srcolson

I'd seriously consider http://www.paintscratch.com/

I wonder if younger consumers feel that luxury requires a V8. Also, in routine daily driving, does rear wheel drive give any greater sense of performance. I prefer rear wheel drive in rain, while I prefer front wheel drive in the snow (I'm a fair weather driving Californian, so maybe I shouldn't comment on driving in snow). If I buy another luxury car, I'll most likely buy an Audi with AWD. I couldn't buy the MKZ hybrid with AWD and front wheel drive is quite adequate.

Hello everyone. Well...my 2014 MKZ spent the entire month of February at Big Valley Ford Lincoln in Stockton, CA. Their body shop did a great job of undoing damage done by Ford Lincoln Fairfield. I'm not the least bit happy about a very long and complicated "cover up" by Ford Lincoln Fairfield and I think their Lincoln franchise needs to be pulled! HOWEVER, Lincoln Motor Company stood by me during the entire process and took good care of me. They compensated me as appropriate and worked well with Big Valley Ford Lincoln. Moral of the story: Find the rare dealerships that still have their own body shops. Anyway....I was provided premium rental cars through Enterprise. A 2014 Cadillac ATS and a 2014 Chevy Impala LTZ were provided and I liked their power. I found the infotainment systems to be less intuitive than the MyFord/Lincoln Touch systems. The Pandora streaming gave me problems quite a few times, so nobody should accuse Ford of being any worse than GM. What I did, however, like better than my MKZ touch screen was the gloss of the GM infotainment screens. I bought a screen protector from http://www.nushield.com and bought the DayVue screen protector. It helps protect the screen while giving it a bit more gloss and reduces glare. The attached photo does NOT represent what my eye perceives--the camera picks up the polarizing parallel lines. I see a brilliant screen with or without polarizing sun glasses. Steven

LOL

MKZ is female vs. Cadillac is male? Smooth curves vs. sharp, abrupt edges... :)

Out of curiosity, is there a way to find current MKZ sales by State? And what about registered drivers per state? It would be interesting to see where the MKZ is most popular vs. least popular. Canada too.

My 2014 MKZ hybrid is very quiet. You'll find that there is Active Noise Cancellation to "mask" any hum from the hybrid motor. I consider the car to be responsive when I punch down on the gas pedal, but I sometimes wish that I'd bought the 2.0L Turbo. I, however, chose fuel enonomy over jack rabbit starts.

I had a detailer apply C-Quartz Finest to my Tuxedo Black paint and it looks great.

Is there anyone old enough to remember when Ford built cars in Milpitas (San Jose)? The old plant was converted into a large discount shopping mall. During the 1980s, long after the plant closure, Ford continued to do Focus Group studies of consumer buying interests. They somehow found me and I'd get called to the San Jose Convention Center to give my opinion on many car design related things. Never once did they disclose that they were Ford, but I sleuthed that out. Once in my 30's, Ford no longer gave a damn about what I thought. ;) I remember their LCD roof that could be adjusted from clear to black. I thought it gimmicky and never did see that in any production car.

When I think of BMW, I think of the most responsive steering of any vehicle I've driven. I guess having the front wheels "touching" the front bumper has some advantages?

I've read that the future MKS will be built on the same platform as the Fusion/MKZ.

With my 50 mile one way commute, I estimate that over 5 years time, I would spend $1000 more in diesel fuel cost if I chose the new 3 Series BMW diesel. Similar HP but more torque. I once owned a BMW and it was a great car, but the new ones aren't as reliable. When the profile gasket blew on my 3 Series and BMW wouldn't pay for the cost of replacing a known defect, I swore to never buy another BMW. Anyway...I wouldn't consider a diesel to be more attractive for my long commute. Even when I considered the possibility of buying a turbo diesel, my wife said "hell no!"

