Should Ford be worried about its premium brands?

Take a look at Ford/Mercury/Lincoln sales numbers and tell me what goes through your mind. Fords' numbers were impressive, but maybe too impressive perhaps. Sure its a great feat that Ford sold 22,773 Fusion's this month, but riddle me this: Just how many sales did the Fusion snatch away from its cousins Milan and MKZ? Together the Milan and MKZ couldn't even make 8,000 sales, let alone the mighty 22,773 the Fusion pushed. So that was a pretty good example, but I have a better one. Look at the MKS and Taurus. In general, barely any consumer outside of enthusiasts understand just how similar the Taurus and MKS are, or do they? The MKS' sales fell 15.9% to 1,443, while Taurus sales took a leap upwards 86.3% to 7,001. Just for a small comparison, the Cadillac CTS (the MKS' only American competition) also fell heavily, down 26.4% to create 2,870 sales. Now considering that the CTS is in heavy need a refresh since it is an 08 model is saying something. There needs to be some distinction between Ford, Mercury and Lincoln, and it needs to happen ASAP.

There are multiple solutions Ford can come up with, but in the long run there's only one clear solution: Lincoln needs to go farther upmarket. Simply meaning there probably needs to be RWD in the Lincoln stable. The MKR is a nice starting ground. What also needs to happen is Mercury needs to be pushed up to where Lincoln is right now. Reason being is Lincoln is supposed to challenge Cadillac right about now, but no one can really justify Lincoln being on the same level as Cadillac because Lincoln constantly gets compared to Buick and it makes sense. The only Lincoln that challenges a Cadillac so far is the MKX to the SRX. Lincoln needs to find its way or it will always be seen as the brand that can't come close to BMW and Mercedes, something Cadillac is steadily fighting away as we speak.

As for Mercury, it could go one or two ways, improve Lincoln or kill Mercury. I'm sorry to say this but, it seems as if every single Ford eats away at Mercury sales. The Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring, separately, sold more than the Milan (even though most of those sales were fleet, but the data still remains). Obviously there's a problem. At least with Volvo, that brand started to show distinction and, eventually, sales will show the progress. With Mercury, where is the hope? It seems as if the brand is dead in the water, only having two cars sold under its name (Milan and Mariner). Maybe Mercury will pull a Buick, or maybe its too late.

I don't like Hyundais, and I don't like fish. Go screw yourself! (No offense.)

There are many things that annoy me about the human race. The way they smell, the way they care for eachother, and, chiefly, the way they talk.

I have heard people say the word "fail" too many times. So much, in fact, that it can be used now as a noun. Someone falls over; "that's a fail". Someone gets stuck in a lift; "that's a fail". Someone gets caught in bed with Jeremy Clarkson, thinking they are in bed with Su Bo (let's face it, they DO look the same); "that's a fail". That's annoying.

And then there's people who say "no offense" after everything they say, believing that if they say it, their sentence will actually become LESS OFFENSIVE. Worst of all is when they say something that is deliberately offensive, and THEN say "no offense". "Your mom is fat! No offense."

And then there's the most frustrating, STUPID thing of the uttermost annoyance that someone said to me. This one thing someone said to me, once upon a time, regarding the new Hyundai Sonata. "You don't like the new Sonata just because it's a Hyundai".

Well, I'm not going to argue with that. It's a fair statement. But I will say this. It is true that I don't like the Sonata, and it is true that I don't like it because I don't like Hyundais. But then I don't like cod, just as I don't like any kind of fish.

Why hasn't anybody told me "you don't like cod just because you don't like fish"?
Why is it that no-one ever tells me "you don't like Jay-Z's new single just because you don't like Jay-Z"?
And why, on earth, have I never been told "you don't like CSI:Miami just because you don't like stupidly unrealistic crime dramas, featuring men wearing make-up taking their sunglasses off in a theatrical manner while spouting various dramatic one-liners"?

I think it might have something to do with Hyundai fans themself. I wonder what kind of ailment/disorder they must suffer from to become a Hyundai fan in the first place. Perhaps one of the symptoms is that they get overly defensive and start arguing (badly) with anyone even hinting that they don't like Hyundai.

Me thinks, after this post, that I ought to get my Hyundaist (that's what I've decided to call them) shield at the ready, before someone starts using crappy arguments against me.

Car Spotter's Guide

I have this game called car-spotting. It's simple enough, there's people who like to find unique trains & lorries, I like to find unique cars.

But it's not just Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and else Italian exotica. No, no! Ferraris are boring.

I like to find cars that, if it were not for my car fanaticism, I would think nothing of. A Ferrari 430 is worth just 2 points in my game, to, say, a Renault Clio Williams' 8 or 9 points. Occasionally, I might point out some of my discoveries to family members or friends. They might say something along the lines of "it's a chavved-up Clio". You couldn't explain to them the amount of fun they're missing out on! Their loss.

I've been playing this game for years, and I've found plenty of wonderful, obscure cars. VW Passat W8s, Renault Avantimes, Lancia Delta Intergrales, Nissan Almera GTIs, and countless imported, not-sold-in-the-UK, cars. And so, as you'd imagine, I've accumilated hundreds of points over the years. But, this one day, all of my previous finds kneel before the magnificance that is the Daihatsu YRV Turbo!

Featuring a 127BHP 1.3 litre petrol powerplant (the most powerful 1.3 litre of it's kind in the UK on it's introduction, don't ya know!), it gets from 0-60 in 8.1 seconds, and can reach 8000rpm when pushed hard.

But all these performance figures are worth nothing to the avid car-spotter. No, what makes this car special is its rarity. Daihatsu had sales targets of 200 per year in the UK, and built it for just 2 years, 2003-2004. I don't know how much they ACTUALLY sold. I couldn't be bothered to count...

The thing is though, I can't be the only one to play this "game". There must be thousands of other car-spotters out there, and thus, I propose we establish a club to bring the whole car-spotting community together. Anybody with me?

Feel free to share your finds down below.