Zephyr selling well, at expense of profit

[pro-five-oh]

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/CW/20060420/FREE/60417008/1111 (http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/CW/20060420/FREE/60417008/1111)

More news from the Zephyr front. Not sure if its good news, but its news nonetheless!!!

The Power network notes that Lincoln is placing heavy incentives on the Zephyr. In February, those incentives amounted to $4,293 per Zephyr, Power says, compared with $1,782 per car for the entry-luxury segment overall.

[Vitas]

Zephyr selling well, at expense of profit

A Moonroof on the Milan is $800, but on the Zephyr it is $1200, or similar figures for both. Same Moonroof, same cost.

Just because Zephyr list prices are discounted, does not mean they are not selling at a profit. They are selling for more than the Milan. How much more real dollars, using the Moonroof example, does it take to produce a Zephyr over a Milan?

[JoshMcMadMac]

As long as they are selling and helping pull this poor company out of the gutter, I'm all for it.

[Vitas]

As long as they are selling and helping pull this poor company out of the gutter, I'm all for it.

The bottom line is that we will never get a "flag ship" Lincoln if cars like the Zephyr do not sell well. I am a great believer in economic cycles, and the fact that the original Zephyr was a success under somewhat similar circumstances helps to keep me optimistic.

[JoshMcMadMac]

The bottom line is that we will never get a "flag ship" Lincoln if cars like the Zephyr do not sell well. I am a great believer in economic cycles, and the fact that the original Zephyr was a success under somewhat similar circumstances helps to keep me optimistic.


I'm there with you. We have to hold onto something to be optimistic about!

[Vitas]

Zephyr selling well, at expense of profit


The article says:

Lincoln says its new Zephyr is taking buyers from luxury, import rivals.

Zephyr sedan attracting new, younger buyers, Lincoln execs say

Sales numbers for the new Lincoln Zephyr show that the luxury brand can reach beyond its base of older, repeat buyers, company executives say.

Two of every five Zephyr buyers are trading in vehicles other than Ford or Lincoln-Mercury cars and trucks, Lincoln says. The Honda Accord and Nissan Maxima are among the top nameplates for Zephyr trade-ins, says Lincoln brand manager Tom Grill.

"That's something that we haven't seen in a long time," Grill told Automotive News. "It's a good start for us."

"Zephyr's (Web) site traffic has basically doubled" since the car's introduction, says Jeremy Anwyl, president of Edmunds.com. "Leads have had a fivefold increase, if not more. People generally like what they see when they look at the vehicle."

[pro-five-oh]

Just because Zephyr list prices are discounted, does not mean they are not selling at a profit. They are selling for more than the Milan. How much more real dollars, using the Moonroof example, does it take to produce a Zephyr over a Milan?


I'm sure they are making a little profit. Considering the Zephyr uses nicer leather, nicer interior parts, better lights, expensive warranty, etc than the Milan, the margins get thin with $4000+ incentives. Considering invoice is around $27500 for a base model...well I'm not looking into hypotheticals, I'm just questioning the bottom line here.

Until they start selling with Infiniti levels of incentives, Lincoln is far from being out of the woods.

[Nick]

If you didn't look at price, I don't know who would cross shop a Zephyr with an Acura TL or a 3 Series. I'm not going to lie; I'd be scrounging for change for the Bimmer.

[pro-five-oh]

If you didn't look at price, I don't know who would cross shop a Zephyr with an Acura TL or a 3 Series. I'm not going to lie; I'd be scrounging for change for the Bimmer.

Since its a few grand less than those cars, the Zephyr is closer to "near luxury" cars like the Maxima, Grand Prix, Lacrosse, Avalon, Grand Marquis, etc.

[1LapLSC]

Anyone been to the airport lately ??

Just how many of these "sales" are to the captive rental car fleets ??

At Burbank airport (NW of Los Angeles) there are at least 100 Zephyrs there...not many FUSIONS, mind you, but lots & lots & lots of the Z car...more than any other rental car.

And this is just a little "satillite" airport...I'm sure it's the same at all the major metros...

[pro-five-oh]

Interesting, I haven't seen any Z rentals yet but I'm going out of town soon so I might see them. I am assuming Burbank is a more exclusive airport, and the Z's are part of Hertz's (or whichever rental company) more elite offerings for that market in particular.

[pro-five-oh]

Expect another Lincoln sales blitz on the Zephyr in the coming months. Sales for May:


Zephyr: 2246
Town Car: 4739
LS: 450
Navi: 2455
Mark LT: 957


When the Town Car goes away in 2007, Lincoln's gonna be screwed at this rate.

