mikeyb
04-05-2006, 08:48 AM
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THIS IS A FORD MOTOR COMPANY PRESS RELEASE.
Full Article:
ZEPHYR SALES SOAR, SURPASSING TARGETS, BRINGING BUYERS BACK FROM IMPORTS
Sales of the new Lincoln Zephyr are soaring.
"They're hotter than a firecracker," said John Moroni, owner of Westgate Lincoln Mercury of Lombard, Ill., near Chicago. "We can't keep them in stock. Every one we get is sold."
Zephyr sales are surpassing company expectations.
"We set a target of 40 percent for conquest sales, and based on sales figures from October through February we've hit that number already," said Gary Barham, Zephyr marketing manager.
Barham believes that Zephyr's success is due largely to the way the vehicle is priced and packaged.
"Zephyr has the lowest MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) in its segment, and we have a lot of standard equipment on the vehicle that is optional on other cars," said Barham. "Customers are seeing Zephyr as a great value for the money."
"For what you get, the Zephyr is really a steal," said Moroni. "The content of what comes standard on the vehicle is far above and beyond what our competition has to offer. You get a heck of a lot of equipment for your dollar."
Some of those "standard" features include: 10-way power driver and passenger heated front seats, dual-zone electronic automatic temperature control, 17-inch machined aluminum wheels, a CD/MP3 audio system and security approach lamps. A keyless entry pad and six-speed automatic transmission ('06 model), also standard, are segment exclusives.
Barham says customers are also attracted to Zephyr's exterior and interior styling.
"They like the exterior lines of the vehicle, how it's shaped and its athletic stance," he said. "The car also has a luxurious, stylish interior with genuine wood accents and leather and satin nickel trim."
"The styling is very cutting edge," said Moroni. "It's a good-looking, sporty car."
In addition to owning the largest Lincoln Mercury dealership in the Chicago area, Moroni is also a member of the Lincoln Mercury National Dealers Council, so he's privy to valuable dealer feedback.
"We're seeing import buyers that we never would've seen in our showrooms before coming in to buy this car," he said. "If I had a half a dozen on the ground right now, I'd sell all of them."
And, Moroni says, the people buying the Zephyr are from diverse age groups.
"Surprisingly, we're getting the 35- to 50-year-old professionals, but we're also getting people 60 and 70 buying it also," he said. "So it hasn't been just that target market; we've kind of had a cross of both.
That doesn't come as a surprise to Barham. He says the older customers are traditional Lincoln buyers who haven't seen a new car offering from Lincoln since the LS in 2000.
"There has been a lot of pent-up anxiousness waiting for Lincoln to come up with a new car. Now that we have one, our Lincoln customers are rushing in to buy it," he said. "When you pull out the Lincoln customers, the age trends down, and we're seeing that younger customer in the showroom."
Moroni says he and his fellow dealers couldn't be more pleased about that.
"What I'm impressed with is the fact that we're getting people to our dealerships who never came to our showrooms before looking at and buying this vehicle," he said. "Any dealer you talk to will tell you that Zephyr and the Mercury Milan have both been a godsend to us.
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Full Article:
ZEPHYR SALES SOAR, SURPASSING TARGETS, BRINGING BUYERS BACK FROM IMPORTS
Sales of the new Lincoln Zephyr are soaring.
"They're hotter than a firecracker," said John Moroni, owner of Westgate Lincoln Mercury of Lombard, Ill., near Chicago. "We can't keep them in stock. Every one we get is sold."
Zephyr sales are surpassing company expectations.
"We set a target of 40 percent for conquest sales, and based on sales figures from October through February we've hit that number already," said Gary Barham, Zephyr marketing manager.
Barham believes that Zephyr's success is due largely to the way the vehicle is priced and packaged.
"Zephyr has the lowest MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) in its segment, and we have a lot of standard equipment on the vehicle that is optional on other cars," said Barham. "Customers are seeing Zephyr as a great value for the money."
"For what you get, the Zephyr is really a steal," said Moroni. "The content of what comes standard on the vehicle is far above and beyond what our competition has to offer. You get a heck of a lot of equipment for your dollar."
Some of those "standard" features include: 10-way power driver and passenger heated front seats, dual-zone electronic automatic temperature control, 17-inch machined aluminum wheels, a CD/MP3 audio system and security approach lamps. A keyless entry pad and six-speed automatic transmission ('06 model), also standard, are segment exclusives.
Barham says customers are also attracted to Zephyr's exterior and interior styling.
"They like the exterior lines of the vehicle, how it's shaped and its athletic stance," he said. "The car also has a luxurious, stylish interior with genuine wood accents and leather and satin nickel trim."
"The styling is very cutting edge," said Moroni. "It's a good-looking, sporty car."
In addition to owning the largest Lincoln Mercury dealership in the Chicago area, Moroni is also a member of the Lincoln Mercury National Dealers Council, so he's privy to valuable dealer feedback.
"We're seeing import buyers that we never would've seen in our showrooms before coming in to buy this car," he said. "If I had a half a dozen on the ground right now, I'd sell all of them."
And, Moroni says, the people buying the Zephyr are from diverse age groups.
"Surprisingly, we're getting the 35- to 50-year-old professionals, but we're also getting people 60 and 70 buying it also," he said. "So it hasn't been just that target market; we've kind of had a cross of both.
That doesn't come as a surprise to Barham. He says the older customers are traditional Lincoln buyers who haven't seen a new car offering from Lincoln since the LS in 2000.
"There has been a lot of pent-up anxiousness waiting for Lincoln to come up with a new car. Now that we have one, our Lincoln customers are rushing in to buy it," he said. "When you pull out the Lincoln customers, the age trends down, and we're seeing that younger customer in the showroom."
Moroni says he and his fellow dealers couldn't be more pleased about that.
"What I'm impressed with is the fact that we're getting people to our dealerships who never came to our showrooms before looking at and buying this vehicle," he said. "Any dealer you talk to will tell you that Zephyr and the Mercury Milan have both been a godsend to us.
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Link:http://media.ford.com/ <!-- / message -->