Lincoln MKZ Re-Launch in Sight: Too Little Too Late?
Lincoln might almost be out of the weeds with its bungled attempt to launch the MKZ.
Concerns over quality caused a back log of products at the company’s Hermosillo, Mexico plant that quickly became overwhelming. The MKZ is the first car in a product line meant to revive the brand and was supposed to be at dealers last October. Now cars are slowly starting to arrive at exasperated dealers hoping to retain customers.
The failure didn’t stop Lincoln’s costly ad campaign that included an ad during the Grammys and a 7.4-million-dollar Super Bowl campaign.
SEE ALSO: Lincoln MKZ Delays Spur Ford to Buy Customers Dinner
Dealers were left empty-handed and unable to answer customer questions as Lincoln tried to fix its problems by sending the overflow from Mexico to its Flat Rock, Mich. plant for quality inspections and approval before being sent to dealers. Since late December, Automotive News reports the brand shipping 6,000 MKZs from Mexico to Michigan.
Meanwhile, buyers grew understandably impatient and many have started looking elsewhere for their new cars.
Now, Lincoln is left hoping to save crucial sales through a new advertising campaign meant to draw customers back to the company. While some might applaud Ford for holding off on launching the car to assure quality, that delay will be even more bitter if the car still proves to have problems.
Please visit our Lincoln MKZ Forum for discussions on the Lincoln MKZ.
[Source: Automotive News]
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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The Automotive news article was so focused on being negative, rehashing what was months ago, it neglected to offer much actual news. The article was supposed to be about Lincoln reporting they delivered 1,300 cars as of Jan/Feb, over 2,700 in dealer inventory as of today, and 3,000 on the way to dealers to arrive before end of month. March sales are expected to be over 2,500 MKZ units. All backlog will be complete by end of month, with MKZ models staying on lots only for 5 days before sold. As of Feb, Lincoln was only 7,199 units from outselling Infiniti in the US. 11,919 units from outselling Audi. That gap should continue to close even more when March sales are reported. A marketing campaign letting customers know MKZ models are available at dealers now, would be helpful.