RLSH700

This does not fill me with confidence. I didn't know that Ford-Mercury-Lincoln was unusual as the dealership in my hometown has all three. Cutting down on dealerships is a stupid plan if you ask me. Ask Wal-Mart about the importance of volume for your bricks & mortars. Getting rid of the acquistions is a good idea for Ford, as they have been nothing but a lost cause. Killing Mercury and Lincoln is not the answer. Mercury and Lincoln just need to appeal to someone other than senior citizens is all.

Mercury needs the Cougar back and they need to do it right this time. The Cougar should once again be a more upscale version of the Mustang featuring higher end technology. They also need to offer a Saturn Sky competitor while being careful not to threaten the Miata (since that would threaten the relationship between Mazda and Ford). They need to offer a luxury compact out of the Focus and unlike the Focus make it something that does not make you beg to take your vision out of focus when you see it. They should also try to aim that car for the EVO class. They need to offer a performance line for Mercury (as Pontiac has GXPs, Chrysler products all have SRTs, Cadillac has the V-line, Ford has had SVO, SVT, and SHO, Chevrolet has the SS line, etc.). GTS would probably be a good one for them. They need to offer performance versions of the Milan and Sable that will capture the interest of the youth as well as a convertible version of the Milan against the Sebring and G6. The Grand Marquis should go through an update if they want to keep their current customers while trying to capture new customers. The 2 valve version of the 4.6L needs to go the way of the Cleveland engine line along with the 4-speed automatic. A new base engine should be the 3.7L Cyclone with a 5-speed automatic, the 3 valve 5.4L V8 for the next level, a supercharged GT500 spec 5.4L with a 6-speed automatic. They will need to completely redesign the styling of the model if not put the Panther platform to rest.

Lincoln should aim to compete again against Cadillac by using something other than part bins from the F-series from the 60-80s. They should try to be more innovative and look higher tech than Buick wannabe-ish interiors. The Town Car should go through the same process as the Grand Marquis except have 6-speeds, GDI all around, and have the Ford GT spec supercharged 5.4L engine. The MK naming idea needs to go the way of the F and M naming idea, into the dumb idea trash can. The MKS should be renamed the Continental and made an all-wheel drive car full time and offer a V8 that can compete against the CTS-V. The MKZ should be renamed the Zephyr again and given GDI at the base level. They should offer convertible versions of the Continental and Zephyr.

I still say that the Firebird should be the one reintroduced than the made up animal that was supposed to eat Mustangs but got beaten to death in the process. Pontiac should be the performance focused division aiming at offering the best performance possible in the industry, Chevrolet should be the practical car/volume division (like it or not the Impala in current form is doing extremely well just the way it is). Buick needs to go more upscale. Saturn needs to be more a market leader and feature something larger than the Aura to compete against the Avalon and Maxima.