The Lincoln MKS is Good, but Confused

Ford is in a lot of trouble. Their cars aren't selling well and they're losing money. Their biggest problems are to be found in their other brands, Lincoln and especially Mercury. One important step would be to lose the Mercury brand like GM did with Oldsmobile. However, there are some problems with that: The Lincoln Mercury dealers. There are lots of them and it costs a lot of money to build and run them. They could switch the dealers to Lincoln only, but that isn't very cost efficient because Lincoln is a small brand. They could make servicing for all three brands, or at least Mercury, be at all Ford dealers because the cars are mechanically all the same. There is no way for them to turn Mercury around since everybody knows the cars are identical to the Fords. Ford can turn Lincoln around. Lincoln was the last word in American luxury 30 years ago, thought of as the American Mercedes-Benz or even Bentley. In the last fifteen years people who bought Lincolns and Cadillacs have switched to BMW and Mercedes. In the last ten years Lincoln has been making large SUV's like the Navigator and cushy sedans like the Town Car that only sell to limo drivers. They had a credible German luxury car competitor with the Jaguar S-Type based LS. The LS had almost everything they needed to compete: An independent rear suspension, rear wheel drive, a great V8 engine, and a reasonable price. It had two serious problems. It looked too dull and it didn't have the technology of the German competition. They now have the ford Fusion based MKZ. It's overpriced and doesn't have the features that would make it beat the Lexus ES350. Lincoln has the MKX, a Ford Edge with an AMC Eagle front end and a $40,000 price tag. The Navigator is the only vehicle that is actually good, but the Ford Expedition does the same job for a lot less money. For 2009 Lincoln has a new large "mid-luxury" sedan called the MKS. The Lincoln MKS is built off the new Ford Taurus (the Taurus is built off the old Volvo S80), but the MKS has a new multi link independent rear suspension (the Taurus has a different independent rear suspension). The MKS is front wheel drive normally or available in all wheel drive. The MKS has a 273hp 3.7L V6 from the Mazda 6 and it will get a twin turbocharger to make 340hp soon. The MKS has extremely comfortable seats and lots of space. Lincoln has done a great job of making lots of complicated technology like real time traffic and weather maps easy to operate. The MKS isn't terribly fast, 0-60 takes 7.9 seconds. It is at least nimble and enjoyable on twisty back roads and in the city it doesn't feel big and overwhelming like Lincoln used to. Where the MKS really shines is on the highway were it rides nicely, is very quiet, and will pamper you in a way that much more expensive luxury cars do. The reason I say the MKS is confused is that it has no clear competitors. It's 10 inches longer than the cars they should target like the Infiniti M35 at 200in. long, making it larger than the normal length large luxury sedans like the Lexus LS460. Its price is closer to that of smaller luxury sport sedans like the BMW 3-Series and Infiniti G37 (for 2009 the G35 sedan gets the 3.7L V6 from the G37 coupe). Some possible competition for the MKS is the top of the line Toyota Avalon Limited and Buick Lucerne Super. Both are the same size as the MKS, both are similarly luxurious to MKS despite the less equipped base models of both cars, and all three have similar power. The Hyundai Genesis is priced near the MKS, is the same size, has similar features and comfort. There are two huge differences with the Genesis and the MKS, the Genesis is rear drive and the Genesis has a 375hp 4.6L V8. Some other competitors are the Nissan Maxima, the Lexus ES350, and the Acura TL, but those compete with the MKZ. The Cadillac STS is a possible competitor, but it costs more. This is one car that Ford's strategy of under-cutting the competition's prices by making a car that isn't as good could work. That is only because it is still a good design that offers a much nicer car for the money than the money than the Germans. This is now Lincoln's best car.