Lincoln Dealers Have Questions… And Not About Product
Ford Motor Company has benefited immensely from its investments in its Blue Oval Brand, improving sales and profits, while wrapping its entire operations in an aura of invulnerability. But underneath all the Ford-branded success lies a problem that, more often than not, has been conveniently swept under the rug: Ford’s luxury offerings are in chaos. The last time we checked in on Lincoln, Ford was trying to convince dealers that Lincoln’s future product would be competitive in the tough luxury market… without disclosing any details that might give salesmen hope that future Lincolns will be something other than an obviously tarted-up Ford. But as tough a sell as that is, Lincoln’s dealers seem to be even more worried about the more prosaic elements of Ford’s luxury brand turnaround…
According to Automotive News [sub], Ford has issued an ultimatum to its Lincoln dealers: either they agree to meet minimum brand requirements by September 1, or they face losing their franchise. Ford’s demands include that dealers
• Offer perks such as a free car wash and a Lincoln loaner vehicle to Lincoln service customers
• Have a dedicated service manager and dedicated sales staff for Lincoln, if the dealership is paired with a Ford store
• Have only the word “Lincoln,” without “Mercury,” appear on all franchise signage
• Have at least 30% of used-Lincoln inventory be certified pre-owned
And though these seem like basic requirements for a luxury dealer net, a number of Lincoln store owners are concerned with several demands.For example, what if a customer wants a full-sized loaner replacement for a vehicle that’s been turned in for service, but the dealer only has MKZs on the lot? A dealer complains
The rule is 80 percent of the customers that Ford follows up on have to get a Lincoln loaner… You may have a situation in the course of the day where you don’t have enough Lincoln loaner cars.
Another dealer notes that getting a used car certified as part of Lincoln’s CPO program could cost $400 per car. Yet another wonders how closely Ford will monitor compliance with its demands, and offers the following scenarioSay you have 10 used Lincolns in stock, and 40 percent were certified pre-owned, and you sold two of them. Now you’re down to eight in stock and only two being certified pre-owned, do you have to scramble to get two more certified pre-owns to make yourself compliant?Ford says it’s making itself available to answer questions from Lincoln dealers, but ultimately the dealers aren’t facing much of a choice. If they neither comply nor terminate their franchises by September 1, Ford says it will stop giving them a dealer discount, which could cost as much as $700 at retail. But if that’s what it comes to, some dealers may just sue Ford under local franchise laws. Meanwhile, though Ford has shown Lincoln dealers the stick, there’s still no sign of any carrots: nobody seems to know how Ford is going to convincingly fix Lincoln’s product issues. Until dealers know what they are going to be selling, it could be tough to get them to make any concessions. The battle for Ford’s struggling luxury division continues…
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I have a couple of ideas. Perhaps Lincoln should sell truly "tarted-up" Fords like Lexus does with Toyota; their cars should be quiet, safe, and understated. Some ideas would be taking Ford cars and increasing their chassis rigidity and sound insulation levels. I don't know about the cost to make these changes, but I feel that extra chassis bracing would not be that expensive (on the order of $1000 for the manufacturer). I believe that Lincoln's brand image can be something like "Understated American Luxury" which would be in sharp contrast to Cadillac's bold, brash style. I must admit that I am a Toyota fanboy. I also agree with the sentiment that cars such as the Lexus ES350 are "tarted-up" Camrys. This is ok, however, because the Camry is already such a great car. I think Ford is finally i the position where their Ford products are competitive and could serve as great base cars for Lincoln. The problem with Lincoln, it seems, is that it is a Ford with a higher price-tag and a badge; I believe a possible solution would be to make a Lincoln a heavily upgraded Ford. As I have stated before, I think a great start would be noticeable increases in chassis rigidity and quietness. The next step would be to upgrade the interior materials. Long story short, I think Lincoln should follow some of the steps taken by Lexus. One random idea: build the next Town-Car on the Ford F-150 platform. Give it the Ecoboost Engine and maybe a hybrid later on.
My brief experience at the Lincoln dealer suggested that it's the cars that need updating more than dealers. As other have pointed out they need to make their cars something different than the Fords they are based on.