End of life pricing on Lincoln LS: $8,000 discount
Ford recently revealed its incentive lineup for the month of July and the Lincoln LS, which is on its way out, is now available with incentives that range from $4,000 to $8,000. It was previously being sold with $3,000 to $4,000 on the hood. The Lincoln Town Car is also being offered now with a bankroll of $6,500 to $7,000.
Other models that saw increased savings included the Ford F-150 and Lincoln Mark LT with an additional $500, the Ford Explorer and Crown Victoria with an additional $1,000, and the Lincoln Navigator with another $1,500.
Ford's payout on the Mercury Mariner and Mountaineer, however, fell $500. The Ford Focus payout also was reduced by $1,000.
The LS was a decent attempt at domestic competition for the German luxury sedans that still epitomize the sport sedan market, but was saddled with improper engine/transmission combos that paired its healthy V8 only with an automatic transmission and the base V6 with an available manual. As such, it never struck a chord with shoppers seeking performance and luxury. Those looking for a domestic alternative found one in the Cadillac CTS.
[Source: Autoweek]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Michael Moulton 12:54PM (6/23/2006)
Disappointing. The LS was an attractive car that could've competed with BMW if Lincoln hadn't let it waste away.
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AutoFan 12:56PM (6/23/2006)
The LS was not only supposed to be a midsize luxury sedan competitor, but a platform upon which FoMoCo was going to base a whole bunch of new sedans. It sort of did with the S-Type Jag, the T-bird and the Mustang (a little bit), but that whole idea never really panned out either.
The LS was one of those cars that was really good as long as you never wandered into a BMW or Mercedes (or Infiniti or Lexus) dealership.
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shawn 1:07PM (6/23/2006)
AutoFan, correct me if I'm wrong, I thought the LS IS based on the Jag S-type platform and not the other way around
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bhtooefr 1:14PM (6/23/2006)
Wikipedia: "DEW (or DEW98) is Ford Motor Company's midsize rear wheel drive automobile platform. The platform was developed by both Ford and Jaguar engineers, and debuted in the Lincoln LS sedan. A less-expensive variant, DEW Lite, was to be used for the 2005 Ford Mustang, but that car now uses the Mazda-derived Ford D2C platform."
Oh, and the D2C platform is an RWD longitudal engined variant of C1 (the platform that the Mk2 Focus, the Mazda3, and the Volvo S40 ride on). ;)
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Krishna Das 1:18PM (6/23/2006)
This car has one of the worst resale values in the market..
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olderty 1:31PM (6/23/2006)
It _is_ based on the S-Type. Same 3.9L V8 and IRS. I have an '02 V8 and love it. I guess it could use a real stick, but that's what why I have a weekend car, to beat that up. That way I can still make it work on Monday. My next car will probably be the this years LS, after all the scary depreciation has settled.
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olderty 1:43PM (6/23/2006)
"This car has one of the worst resale values in the market.."
True. I bought mine in sept. '04 (29k miles, 6 mo. warranty left, every option) for $17k + taxes. The window sticker in the glove box says $42k. kbb.com still says it's worth ~$20k, even with the 50k miles it has now.
I honestly suggest buying one if anyone is so inclined. The '03's and later have 280hp, mine has 252hp, but hangs with my wife's 3.5L Altima. Just don't buy it new, look for a gently used one owner. Something off a lease.
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Shure_F00t 2:20PM (6/23/2006)
Well, the terrible resale value works out for me since I'm in the market for a used LS. Since it's inception, I've always like the look of the exterior, and I believe the '02 and up models slightly improved upon it's rather shabby interior and questionable fit-and-finish.
Hoping to land me a bargain.
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Tim UF 2:20PM (6/23/2006)
the reason that its resale sucks is that nobody really bought into the idea of a sporty lincoln... why pay 40k for this when 45 will get you a 5series, e class, etc...
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SKluck 2:56PM (6/23/2006)
I always liked this car, shame about the tranny problems it had and was kind of left stillborn by Lincoln. Hopefully Lincoln gets it right with the Mark Z's big brother that should be coming out in the next few years (The one in the video for Lincoln's new LED headlights).
I think there is a market for a car like this in Ford's lineup, maybe my experience is skewed because I live in MI and only a couple miles away from the factory where they built these, but there was a TON of LS's on the road from 2000-2004. But I haven't seen one in about a year.
