It steams me when reviewers, who are paid to check out cars, make what I consider a very, very basic, mistake: comparing cars built on the same platform. The most recent vehicle: the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan/Lincoln MKZ (formerly Zephyr).
It’s no secret the three mid-sized sedans are built on the same platform (Mazda6). Thus, it’s expected they’ll feel somewhat similar to each other. (Check out Michael Karesh’s reviews over at Epinions, though, to see just how different they can feel.)
But when I read reviewers state that buyers would be better off buying the Fusion than the Milan or Lincoln, they lost me and the review’s validity drops to zero.
Once upon a time a person had a designation to what automaker they stuck with; i.e., a Ford man, a GM woman, a Honda family, etc. A Ford family would buy their first vehicles from Ford, then move either to Mercurys or Lincolns later in life depending on their financial circumstances. Well, those days are long, long gone.
Now the three are viewed as separate brands and, more importantly, addressing different buyer segments. Just as a Lexus ES buyer won’t consider a Toyota Camry even though they share the same sheet metal, a Lincoln purchaser won’t even look at the Fusion. An even more extreme example would be the new Buick Lucerne (pictured) and the Cadillac DTS. The reasons are long and varied but reviews should have some inkling of them.
So why do reviewers keep making this mistake? Anyone know?
4 comments so far
In the same area, I bought a Lincoln Navigator last year. At no time did the Ford Expedition even remotely cross my mind - not even for a fraction of a second. While the basic structure is the same, everything else is vastly different. Different look, feel, class.
May 3rd, 2006 at 6:16 pm
I think reviewers who make this “mistake” are of a more practical bent. I’d never pay extra for badge-engineering, and I discourage other people from doing the same. Lexus RX? I’ll take the Highlander. S40? Make mine the Mazda3. Saab-uru? Subaru. Escalade? Yukon.
While creature comforts, styling and slightly upgraded parts are all important to me, many of the factors involved in a car-purchasing decision will be the same for these car-clones: engines and mechanicals, safety, efficiency, reliability. And deciding to pay more for a more upscale badge strikes those of practical types as idiotic. $10,000 for better shocks and a different sticker? No thanks. I can find shocks on my own.
And considering that the Fusion, Milan and MKZ are all disappointing (and get more disappointing as you go up the price ladder), I can’t imagine a reviewer recommending any of them unless he was bribed or biased. I’m in Farago’s camp: Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Lincoln Zephyr.
May 4th, 2006 at 4:34 pm
Will General Motors and Ford merge? It almost happened once, in 1908,
when J.P. Morgan tried to put together a deal between four major car
makers: Ford, Buick, Olds, and Briscoe-Maxwell. The secret meeting
between the heads of those companies is retold in an excerpt from the
new book, “Billy, Alfred, and General Motors,” published by AMACOM, at
http://tinyurl.com/nqf2x
What’s amazing is that all the parties agreed to the merger — even
Henry Ford. It looked like a done deal, then suddenly fell apart. The
reasons are complex, involving the psychology of self-made men vs.
schooled managers, distributed vs. central control, and inventors vs.
the financiers they hate but can’t grow without.
The book is written by National Book Award nominee William Pelfrey. A
veteran freelance journalist and GM insider, Pelfrey recreates the
events of that day using obscure newspaper accounts, personal
letters, and other previously unpublished documents.
May 12th, 2006 at 4:40 am
IS SOMEONE TRULY BETTER OFF BUYING A HIGHER MILEAGE LINCOLN THAN A SLIGHTLY LOWER MILEAGE FORD (EG; A TOWN CAR INSTEAD OF A TAURUS). i USED TO SEE EVERY OTHER CAR SEEMED TO BE A TAURUS IN THE LATE 1980′S AND EARLY 1990′S BUT NOWADAYS. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH MORE LINCOLNS ARE AROUND FROM THAT ERA (LIKE THE 1992 MODEL YEAR) EVEN THOUGH VASTLY MORE TAURUSES AND SABLES WERE PRODUCED THAN LINCOLN TOWN CARS. ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS?
September 14th, 2006 at 10:17 pm
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