[GoodnClean]

But Len, these are things that every company has to deal with when they're marketing product, the perceptions of the consumer. Saying "waa waa the consumers are mean and not fair!" isn't going to help anyone. Why do the consumers feel that way? Its because of the decades of poor quality products and the notion that Ford and GM out in the consumer's mind that when you buy an American car, you're going to get huge rebates, but if you want a real car it has to be foreign. Ford and GM did that to themselves. The question they have to be asking is "How do we fix this?".

I actually agree with your friend, if Lincoln wants to be taken seriously the Town Car has got to go.I don't know that consumers will ever totally embrace a competent vehicle like the LS anyways because its a "Lincoln". They certainly haven't fully embraced the new Cadillacs. The TOwn Car sitting in the showroom is an example of what a "Lincoln" really is, a car that his father would drive. He's afraid of becoming his father, so no way he's gonna buy a Lincoln if it was the most fantastic car to ever roll down the road. This is Psychology 101.

Your friend's not a jerk, he's a consumer, a consumer Ford desperately needs. Not being able to reach him is thier failure.

Thats how business works. This happens in every business. You say what does experience back from 1964 mean? It means everything. Consumers don't forgive and forget so easy. I'm not about to go out and buy a Lincoln, what would I buy? A reworked Ford Fusion with weird styling for $30k? And then its still a Lincoln? No thanks. I had hope for Lincoln until they came out with that rediculous car.

And I'll stop you before you do it and say my Lexus is just a worked over Toyota. Toyota sells more Lexuses than ANY other luxury brand in the US. Why? Because they've overcome the objections of the consumer by building a solid reputation for quality and reliability that has stuck in the consumers mind. The same irrational prejudice you complain about against Ford, Toyota has put to work for them.

Here's how the thought process works:

I'm going to buy a Lincoln=but really a Lincoln is just a warmed over Ford just look at that steering wheel=a Ford is a bad car, Found on the Road Dead=and didn't my father keel over dead in a Lincoln at 87? He loved that car=A Lincoln is nothing but a warmed over Ford which isn't a good car and buying one would admit that I'm actually old like my father and thats more than I can handle.

Out the door he goes.

I'm going to buy a Lexus=but really a Lexus is just a warmed over Toyota=but Jack (his peer) loves his Lexus and he's had it for 200k miles and Jill loves her Toyota so thats not so bad=so what if its a warmed over Toyota, its a smart buy over more expensive BMWs or Mercedes=Its a smart decision to buy this car.

Into his driveway the car goes.

With a BMW or a Mercedes there's even less cognitive hurdles to get over. Until people can use the experiences of their peers with Lincolns to cancel out the fact that decaying old people drive Lincolns in their minds and STOP associating them with Fords. Thats not going to happen as long as the new cars are like the Zephyr, or even the new Lincoln Aviator which is obviously a warmed over Ford Edge.

This is how consumers think. You can't fault them for being what they are, and niether Ford nor GM has understood them since the 60s.