard already, but Mark LaNeve has taken the helm at
Team Detroit. Once the North American vice president of sales, service and marketing for
General Motors, LaNeve will now head up the agency that handles all of Ford advertising. LaNeve will also run the account for
Lincoln. While at GM from 2001 to 2009, the exec oversaw ad campaigns like Cadillac's
Breakthrough and sales initiatives like "Employee Pricing for Everyone."
He left in 2009 to join Allstate as chief marketing officer, oversaw the creation of the
Mayhem ad spots and was moved into the role of VP of agency operations overseeing Allstate's 10,000 agents. He
resigned from the insurer in February 2012
for personal reasons and
joined Team Detroit in August 2012 as chief operating officer, in charge of satellite offices in New York and internationally. He replaces ex-CEO Cameron McNaughton, and will continue to hold the title of COO.
Lincoln is trying to get its 2013 back to rights after putting
big dollar commercials for the
2013 MKZ on television then having production glitches preventing cars
from getting to dealerships. With
rumors of a relaunch in the works, it's no surprise LaNeve has been given the reins - and from here it looks like the brand is desperate for the kind of magic he's proved he can marshal. Perhaps he can start by calling a mulligan on the renaming exercise that gave us the hoary "
Lincoln Motor Company" and go back to oh, say, "Lincoln." Then he can ask the product folks to get to work on
the MKC concept...
Ex-GM VP LaNeve takes over Lincoln ad agency originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |
Email this |
Comments
April 10th, 2013
Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Marketing/Advertising, Lincoln, Luxury
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.
Lincoln prepping MKZ re-launch? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |
Email this |
Comments
April 4th, 2013
Filed under: Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Lincoln, Luxury
After an excessive number of recalls on the
2013 Escape and
Fusion, we can't really fault
Ford for being a little extra cautious with the launch of the
2013 Lincoln MKZ. Last month, we reported that
dealer supply of the car was extremely limited due to more attention being paid to quality checks of cars rolling off the assembly line, which led to a 73-percent drop in MKZ sales from last year on top of a 32-year low in monthly sales for
Lincoln in January.
The reason for the delay was that the sedans were being shipped from the Hermosillo, Mexico assembly plant to be inspected even closer at Ford's Flat Rock, Michigan plant before they were able to head to dealers. Things seem to be straightening out for Lincoln and the MKZ's production now, as
Automotive News is reporting that supply should be up to a "normal level" by the end of this month.
Lincoln says MKZ supply crisis over originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |
Email this |
Comments
March 25th, 2013
February 3rd, 2013
Filed under: Sedan, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Lincoln, Luxury
Lincoln has officially pulled off the wraps on its ad for this year's
Super Bowl. As you may recall, the company invited people to send in their tweets to help craft the spot's story line with Jimmy Fallon in the director's chair. The company chose five tweets and ran with them, and the result is, well, about as focused as your average online comment thread. We do get plenty of shots of the all-new
Lincoln MKZ, as well as at least one comment on the interior leather's suppleness.
Do we learn a single thing about the brand's new honey? Nope. But there's a turtle crossing, a band of bikers, a German farming student and herd of alpacas. Mostly, the ad just makes us tired. You can check out the full spot before it airs during the big game by
watching it below. We'll be busy preparing for the alpacalypse.
AOL Autos' associate editor Peter Bigelow went deeper in his criticism. Have a read:
Lincoln's Super Bowl Ad is A Flop.Continue reading Lincoln takes to the Super Bowl with Twitter schizophrenia
Lincoln takes to the Super Bowl with Twitter schizophrenia originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |
Email this |
Comments
February 1st, 2013
