Paul Collurafici

Oh Lincoln. You were so close. I have always drove a Lincoln. But recently the brand got bland. But you always remember your first love. The pride of getting out of a beater and buying a brand new Lincoln. But oh Lincoln, you got boring. I thought you might actually go out of business. With no choice, I switched. First to a Cayenne and then to a Q7. Was the Cayenne good? Heck ya it was good. Diesel too and I went 700 miles between fill ups. Loved that part. But, I am hauling stuff. I just wanted comfort. The Porsche had power is spades. Super quick and it handled like it was on rails. But I wanted comfort and sitting in an upright racing position with no junk storage or even a place to put my sunglasses got old quick. So what could I do? The Lincoln was just as stale and boring as before. Then I found the Q7. So close. Fast enough. All the tech stuff I love and the greatest gear shift lever in history. The way you rest your arm on it and control the screen that does not get full of fingerprints is brilliant. The best in the industry. Still lacking in storage but such a nice ride. I have to L O A D E D one with adaptive suspension and night vision/ massaging seats, the works. Almost perfect but still not what I spent most of my life in, a Lincoln. Then I had an issue at my local dealership in Hoffman Estates when one of the porters stole from my car. The huge issue was that when she got caught, the parts manager came to her defense and tried to start a fight with me. Corporate was zero help and now I have to drive an hour for service. Oh how I miss my Lincoln.

I even called Lincoln corporate one day and asked them why they have not put the Explorer into the Lincoln line up?

And then they did! The Aviator has all the bells and whistles that I want. It's a Lincoln. I can't wait to return home. I already called my local Lincoln Dealer asking when can I order one so that the first one off of the truck is built to my specifications. I want one that bad.

Then reality set in. Thank you so much for posting the link to configure the new Aviator. I could not wait to see how much it was going to cost me to 'go home' to Lincoln.

What a shock. Sticker shock does not even come close. $89,395 built the way I want. Um... Lincoln, I like you and want to return. But... you're pricing this thing right in the company of another Q7 or even another Porsche. While I fully admit that I like the Lincoln better, but that is a personal preference. I could never say that the quality, resale, reliability and stature of a Ford can even come close to what Audi or Porsche provides. NEVER! Not even close. Now, just because I like the Lincoln, I ain't stupid. If I wanted to spend another $89,395+ dollars for a car, it won't be a Ford.

Price the Aviator in the high sixties loaded and Porsche and Audi will have a problem. BMW and Volvo too. But to price it in line with any of these must have them feeling relieved over in Germany. I bet they are laughing their butts off too...

RJC 1

Well said and very valid points...the Q7 is a tough act to follow

AudiFanFL

That is simply unrealistic these days. It's not a coincidence that there are no fully loaded 450HP/600lb.ft plug-in hybrid 3-row SUVs in the high sixties - at least not any I'm aware of.

Lincoln is a brand (Ford as well), that always banked on lease-deals and the lower monthly payment compared to Porsche and Audi will make this vehicle VERY attractive. The MSRP might be the same as on my Q7 but i bet the monthly payment will be $200/month lower.

And talking about the "high sixties" - at $68,800, you are already getting the 450HP plug-in Hybrid version. Again, who else delivers that?

I expected a fully loaded Aviator to be between $85K and $90K so that was spot on. Considering that the fully loaded Navigator is north of $100K and sells like hot cakes, I don't see a reason why the Aviator shouldn't.

gsobol

I think that's spot on. Frankly how many people buy new cars anymore (percentage wise). Most of the car companies embraced lease model with a zest. This way they can haggle over monthly payments rather than the overall price of the vehicle. Lease company incentives are also more attractive for the dealers as they are getting percentage of the business as well. I read somewhere that over 60% of the new vehicles "sold" are actually leased, which with the interest rates rising can actually collapse the current business model. But, yes, most people will look at it: "wow, I'm getting a $90K car for $200 less a month than these yahoos at Audi were going to charge me, and it's a hybrid too !!!" You all know it's not that simple, but you also know it's true.

Paul Collurafici

I really want to like the Aviator...

swedesc

The Navigator still has the lower sales when compared to the Escalade, GLS and QX80...

JT4

While not my taste, the Navigator is very nice. And while it may be selling well IMO it's because it's new and has all the hype. Once the "newness" wears off, and a new Escalade hits the market my feeling is the sales numbers will also drop off.. North of $100K is crazy, even a Platinum Expedition AWD starts at close to $77K ... No thanks.

RJC 1

Prices of all the aforementioned SUV's and others have all become excessive...the highest gross profit margins are for all the pickup truck based SUVs and helped to keep GM and Ford going. I for one am not thrilled my +/-$100000 suv would be based on a pickup truck.

Force-1

My only issue with the new Aviator is local Lincoln dealer sucks!

JT4

IME this the case in most places.. I run a business in the NYC area and we have several Fords, a couple of vans one an E250 van with a custom Quigley 4X4 system, a F150 Lariat etc.. Again we are in the Metro NYC area so there a ton of dealerships to chose from NYC to Long Island. And we have to go to a dealer 50+ miles away in NJ because they are the only competent dealer we've come across.

Now granted we haven't gone to every one of course, but in our experience most in the Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island area treat customers like they did back in the 80's..