Honestly I hope you are right. I'm not afraid of anything being built off of a sedan platform as Cadillac has shown its potency. I think Ford has done well to conceal all the info and let rumors fly until its time to release. I hope it helps Lincoln too! The Zeta is a good case study with just a few bad decisions here and there. Ford could do the same, just better. I'm excited for the new Mustang regardless. With a new chassis, lessons learned and an IRS, it could be butt ugly but I'd drive it first just to tell.

 

Yea, a Hot Rod Lincoln would get my attention.

 

Thanks, C. That kind of supports Thed's info?

Automagically, I'm confident that whatever Ford do they won't screw it up because these vehicles, being flagships, will mean that no shortcuts are taken. If Fiesta, Focus, and Fusion have proven to be best in their respective classes then I look ford to seeing how this pans out.

My motive with this thread is I'm trying to work out where our Falcon sits in the grand scheme of it all. If the rumour is true then our Falcon is nowhere near it's last legs as our pro GM media here are so eager to tell everyone.

 

Me too.

 

Wasn't there recently a teaser shown regarding an upcoming redesign of the Falcon? At a recent auto show? I don't think it's anywhere close to dead, personally.

 

My confidence that common sense still exists is restored when I read that from fellow enthusiasts.

Yes, it was at the Australian International Motor Show (AIMS), in October. The more you learn about Falcon the more you realise how scathing our media is towards it. I.e, they'll tell you it's dead in 2016 despite the fact Ford woulda spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the 2014 (MY15) update.

So, how the . does that make sense, and why the . do they keep saying it's dead in 2016?

This has had such a negative effect on the Falcon, it's now beyond a joke. If you're talking cars with the average person the first thing they'd bring to your attention is "Falcon's dead".

 

I guess its more of a phoenix then

 

Last great Lincoln was the Lincoln LS. Hopefully they find their way back.

 

Yeah, that was a very good car, really, though perhaps a few agonizing steps short of greatness -- this was back in Ford's "good enough" days as opposed to their top-of-class aspirations of today. A true sport version, with a SC version of the excellent V8 (like in the AJ motor's cousin over at Jag) and a true sporting tune of the chassis would really have made a big impact. However, the LS, as it was, was certainly good enough and thus, Ford didn't see fit to pursue anything grander.

Lincoln really does need to step up its game beyond tarted up Fords to compete and suceed with the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Infinite, Acura and yes, Cadillac. If not, it deserves to go the way of Mercury.

 

I can't believe somebody thinks the LS was a "great car"

Coming from being a Ford/L-M service advisor for 9+ years and dealing with many Lincoln S***boxes (as we came to know the "L.S."), that brings back a plethora of memories of problems with front-ends, transmissions, rear window regulators (they were so common they only cost about $50), leaky gaskets on the valve covers and coil covers leading to oil leaks and/or water leaking onto the coils causing misfires, overheating problems due to either bad thermostats or the "awesome" hydraulically-driven cooling fans, electrical issues, and God knows what else I'm forgetting right now.
I'd never buy one, I wouldn't want one even if somebody gave it to me, lol

 

The LS was the last Lincoln that made sense, before they started badge engineering everything else. At least the new MKZ is more of a departure from the Fusion in a number of ways.

I think the Falcon platform would be a perfect full size sedan starting point, with the MKZ being the FWD/AWD option. Add in a small SUV, midsize SUV or crossover (not both) and maybe even a small RWD coupe. They've got a long road ahead of.them and I hope they turn it around.

 

I could certainly see the wisdom of a slightly stretched Mustang/S550 chassis undergirding both a more upscale coupe (than the Mustang) and a mid-sized, BMW 5-Series class sedan.

 

As I understand it, it was only a few stampings and the rest was proprietary to the Mustang ergo it didn't have the DEW car's weight.

The problem with designing one chassis for all your RWD needs is that it needs to handle all the loads of the bigger car and simply chopping some wheel base out of the chassis for the smaller car doesn't translate into great weight savings.

However, if Ford is using stronger steels in combination with light weight materials in an effort to keep the new car's weight around the 05-09 car's weight then I can't complain, if they can make it a few pounds lighter than the 05-09 cars even with all the extra material needed for the larger car then all the better.

I'm just skeptical, and for that matter if they are using an abundance of lightweight materials (aluminum, magnesium, et al) that also brings the spectre of increased costs.

 

As much as I wish this was true, it simply wasn't. A terrible car to own, sadly.

 

The LS was the last good idea Lincoln had (before the current MKZ formula I'd say). Execution on the other hand...

At least they offered a MT with the V6!

 

That, they did!

And it actually drove very nice.
I've driven 2 of them, and they both shifted nicely.
They definitely could've used more power, and if I drove them longer I probably would've wished for better handling, brakes, and God knows what else, but the basic car was nicely done.

Owning one, I still would never do. Lol

 

I hear ya. I looked at them when I got my Escape, and decided it just wasn't worth the headache. Same with S-Type Rs, which can be had very cheap.

 

Ford just can't be rebadging and gussing up regular Ford models and calling them Lincolns. They really need to have a RWD sedan to compete with the likes of BMW, Mercedes and Cadillac. Otherwise just buy the regular Ford model and save money. There is no way a Ford Fusion or even a Taurus will compete with the likes of a BMW 3 series even in its lowly 328i format as long as these cars are FWD.

Dave

 

How do you explain Audi then?

 

4 wheel drive. No enthusiast picks the front wheel version, just those who want to be seen in a "badge". And sadly Ford currently isn't a badge, although it could be like Mercedes if they stopped with the good enough is good enough attitude. Products are getting better, now they need to focus on dealers and marketing.