Side note: the (Zephyr's cousin) Ford Fusion had a banner sales month, but still sold approx. 2000 less units than the Taurus. That's kinda scary. :)

[Led Zephyrlin]

The fact that the Fusion sold fewer units than the Taurus should be no major surprise. There have been fewer Fusion's built to begin with since production duties for the Milan, Zephyr and Fusion have been split in the Hermosillo production plant. The real pulse of how the Fusion is selling is to look on the Ford lots and see just how few there are for sell.

[cason1]

The Lincoln lot by me has the same two Zephyrs they had 5 months ago when I stopped by and looked at them but have sold the Ford GT they had in the showroom.:eek: Hmmm, can't sell two $32k cars but unloaded the $200k car that has been discontinued. I kinda see a problem for Ford. Also, with the Towncar selling twice as many as the Zephyr but is being discontinued too?? As much stuff as is shared with the new Towncar and the new VIc, I can't see them not making a quite large profit on it even if people are getting it into the low $30's range especially considering it is still on the Panther chassis which isn't costing them an arm and a leg to designing only to be a major flop like the 500. I just don't see Ford coming out very well.:(

[Led Zephyrlin]

Oh, I agree that pulling your best seller off the market is not a wise decision. Hoever, when your having to offer huge discounts to sell them it is time to rethink what you are doing. The LS is gone as well and that is a shame because I like that offering as well but the reliability issues the LS has suffered has destroyed that model. In an internet age where people have ready access to facts and stats with a few clicks a company can't afford to build cars that are not reliable and then punish those that did buy with huge rebates on the same vehicle.

I only hope that the MKS will be a comparable replacement for the LS or TC once it is released to market.

As for ford being in trouble because of the Zephyr/Milan/Fusion? Not even remotely a close statement in saying that. Check your production amounts vs sales figures and you will see they are selling them about as fast as they can build them.

Anyway if you are in doubt check this link.

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=23436&make_id=trust

This is a snippet from the article which was released June 1.

"DEARBORN, Mich., June 1 – Ford Fusion, an all-new mid-size sedan, posted its best sales month ever in May. Fusion sales were 14,940, an 18 percent increase over the previous best month (April). Combined sales for the company's new mid-size sedans (Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln Zephyr) were 20,267, the first month sales eclipsed 20,000."

Many just don't understand that the reason Ford, GM, and Dodge are in the crisis they are in is mainly because they haven't even tried to compete in the mid-size car market. They relied far too heavily on sales of trucks and SUV's and since the last 5 years gas prices have soared at the pump sales have tanked and their once bread and butter line is stagnant with huge decreases in sales. With that being the case the company has had to offer huge incentives to move the vehicles which results in reduced profits or even losses.

To say that a new model that is exceeding expectations in sales figures is the cause of or catalyst to the downfall of Ford is simply crazy :eek:

[Sysanalyst]

The Lincoln lot by me has the same two Zephyrs they had 5 months ago when I stopped by and looked at them but have sold the Ford GT they had in the showroom.:eek: Hmmm, can't sell two $32k cars but unloaded the $200k car that has been discontinued. I kinda see a problem for Ford. Also, with the Towncar selling twice as many as the Zephyr but is being discontinued too?? As much stuff as is shared with the new Towncar and the new VIc, I can't see them not making a quite large profit on it even if people are getting it into the low $30's range especially considering it is still on the Panther chassis which isn't costing them an arm and a leg to designing only to be a major flop like the 500. I just don't see Ford coming out very well.:(

Now only if Ford had the vision to look at it's own sales reports. Amen!

[Silver Cobra]

Once again I must reitterate my negative feelings towards Ford. There cockiness and arrogance have blinded them once again. They changed the face of the sedan back in 1986 when they launched the Ford Taurus. But since then, the Taurus recieved little to no proper attention from Ford. Yeah they gave it a couple of restyle jobs but not much else. They got pretty gutless (except the SHO assuming it ran properly) in the later years with the competition. It just seemed that Ford did not care. Slowly the Taurus died an embarrassing death. The blame was not for other companies stealing their piece of the pie but, it was Ford's problem for letting their piece of the Taurus pie shrink into a moldly crust. Will we see Ford go the route of GM in the coming years? Possibly.

[pro-five-oh]

Will we see Ford go the route of GM in the coming years? Possibly.

Ford and GM are walking hand-in-hand into oblivion. GM gets more press since its bigger, but Ford is just as bad...maybe worse considering their smaller cash reserves.

I saw a clean 80s Taurus on the way to work today (most are beat to death, but still running) and it brought a smile to my face. Still handsome after all these years!