speedflex

And just didn't look special enough except in Sport trim with the huge rims.

Blackraven

Slightly off-topic question:
Who are mostly the target buyers of BMW 5ers, Infiniti M and Lexus GS over there in America? The really wealthy and those with lots of cash?

If that's the case, then why low demand for V8 engines these days?

Surely those rich people have money to spend for fuel on their V8 powered vehicles, right?

S2000toIS350

MM

I have way more cash at 55 than I had at 40

But at 70 folks stop buying stuff like cars

Lincoln needs to youthen (made up word for the occasion) their customer base like Buick and Caddy are trying to do.

I just do not see any younger people driving New Lincolns

Regarding the current M, it is all beak and no sleek, who wants that in the driveway

I8ABMR

yes, like Lexus, the Lincoln customer base is literally dying off. If I ever see a lincoln or Buick at a light I change lanes and get behind another car. All you see in a Lincoln is large framed glasses and white hair. It will take some crazy ish to break that image. I honestly dont think they will be able to pull it off. Only time will tell

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I grew up with SUVs/Trucks (and always a Blue Oval fan) so I have a natural affinity towards this, but it's also a looker and should entice a younger audience

lamar411

My neighbor has a 2012 MKX and i think its fantastic. Nice interior, better backseats then my RX, rides nice on the highway. I actually look forward to driving it. To be honest, I went and test one drove and crunched the numbers last Saturday. Who knows maybe ill give my kid the Camry and get it. Still waiting for the salesman to respond to my offer, so we will see.

mmarshall

Blame Big Brother at the EPA. Lots of people, today, still want V8s, but the ever-tightening CAFE/emissions rules are impacting on their actual use more and more. Manufacturers, to an extent, are trying to compensate for this by offering turbo or twin-turbo V6s with comparable HP/torque but (often) less refinement. However, the refinement of some of today's V6s, especially at lower RPMs, is surprisingly good.

mmarshall

Most people do.........unless they have had huge unforseen expenses or gotten laid off.

No. Absolutely not. Today, it's just the opposite. One of the largest generations in American history, the huge number of Baby Boomers born from the late 40s to the early 60s (of which I am one) are now either actually in or approaching retirement age. In just a few more years, they will be 70. And, because of today's excellent medical care, most of them are in far better health (except for some large waistlines) than their parents and grandparents were at that age. Many of their parents and grandparents, even those who survived wars, did not live to be 70 at all. They've been driving since they were teen-agers, and you think that they are going to just wave a magic wand and say Presto, I don't need (or want) a car any more? Sorry, friend, I may respect your opinion, but history (and the sheer numbers) says that just isn't going to happen. People today drive well into their 80s, and sometimes into their 90s. In fact, the average buying age for a number of American-badged premium/luxury car-owners, though dropping slightly now, some now, was around 70 for years.

But, the fact that the average buying-age for those brands is dropping doesn't mean that seniors are giving up driving or owning cars. The sad fact is that a number of the favorite senior cars (Cadillac DTS, Buick Lucerne, Lincoln Town Car, etc.....) have been dropped as new cars byu the manufacturers, thereby forcing some seniors into the used-car market (as I predicted would happen) and driving up the KBB values on those larger, older luxury cars. Some of those seniors, of course, have converted to non-American brands like Mercedes, Lexus, Audi, BMW, etc....but a surprising number of them still want Town Cars and DeVilles.

Why? As I said above, potential Town Car customers are still going to still be around for years yet....they aren't going anywhere. And you yourself (just below) admit that even younger people aren't buying the Town Car replacements.

Never mind the younger ones......even some of the older people don't think much of them. I reviewed a new Lincoln MKZ not long ago and , overall, was not impressed.

The only person I know (an older Oriental lady swim/aerobics instructor) who actually OWNS one drives it because her husband bought it for her. Everything, of course, sells here in the D.C. area 9at least to an extent), but the M clearly does not go out the door in the numbers that some of its competiton does.

mmarshall

Don't kid yourself. Even though some of them will indeed die off, in general, the Town Car crowd isn't going anywhere, even though their favorite car did, thanks to Lincoln ignoring them. They will still be driving (and buying/leasing cars) for years. The question is mostly if they are going to buy new or used.

And the Lexus customer base isn't necessarily dying off either. Look at our own forum, for instance.......Club Lexus. It is one of the largest Internet auto-forums in the buisness, and constantly gets more new members than leave it. The RX and the ES, especially, have been super-successful products over the years, and continue to sell well despite the (IMO) disappointments of the last two ES generations.

RNM GS3

As I said in the other thread - the Lincoln LS was a nice RWD sedan that won the 2000 MotorTrend Car of the Year. It had a V6 and V8 options. What does Ford do?? No updates and then dropped it.

This was the last Lincoln I actually really could see myself driving.....still a nice looking car to this day.

LexFather

Lincoln LS was nice.. And like the 2nd3rd tier brands... It was dropped and name was changed and it just makes consumers not give a **** as its just confusing

mmarshall

Lincoln, though, in general, IMO, has only themselves to blame for the LS's demise. They were told, several times, that the manual-transmission option also needed to be offered with the V8 (to make the car competitive with the BMW 540i, just as the manual V6 competed with the 528i). But the marketers/planners simply refused to listen, and then, when they didn't see the sales numbers they wanted, simply dropped the whole car instead. Altough there's no way to prove it now, I don't think that would have happened if Alan Mulally had been at the helm back then....he probably would have been more responsive to the car's needs.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

no they shouldn't, and they never were. acura (except for nsx) has always been a premium / value / entry luxury brand. heck the old integra was REALLY cheap looking inside (barely a step above a civic). the legend was decent inside, but still a nose-heavy fwd platform, of no threat to lexus, bmw, mercedes.

good point.

SLegacy99

I'm quite taken with the side and rear profile of the MKZ. Wish that the front didn't look dumb.