Lincoln milestone approaches

Reinvention of the brand Ford Lincoln passed a major milestone this week in an effort to more effectively compete with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Cadillac.

In October 2010, Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said Lincoln could reduce the number of distributors in major metropolitan markets of 434 130 to about 325 later this year. Those who survive are committed to make certain commitments as of Thursday. These include:

• Wash a car brought by the service and offer a car loan in most cases.

• Provide a dedicated sales and service personnel Lincoln at a dealership is selling Lincoln and Ford.

• Elimination of all signaling mercury to reinforce the identity of the Lincoln brand.

• Ensure at least 30% of sales of used vehicles will be done under a disciplined certified pre-owned program.

Improvement in the selection of vehicles and the Lincoln customer experience gained urgency after Ford phased out its 71-year-old Mercury brand last year.

In 2009, 1,187 Lincoln Mercury dealers sold an average of six Lincoln vehicles a month, while 226 Lexus dealers sold about 80 vehicles per month. That gap widened by the fact that 90% of sales of luxury cars largest in the nation from 130 metropolitan areas.

More than half of Lincoln Mercury dealers are in rural areas. Since the closure of Mercury, many dealers in rural areas have been combined with Ford franchises.

Lincoln officials have called some dealers to renovate their showrooms and service centers, but there is no minimum investment requirement, according to Bob Tasca Jr., Cranston, RI, dealer, who chairs the National Council of Lincoln dealers.

"Our ultimate goal is to make a Lincoln luxury brand of world class products with excellent game," said spokesman Christian Bokich Lincoln.

In the counties of Wayne, Washtenaw, Macomb and Oakland, there are 11 dealers Ford Lincoln or Lincoln. Metropolitan Lincoln in Garden City closed earlier this year. Bokich declined to say whether there will be additional closures in the Detroit metropolitan area.

"In this market, with increasingly smaller designs, but they go about it quietly," said Michael Stanford, owner of Varsity Lincoln in Novi, who is described as the highest volume dealer in the nation of Lincoln .

While U.S. sales of Lincoln increased 40% in July from a year earlier, sales of the brand through the first seven months of 2011 increased only 1% to 49,817. That's less than half of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus each sold in the same period.

The key will be seven new models or significantly freshened Lincoln plans to launch in the next three years, including a new MKZ sedan next year.

Читать полностью или написать коммент.. Про установку спутниковых тарелок в Московской областиhttp://tarelka-tv.ru/