http://www.chicagotribune.com/class...0oct14,1,2162753.column?coll=chi-business-col
Mustang coupe may get a stablemate
Published October 14, 2005
Deja vu all over again?
Ford is considering adding a derivative of the Mustang coupe to the Mercury or Lincoln lineup.
"We've looked at it," said Ford spokesman Dave Reuter in a visit here for the Midwest Automotive Media Association fall rally.
The thinking is that Lincoln would be the more likely candidate because the last time Mercury offered a coupe, the Cougar derived from the four-door Ford Contour, it lasted only from the 1999 to 2003 model years.
A Mustang derivative would be in keeping with Ford's commitment to maintain capacity by producing more than one vehicle off the same platform in the same plant. That's also faster and cheaper.
"I'm not going to forecast where the Lincoln brand is going, but it needs to look at if there are opportunities for a coupe. If you look at its past, a coupe was always a good car for Lincoln," Reuter said.
Lincoln's last coupe line, of course, was the Mark series, which ended with the Mark VIII in 1998, cars with somewhat small, but loyal, followings that served as image builders for the brand.
Mustang is assembled alongside the Mazda6 at Ford's Flat Rock, Mich., plant, a facility with capacity for 270,000 units that's being strained by Mustang sales.
Ford had expected sales of 165,000 for the revamped 2005 model and has had to raise output to 192,000, still without meeting demand.
That presents a problem in adding a car to the plant.
But the thinking reportedly is that demand for the new Mustang will ease and free capacity for a low-volume derivative.
Because Lincoln is the automaker's luxury but low-volume brand, it might be able to produce 10,000 or so copies of a higher-price, higher-profit coupe.
Other options would be to move all or part of Mazda6 or part of Mustang output elsewhere.
Such a high-performance, high-priced and high-profit coupe would be welcome as an image builder. That is the same "give us a look, not all our cars are pedestrian" motivation that drove Cadillac's decision to offer the XLR and Pontiac to market the Solstice.
Mustang coupe may get a stablemate
Published October 14, 2005
Deja vu all over again?
Ford is considering adding a derivative of the Mustang coupe to the Mercury or Lincoln lineup.
"We've looked at it," said Ford spokesman Dave Reuter in a visit here for the Midwest Automotive Media Association fall rally.
The thinking is that Lincoln would be the more likely candidate because the last time Mercury offered a coupe, the Cougar derived from the four-door Ford Contour, it lasted only from the 1999 to 2003 model years.
A Mustang derivative would be in keeping with Ford's commitment to maintain capacity by producing more than one vehicle off the same platform in the same plant. That's also faster and cheaper.
"I'm not going to forecast where the Lincoln brand is going, but it needs to look at if there are opportunities for a coupe. If you look at its past, a coupe was always a good car for Lincoln," Reuter said.
Lincoln's last coupe line, of course, was the Mark series, which ended with the Mark VIII in 1998, cars with somewhat small, but loyal, followings that served as image builders for the brand.
Mustang is assembled alongside the Mazda6 at Ford's Flat Rock, Mich., plant, a facility with capacity for 270,000 units that's being strained by Mustang sales.
Ford had expected sales of 165,000 for the revamped 2005 model and has had to raise output to 192,000, still without meeting demand.
That presents a problem in adding a car to the plant.
But the thinking reportedly is that demand for the new Mustang will ease and free capacity for a low-volume derivative.
Because Lincoln is the automaker's luxury but low-volume brand, it might be able to produce 10,000 or so copies of a higher-price, higher-profit coupe.
Other options would be to move all or part of Mazda6 or part of Mustang output elsewhere.
Such a high-performance, high-priced and high-profit coupe would be welcome as an image builder. That is the same "give us a look, not all our cars are pedestrian" motivation that drove Cadillac's decision to offer the XLR and Pontiac to market the Solstice.
