Not to rub it in, but didn’t Cadillac say that the world really didn’t need another luxury sport-utility vehicle and that’s why it chose to take a pass on a high-ticket Caddy ute while Ford took the gamble and brought out the Lincoln Navigator?
Hmm.
Lincoln-Mercury division sales are up 9 percent for the year, aided in large part by the Navigator luxury clone of the Ford Expedition full-size sport-utility vehicle.
Thanks to Navigator, Lincoln-Mercury division sales in August were the best since 1983.
At a recent Cadillac meeting, dealers were quick to point that out to management, which was just as quick to point out that Caddy might not have a sport-ute, but it does have Catera. The dealers, reportedly, did not promise to fast as penance for broaching the sport-ute topic.
But we digress.
“Cadillac has chosen to go with a cross between a station wagon and an SUV rather than an SUV and that’s what makes this industry interesting,” said Steve Lyons, general sales manager for Lincoln-Mercury in referring to a much-rumored Caddy hybrid that’s in the works.
“Will we go that way (a hybrid), too? We’re all looking for the next breakthrough vehicle. We’ve experimented with one (a hybrid concept called L’Attitude based on the Mercury Sable station wagon that was on the auto-show circuit this year while Ford division had one, too, called Sante Fe based on the Ford Taurus wagon), but we aren’t thinking about one now. You never say never, however,” Lyons said.
Lyons was in town for a local media preview of the restyled ’98 Lincoln Continental as well as a sneak peek at the dramatically redesigned 1998 Lincoln Town Car that goes on sale Nov. 26. But much of the attention was devoted to the success of Navigator.
Since Navigator went on sale in July, sales have reached 11,000 units through mid-September. About 28,000 will be built this year, and dealers have orders for 26,000.
“Navigator has surprised even us,” Lyons said.
Another surprise–60 percent of all buyers switched from a non-Ford make, and even more shocking, 40 percent paid cash for the machine. Typically 80 percent or more finance any purchase.
“That’s amazing for a vehicle that starts at around $40,000 and goes out the door for about $45,000,” Lyons said. “And it’s being sold with a high level of options. Nationally, 75 percent of the buyers are getting four-wheel-drive. In Chicago it’s 100 percent. We’re down to a 10-days supply of Navigators.”
Typically, a 60 days supply is considered normal.
A few gripes: Michael Richards, brand manager for Navigator, said 1,000 of the first Navigator buyers have been surveyed and report they are pleased, though he readily admits customers are asking for a few items the vehicle doesn’t offer.
“One is an ice cooler positioned between the second seats. We’re looking at that one. They’re also asking for TVs,” he said.
Touring de force: The rear-wheel-drive ’98 Lincoln Town Car will again be offered in Executive, Cartier and Signature versions and will add a special Touring Sedan package Dec. 1 with a 220-horsepower version of Ford’s 4.6-liter, 200-h.p. V-8 as well as wider-profile tires, firmer shocks borrowed from Jaguar, perforated leather seats, wood-grain interior trim and a monochromatic paint scheme.
Of limited help: There’s good news and bad news about RESCU, Ford’s answer to General Motors’ emergency services system: It’s getting better but in more limited use.
RESCU and GM’s OnStar use global positioning satellites, a host of sensors and microprocessors, and your car phone to summon mechanical or medical help when needed. Your vehicle’s location is pinpointed by the satellites.
Thanks to sensors, GM’s OnStar automatically calls for medical help when the air bags deploy in an accident. RESCU didn’t do that for 1997 but will add that feature by the end of this year for 1998.
However, RESCU was an option on the Continental and Town Car for 1997 but will be offered only on Continental for $1,200 for ’98.
“It had less than a 5 percent take rate among options” on Town Car, said Jim O’Sullivan, Lincoln brand manager. “Those who own those cars said they have their own phones and will call a friend, relative or neighbor for help.”
Up front: Contrary to speculation, Ford Motor Co. intends to keep the front-wheel-drive Continental in its lineup after the new entry-level LS sedan, or baby Lincoln as it’s affectionately called, comes on line for 1999.
“There will be a market for FWD cars in the northern climates for years to come, and there will be room for both cars,” said Lyons.
Continental, as previously reported (Cars, June 19), and the new Town Car have been placed on the altar of the god of chrome. Both carry several pounds of the metal.
“It’s a personal choice thing, and I like it,” Lyons said.
“In Spain, we brought over a Taurus and in clinics there the people didn’t like it because they said they wanted more chrome and wood,” he said from a Lincolnshire parking lot many miles from Spain.
Trunk pushups: While you may not have to fumble around looking for the ignition, owners of ’98 Sevilles will be called upon to exert some muscle for a change. Remember the power pull-down feature on deck lids? Give it a gentle pull and the lid would come down and close on its own. No more. The only power now is what you supply to pull down the lid and slap it shut. Why drop the power pull-down? “It eliminated cost and mass,” a source said.
Give an inch: For ’98, all L-M luxury cars will sport 16-inch tires as standard for better ride and handling. For ’97, 16-inch tires were standard on the Cartier Town Car and optional on the Signature and not available on the base Executive model.
T100 options: Toyota said it hasn’t determined whether it will build a sport-ute off the T100 pickup truck that bows in December 1998 as a 1999 model. It will be assembled in Indiana. And it’s still being coy about a four-door version of the T100 though a concept of such a vehicle will be unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show in February.
Coming soon: GM’s Pontiac-GMC division unveiled a concept called Denali, a luxury version of the full-size Yukon sport-utility vehicle, at this year’s Detroit Auto Show and, at the Chicago Auto Show, it unveiled a concept called Envoy, a luxury version of the compact Jimmy sport-ute.
For ’98, Denali and Envoy will be limited-edition production models.
In case you are wondering, Denali is named for the mountain that had been called Mt. McKinley, and Envoy is named for those politicos who travel the world making nice to each other after shots are fired.
Denali was the first choice for the luxury Yukon, but Envoy vied with a handful of other names, including Colorado, Uplander, Timberline, Serengeti and Kalahari, before getting the nod.
Why Envoy?
“Because it had an international flavor to it,” Pontiac-GMC officials insist.
Hmm.
If Pontiac can call a performance version of its Trans Sport mini-van the Montana, why couldn’t GMC have called its compact luxury sport-ute the Colorado? By the way, word is that Pontiac will soon drop the Trans Sport name and call its mini-van simply Montana.
