- Mar 20, 2000
- 102,389
- 8,547
- 126
Dear sirs:
It has come to my attention that the car company you two are in charge of has no vision, no direction, and can't figure out what to do with itself.
The first order of business is to figure out the identity of each of your brands. It seems to me that, just like all of their histories, lincoln and mercury have no brand identity. Lincoln has been foundering for several years. There was the LS, which was quite admirable, except it was the only bmw-esque car in the lincoln lineup and it's buyers didn't want to be associated with the town car. Lincoln needs to have a solid direction. That direction should be firmly aimed at the heart of lexus: buyers who appreciate a cushy ride, safe styling, high tech and luxury features, and all the excitement of a sofa (albeit a sofa with a big engine).
You've made a decent decision trying to make mercury fun and exciting, for sassy young women. But you only have two cars to do it with. And those sassy young women don't want to be on the same lot as grandma buying her grand marquis or her town car. So, stop selling mercuries at lincoln locations. Or at least do it from separate showrooms. Now that that is out of the way, import the european focus, the european mondeo, the european fiesta, and the focus cabriolet. don't fuglify them, don't put them in some brand with a weird name, don't give them weird new names consisting of random letters and numbers (obviously rename the focus). keep the mariner and bring back the cougar as a mustang with a nicer interior.
and for christ's sake put the 3.5 cyclone into everything you can.
for ford, put a diesel in the F150. do it now. do not wait, do not pass go, do not collect $200. the only thing the F150 lacks over any of its competitors is motor. you know it, i know it, the magazines know it. i know, you can't make money with ford brand cars. that's too bad, but it's why your luxury brands need to be good, because you can make money on those.
for jaguar, keep it jaguar. that is, rwd and sport oriented. you're going to use jaguar to fight bmw (and infiniti). the first order of business is a real entry level jag, not a warmed over mondeo. put the 3.5 in it, bump up the power to 310 using direct injection, premium octane tune, and whatever else. and for the love of god put some sort of manual shift mode on the 6 speed auto that'll come with it. a manual would also be nice. base it on the mustang if you have to, but put an independent rear on it. (the rx-7 may be a better platform to start with). put out a limited edition with a blower.
second order of business is a real s-type successor. start with the massaged 3.5, then the two jaguar V8s. and for the love of god update those V8s. they haven't seen any major changes in a decade. surely you've got some sort of mid-sized rwd platform that is decent somewhere, don't you? ford australia? maybe the XK (think 5 series and 6 series with that one).
i'm awaiting my check in the mail.
It has come to my attention that the car company you two are in charge of has no vision, no direction, and can't figure out what to do with itself.
The first order of business is to figure out the identity of each of your brands. It seems to me that, just like all of their histories, lincoln and mercury have no brand identity. Lincoln has been foundering for several years. There was the LS, which was quite admirable, except it was the only bmw-esque car in the lincoln lineup and it's buyers didn't want to be associated with the town car. Lincoln needs to have a solid direction. That direction should be firmly aimed at the heart of lexus: buyers who appreciate a cushy ride, safe styling, high tech and luxury features, and all the excitement of a sofa (albeit a sofa with a big engine).
You've made a decent decision trying to make mercury fun and exciting, for sassy young women. But you only have two cars to do it with. And those sassy young women don't want to be on the same lot as grandma buying her grand marquis or her town car. So, stop selling mercuries at lincoln locations. Or at least do it from separate showrooms. Now that that is out of the way, import the european focus, the european mondeo, the european fiesta, and the focus cabriolet. don't fuglify them, don't put them in some brand with a weird name, don't give them weird new names consisting of random letters and numbers (obviously rename the focus). keep the mariner and bring back the cougar as a mustang with a nicer interior.
and for christ's sake put the 3.5 cyclone into everything you can.
for ford, put a diesel in the F150. do it now. do not wait, do not pass go, do not collect $200. the only thing the F150 lacks over any of its competitors is motor. you know it, i know it, the magazines know it. i know, you can't make money with ford brand cars. that's too bad, but it's why your luxury brands need to be good, because you can make money on those.
for jaguar, keep it jaguar. that is, rwd and sport oriented. you're going to use jaguar to fight bmw (and infiniti). the first order of business is a real entry level jag, not a warmed over mondeo. put the 3.5 in it, bump up the power to 310 using direct injection, premium octane tune, and whatever else. and for the love of god put some sort of manual shift mode on the 6 speed auto that'll come with it. a manual would also be nice. base it on the mustang if you have to, but put an independent rear on it. (the rx-7 may be a better platform to start with). put out a limited edition with a blower.
second order of business is a real s-type successor. start with the massaged 3.5, then the two jaguar V8s. and for the love of god update those V8s. they haven't seen any major changes in a decade. surely you've got some sort of mid-sized rwd platform that is decent somewhere, don't you? ford australia? maybe the XK (think 5 series and 6 series with that one).
i'm awaiting my check in the mail.
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