Lol

I heard some unusual noise. almost like letting air "squeek" out of a ballon, and found that the factory didn't properly attach the rubber seal under the hood that is nearest to the windshield. I simply "hooked" the seal back onto all of the plastic anchors and the noise went away. I still need to have a dealership handle my gurgling water in the heater core issue. I now see that this was an old problem and wonder why I'm experiencing this in a 2014.

"Farley says Lincoln dealers are already masters at customer handling." Uh...what??? My new MKZ is in a dealership bodyshop due to another dealership's mishandling and attempt to cover up paint damage. Two of three Lincoln dealerships, that I've been in, are a complete joke! HOWEVER, one general manager admits to the deficiencies and hopes to fix within six months. Lincoln Customer Relations is also very humble and admits to changes that are needed. Anway...the Cadillac ATS is crap! The above mentioned servicing dealership has my MKZ and they provided a rental car through Enterprise. They gave me a brand new 2014 ATS. I found it gaudy and glossy with sharp exterior lines. I do like the power of the turbocharged engine! This engine, however, broke down during my commute and I had to wait two hours to get a replacment vehicle. Now that's advertising--A new 2014 Cadillac ATS broken down on the shoulder of the freeway. ;) I was provided a 2014 Chevy Impala as the replacement. I've seen a few other new GM products and I do not like any of them. I prefer German cars and Ford is the only American badge that gets my attention. I actually didn't want to start liking FoMoCo cars, but a new 2013 Taurus that I rented at the Atlanta Airport was impressive. I personally wouldn't want the Taurus, but I found it to be a great car that looked nice, handled well, lots of power, and nicely appointed interior. In my subjective opinion, Ford/Lincoln vehicles are thoughtfully designed cars that don't distract with the "bling" of GM cars.

I find that commuting 50 miles one way, at 65 MPH, will give me 40 MPG. If I get aggressive, my mileage drops to 37 MPG. Driving in "Old Man Mode" for about 10 miles will help me get my fuel economy back to 39 to 40 MPG. Until the MKZ hybrid, I've never driven this slow. LOL...I'm now amazed at how most people exceed the California speed limit by 10 to 15 MPH.

Thanks HybridFan & Robert. @Robert, I'll post some photos when it isn't raining. CA is finally getting some rain!!! I don't have any plans to make modifications. The OEM 19" wheels with low profile tires are a perfect fit with this car and allows me to forego my typical aftermarket wheel changes.

I too have found that Eco Cruise reduces use of EV mode. As a new owner of a hybrid, I find myself experimenting with driving styles absolutely unfamiliar to me. Am a delusional in thinking that I get better fuel economy when over-accelerating to a higher than desired speed, taking my foot of the "gas" pedal, coasting and then only applying enough throttle to maintain my target speed? Slowly building up speed seems to get me lower fuel enonomy.

Hi everyone. I bought my first Lincoln in December. My 2014 MKZ Hybrid is a very pleasing ride, while the dealership experiences have been awful. Lincoln Customer Relations, however, has been very good to me. All of the negative MKZ reviews found on the Internet, auto magazines and Consumer Reports seems peculiar to me. I'm 6'1" and I have plenty of headroom while seated in very comfortable leather seats. I got the top of the line options and I love the panoramic roof. I bought the Hybrid for long commutes and I find the mileage very reasonable--I get 37 MPG if I drive extremely aggressively and get 41 MPG if I drive with slow deliberation. On average, I'm getting between 39 to 40 MPG and that's close enough to EPA ratings. The capacitive touch Infotainment screen doesn't bother me anymore than using my cell phone. With the upgraded MyLincoln Touch, I'm generally pleased. I would like to have AppLink and would like to use the Pandora app. I do not like Sirius radio. Prior to buying the MKZ, I considered an Audi A5 and an Infinity Q50. I greatly appreciate the unique, artful design of the MKZ and enjoy having a very unique car in my neighborhood filled with BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Lexus and Audi models. I do believe that the MKZ interior soft touch material is lacking in refinment appropriate for luxury class cars. All in all, I think I got one fine car for a very good price! Steven Discovery Bay, CA @stevecolson