Ford’s Lincoln Parked
Sundays were made for soap opera repeats. And methinks it’s time for a lil’ binge of your favorite electrified soap, EV Days…
Oh great. Yet another day of Tesla this, Tesla that.
Nope! No Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) here. Well, not directly, at least…
It’s a Ford (NYSE: F) kinda morning. Especially seeing as how I was greeted with a headline so bombastic and bullish, I wondered if we were even talking about the same big blue oval: Ford Pulls Out All The Stops to Revive a Struggling Brand.
Oooh, provocative! This is gonna be good.
Then I realized this “struggling brand” was Ford’s halfhearted attempt at luxury … Lincoln. Things turned even bleaker when I realized this is what the Street meant by “pulling out all the stops.”
Great Ones, feast your eyes on the newest electric vehicle (EV) monstrosity — the totally-not-ripped-off-from-Tesla Lincoln Star:
So. We’re really leaning into this cyber-futuristic aesthetic now, huh? Is this the future y’all want?
The Star’s interior has all the creature comforts of an ER waiting room with seats that would make you rather fly Spirit. And I don’t remember the Jetsons’ car having suicide doors, but I might be wrong…
Ford says the Star is one of four EVs it plans to launch by 2026 as it brings the Lincoln brand into the new generation, or something along those lines. By 2030, 90% of Lincoln’s vehicle volume is expected to be electric.
Now, I’d be willing to bet Ford “lightly borrowed” inspiration from Tesla’s aesthetics for the Star concept … but Ford went and stole Tesla’s esoteric, tech-fawning idealism too:
That’s a fancy way of saying “our front seats can swivel to face the back seats.” You know, like in an old VW Bus? Don’t even get me started on that true place of sanctuary…
Sorry, did I accidentally sign up for Car & Driver? Aren’t we supposed to be talking about stocks?
Oh, but we are! See, Ford was playing all the right cards, ticking all the right boxes as it stretches its legs into the world of EVs. With the F-150 Lightning, Ford packed popular consumer features in a mostly normal-looking EV, and look how that one’s selling.
But over at Lincoln? Well… Someone needs to tell those folks that turning your lineup into Tesla Lite is not how you revive a struggling brand. I mean, what says “luxury” about a wannabe Tesla?
Don’t reinvent what luxury means. Leave that to some doe-eyed minimalistic design startup, like Canoo.
Give people the luxury they expect from Lincoln — I’m not even sure what that implies — and make it electric. That’s all you gotta do.
We’ve seen Ford and Tesla tango for years now as the former finally takes its EV expansion seriously. Ford even split its business right in two between gas-powered cars and EVs, so you just know it’s super serious now.
But when will Ford — and that includes Lincoln — realize that dominating the EV market means more than just poorly imitating Tesla?
It’s not all about aesthetics, Great Stuff!
Agreed … which is also why we’re also focusing on the latest tech powering tomorrow’s EVs.
After all, you can dream up any fancy-shmancy Lincoln EV you want, but if it doesn’t have the battery power or range consumers expect, well … bye.
For example, if you were to drive a Nissan Leaf from coast to coast, you’d have to recharge the battery eight times. A Chevy Bolt, seven times. Even the Tesla Model X would need to be charged six times.
But with this new battery technology in your vehicle, you’d only have to recharge once … in a matter of minutes.
Not to mention, this stunning new technology is about to cut the cost of EV batteries in half … meaning by next year, an EV is expected to cost the same as a gas-powered car.
I won’t spoil the surprise just yet — click here to find out more!
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Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Great Ones! We’ll be back with you tomorrow to … well … do it all over again.
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Until next time, stay Great!
