25th Feb 2007, 17:50

The Nissan near-bankruptcy was a hard and fast fact. It was widely reported in late Summer of 2006, as was Nissan's pleas to GM to bail them out. Literate people (those who can read) knew that. And OF COURSE the Zephyr/MKZ sales won't match Camry and Accord. The Camry and Accord ("Ugly" and "Uglier") are cheap compacts for poor people or clueless college kids. The Zephyr/MKZ line is a luxury car comparable to the Mercedes C-class or BMW 5-series. It won't sell as many units because not as many people can afford it. Camry and Accord outsell Rolls Royce too, but it certainly isn't due to BETTER QUALITY. As for Camry, it has the WORST FIRST YEAR REVIEWS ON THIS ENTIRE SITE!!! ONLY 2 reviewers of the 2006 Camry out of 5 say they'd buy another Toyota. And that isn't for a 10-year-old model, that is for 2006!! Although I doubt most buyers will actually keep a Zephyr/MKZ for its projected lifespan (300,000 miles) because they will want something newer after 6 or 7 years, it's comforting to know that kind of reliability is there (unlike the problem-plagued Camry and the Honda, whose owners must join the "transmission of the month" club).

25th Feb 2007, 21:31

Wow, that remark about "clueless" college kids was offensive. Also, the Camry and Accord are not for "poor" people as they do cost a good bit more than other comparably equipped cars when new. They do offer very good reliability as everyone I have ever known who has owned one loved them. I have countless friends with Accords who have driven them to Hell and back without problems. Getting back to the Lincoln: The Zephyr/MKZ looks to be a good car that will most likely enjoy the same success as the excellent Cadillac CTS. Ford and GM are finally making the high-quality cars they need to compete with other makes; and, before someone responds with a story about a Taurus or Blazer that fell apart, I am not talking about what they were building five years ago. All they need now is for people to recognize the improvements and continue to push for more. And yes, I still believe that Toyota, Honda, and Nissan are some of the best, but even the best have their low points. Happy Motoring All!!

26th Feb 2007, 07:54

Nissan was GOING TO BUY GM in summer 2006, not the other way around.

Literate people are the ones who know the facts, not make up stuff and post it here.

26th Feb 2007, 08:02

17:50's post is hilarious. There's a mistake in every sentence!

- Nissan tried to buy GM in summer 2006, not the reverse

- BMW 5 series and Mercedes C Class are NOT in the same class

- Rolls Royce is now known for quality? By whose standards? There is a reason manufacturers do NOT produce hand built cars for the mass market

- Now we're basing quality on "projected lifespans"?

26th Feb 2007, 09:35

********************

steven@carsurvey.org

********************

I don't normally intervene, but I have seen the argument about Nissan going bankrupt and asking GM to buy them out posted several times.

I've taken the time to look this up, and while the situation was very complex, the potential deal does seem to have been initiated by GM, not Nissan. And there's no evidence that Nissan were going bankrupt.

And in July 2006, Nissan was worth $49B vs $19B for GM. See: http://www.aftermarketnews.com/default.aspx?type=art&id=78005

Companies about to go bankrupt aren't worth $49 billion.

I've removed some comments from other reviews that make the same claim. If the author of the deleted comments wants to discuss this decision, they should email me.

26th Feb 2007, 09:52

Here is the FACTUAL story about Nissan.

They were on the edge of bankruptcy in 1999, LONG before the Titan or Armada even existed (many posters claim these vehicles were the cause).

Then Carlos Ghosn, the premier auto exec living today, essentially bought Nissan as head of Renault.

He is considered a hero in Japan for saving the company, even though he had to do some very unJapanese things to do it (like laying off workers and removing a lot of consensus building that resulted in everything done by committee).

Today Renault/Nissan is one of the strongest companies on the planet. It attempted to buy/merge with GM last year and still may acquire Chrysler or even Ford. Ford is in deep financial trouble and Chrsyler's value has been placed at ZERO by analysts given its severe debt and union obligations.

The only recent acquisition GM made was buying Daewoo, and the only reason it was able to do that is that the company was in such horrible financial shape that it was a bargain. Now GM has made Chevrolet its global brand encompassing small cars from Daewoo, Suzuki (of which it owns part), and other manufacturers.

26th Feb 2007, 13:26

The last quarter income of Nissan dropped 22% and Consumer Reports now ranks Ford vehicles HIGHER in reliability than Nissan, especially the very well built Zephyr/MKZ. In addition, just check the recalls and reliability issues Nissan has encountered with both the Titan and Armada vehicle lines. Not exactly a stellar ranking in great build quality.

2nd Mar 2007, 20:05

There is little question about Nissan's lack of reliability. Just check out its projected reliability in the latest auto edition of Consumer Reports. It's not exactly good.

4th Mar 2007, 14:40

Due to the additional power of the new MKZ and the all-wheel drive option, I think it is probably the best buy in its class, or even close to it. It produces more power than the base Cadillac CTS, BMW 5-series I-6, all comparable Honda, Nissan and Toyota models, and in addition handles better than anything with the possible exception of the BMW. In view of the drastic decline in the quality of imports I'd go for the MKZ over any of its competition.

8th Mar 2007, 08:28

^^^^^^^

I guess no matter how much you pay for one of their vehicles Ford will still rip you off.

18th Apr 2007, 22:21

Actually the MKZ is not that expensive as mid-size cars go. One of our friends just bought one for the same price as a loaded (and less reliable) Camry. Considering the ride and build quality, the MKZ is one of the biggest bargains in the automotive world.

19th Apr 2007, 08:44

Actually the MKZ is significantly more expensive than the Camry, but because no one wants them and Ford is going down the tubes they heavily discount them so someone, somewhere will buy them.

19th Apr 2007, 17:23

You cannot go around comparing the MKZ to the Camry as they are not in the same class group. You should be comparing the MKZ to the Lexus IS which will blow the MKZ out of the water. There is a reason why the MKZ is low priced, as the old saying goes "You get what you pay for".

5th Jun 2007, 15:28

The MKZ is not much more than the Camry once you spec it out. The MKZ is more car for the money. The car is targeted at Lexus, BMW, Cadillac and other lux brands, but because of the price you have to put it in with Accord and Camry. Even with that said it still runs on regular gas while the other need premium. That alone saves a lot of mullah!!