Cars and Trucks Cars and Trucks

Is RWD Breathing Life into Lincoln?

 
 
Buy Repossessed Cars Wisely - Where And How
You are probably thrilled with an idea of driving a luxury car, or full of practical plans to set up your own auto reselling business - whatever the reason could be, you will appreciate some tips on how and where to buy repossessed cars, since they are wonderfully affordable. Every day lots of excellent, sometimes nearly new veh... Read more


 Home | Cars and trucks

Is RWD Breathing Life into Lincoln?

This Cars and Trucks Article is Brought To You By - Rob Parker

For the last year rumors about the death of Lincoln and Mercury have been frequent conversation subjects. Will these brands find a new target? Are they hopelessly behind the times? The answer, at least where Lincoln is concerned, is a positive one, because Ford's vice president in charge of global product development, Derrick Kuzak, announced recently that real-wheel drive is coming to the Lincoln brand, and is an important component of a vehicle to be released in the future.

Many auto experts have felt that the Ford group had given up on real-wheel drive, leaving the technology to German and Japanese luxury carmakers and Cadillac, especially in the light of the fact that Lincoln's flagship sedan, the MKS is not only a front-wheel-drive, but doesn't even have a V-8 engine, only an EcoBoost V-6. The MKS is a four-seat sport sedan that was introduced at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Ford's new head of marketing, Jim Farley, said that while the target customers for the MKS aren't really performance seekers, they still want dynamic steering and braking, and industry experts, including Alisa Priddle from Car and Driver feel that this means there is ample opportunity for a new flagship vehicle with rear-wheel drive, and that that the technology would be a good move for Ford and Mercury branded cars as well.

In a recent article, Priddle wrote, "We expect some future Ford and Mercury vehicles also would be candidates for rear drive, especially as Ford has put its Australian operations in charge of a new global RWD platform." She goes on to point out that Ford doesn't seem ready to export the Australian-produced cars, however, because of currency exchange rates and freight costs.

Even with the anticipated rear-wheel drive vehicles, Lincoln has a lot of high expectations to live up to, many dropped by parent-company Ford. It is stealing the volume lead (of the two companies) from sister-company Mercury, and is using the debut of the MKS to push fuel-efficiency and highlight the EcoBoost engine technology. The addition of rear-wheel drive will help, but there will still be heavy competition against companies that have been offering it for years.
Still, there is already some favorable news: Lincoln had a nine percent sales increase from 2006 to 2007, making it the largest sales improvement for a luxury brand in the United States, and with the mid-sized MKX sedan and MKS crossover, as well as the new Navigator, their product line has received a much-needed face-lift. As well as the not-yet-released MKS, there are reports that Lincoln will also be offering a counterpart to Ford's Flex.
Rumors are still flying fast and furious. Company officials insist that Mercury is alive and well, and point to the end-of-year release of a new Milan, but it looks like Lincoln is a safe bet, at least through 2010.

  • Cars and Trucks Products on our marketplace

  • Looking for information about the Honda Accord? Everything you need to know is here.
    Please Rate The Article From The
    Cars and Trucks Category

    Is RWD Breathing Life into Lincoln?

     

    Not yet Rated

    Cars and Trucks Related Articles Via RSS

    Boost your websites' search engine ranking! Attract more repeat visitors! Automatically, consistently update your content via Really Simple Syndication (RSS). To syndicate the above article and other Cars and Trucks related articles on your blog or site, simply click on the XML Icon above to grab the RSS feed.

  • The Elegance Of Cadillac Escalade At Hand
    If you might see one of the Cadillac Escalade, you will surely be surprised by the way how the interior and exterior features are designed perfectly to make Cadillac escalade the ultimate SUV. Going back to the origin of Cadi...
  • The Most Affordable Sports Car In The World
    Competition has never been stiff until now with the presence of lots of automobile market players. Market players vary from automobile manufacturers to its sellers. Perhaps, one might think that getting the higher priced sports...
  • The Safest Vehicle There Is
    A number of car accidents usually occur in highways and long distance route where the speed of the car can go beyond the century mark. Chances of having an accident will be very big that is why drivers must consider the safest ...
  • Ford Thunderbird Keychains The Perfect Accesory
    Ford soared the possibilities of the sports car line up by producing a car known as the Ford Thunderbird. The intention of the production was not to come up with an expensive sports car but to produce a luxury car with the spor...
  • Jeep Grand Cherokee - The Powerful And Splendid Of Jeeps
    Since its investiture in 1974 the Jeep Cherokees have appeared in four models of which two are now obsolete. The remaining ones are the Jeep Grand Cherokee - since 1993, and the Jeep Cherokee KJ otherwise known as Liberty in Nor...
  • Honda Cars - Environmentally Sensitive
    Honda's allegiance to developing products that refines the quality of the lives humans goes without saying into the manufacture of automobiles. Honda's steadfast reliableness, quality, enduringness and environmentally conscious ...
  • © 2008 Article24.info All Rights Reserved.