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AAM 2:57PM (6/23/2006)
it wasn't promoted right, & the syling was bland at best. The Tbird was overpriced and at 6'2" I couldn't fit! Anytime Detroit gets a good idea & it manages to fight through all the bean counters & other fools they mess it up someway or another, usually by pricing the thing way out of line! 40 grand is a down payment on a house! not something warranteed for a whopping 3 years! LMAO *and they pay these people to do this to their companies!*
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AutoFan 2:59PM (6/23/2006)
#3 bhtooefr
There is some controversy over that. According to Motor Trend's initial review of the Mustang, Hau Thai-Tang (the Mustang's chief engineer) says that they started off with the DEW98 but wound up changing so many things that it's basically a new platform.
Here's the relevant link:
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0402_2005_ford_mustang/chasis_engine.html
The LS debuted before the S-Type, and my understanding is that most of the engineering work was done in the U.S., with Jaguar's contribution mostly going into the Jaguar version of it. The Jag wasn't just a British version of the platform, true. But it wasn't far removed from that, either.
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mickster 4:07PM (6/23/2006)
As many have mentioned, the Jag S-Type connection-
Lincoln dealers and owners complained that the Jag got more displacement and horsepower while the Lincoln 3.0 V-6 and 3.9 V-8 were detuned compared to their English brethren.
Everyone I know who has one of these loves them.
Shame Ford missed a big opportunity to own this market.
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R-Dog 4:14PM (6/23/2006)
#3
#10
The Mustang is built on a completely different platform (don't buy into the C1 derivative bit), but the cool thing is the Mustang can be assembled on the same line as the Mazda6 variant vehicles.
I'm going to rant that Ford needs to build a retro-sedan from the Mustang. No one else is doing it, and it would sell. Offer 4-6-8 cylinder engine choices and call it the Falcon.
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AutoFan 4:56PM (6/23/2006)
Oh, for the love of God, please no more retro!
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Tim UF 4:57PM (6/23/2006)
or just bring the ford falcon over from australia. As-Is.
in fact, aside from the focus and fusion and mustang, bring the entire aussie line on over. and dont fuss with them too much, or you'll end up with a GTO like debacle.
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Dan Cowden 5:22PM (6/23/2006)
As I recall, the LS was Motor Trend Car of the Year when it came out. With a little up-dating and with a 4.4 V8 it would compete quite nicely with BMWs and the high end Japanese sport sedans. Ford is missing a real opportunity as they continue to lower the mark with the once proud Lincoln brand.
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Ian 6:33PM (6/23/2006)
Lincoln conceived of th LS as their way into the sports sedan arena worlwide. As soon as Jaguar saw that they complained and Ford issued the mandate to detune the engine and cancelled the worldwide launch:( Bad of Ford, because it was then a much more sporty sedan than the original S Type and a better price. So Ford missed out and the downward spiral of Lincoln was emphassized.
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T 6:53PM (6/23/2006)
I think Ford must downgrade their own models a lot in the same way. Because they often take the same car and make it a Mercury and a Lincoln as well they do things like put less than the best interior on the Ford branded car. Instead of putting the best they can into a Ford they waste money making small changes to make the Lincoln and Mercury different and maybe even slightly nicer even though few units of those brands will sell. Meanwhile the competition puts everything they've got into one model and its just a little better as a result. Urgh!
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lincmercguy 3:27AM (6/24/2006)
The LS was a decent car to drive. It had a lot of nice features, drove and handled well, and had a lot of pep (granted I don't usually drive German sedans).
Putting a manual box with the V8 would have been the perfect combination and would have attracted more buyers.
However, I was a Lincoln/Mercury tech from 1999-2004 and these cars were an electrical nightmare. They had 4 main modules controlling the body electrics and ran into many different issues interfacing between the modules. There was also a severe lack of diagnostic ability between these modules. At the same time, Ford was cracking down on warranty claims, so you couldn't just replace a module to see if it helped, you had to be abosolutly sure of the problem.
Also, the customers who bought these things were just complete and absolute elitist jerks (jerks being a nice term). They complained about every aspect of the car compared to a number of different cars. They were also commonly known to think they should get service first over Ford and Mercury owners. I'm sure most service departments will be glad to see the car go.
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