Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Ford Goes Ballistic with New Lincoln Car

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 02 Apr 2004 08:47:37 -0500

Reuters
Ford Goes Ballistic with New Lincoln Car
Friday April 2, 1:35 am ET 
By Tom Brown 

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. calls it the right vehicle for 
the wrong place. This month, as it moves to capitalize on surging 
demand for armored protection since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in 
New York and Washington, Ford will begin offering a "Ballistic 
Protection Series" version of its Lincoln Town Car.
 
>From the outside it looks deceptively like other Town Cars, the 
ubiquitous vehicle of choice in the U.S. livery business. But with a 
price tag starting at $144,995, it's about $100,000 more expensive 
and features a reinforced body that can withstand rounds from high-
powered or high-velocity assault rifles and submachine guns.

It's "an elegant answer to a hostile world," according to a brochure 
from Ford's luxury Lincoln division. "A barrier against bigger, 
faster bullets," adds the brochure.

Richard Bondy, a former Secret Service (News - Websites) agent who 
works for Ford, described the rolling fortress to reporters as "a 
car that has a substantially higher ballistic level" than any other 
automaker has offered commercially in the United States.

Initially, Ford says it only plans to sell about 300 a year. But 
Bondy said worldwide sales of armored cars have grown about 20 
percent annually over the past few years, to about 20,000 vehicles. 
And he and others at Ford clearly see potential beyond 300 sales a 
year.

At first the car will only be offered in the United States, 
according to its marketing manage, John Anderson. But he said it 
would soon be introduced in parts of the Middle East, followed by 
Mexico, Europe, Asia and elsewhere in Latin America.

Any country facing threats from guerrilla groups, kidnapping, and 
rampant crime would seem to be fertile ground for the car, and 
corporate and government clients are likely to give it close 
consideration alongside armored models from the likes BMW and the 
Mercedes division of DaimlerChrysler.

"Security consultants can have a major impact on the sale of this 
vehicle," Anderson said.

The Lincoln has higher levels of protection than an armored version 
of the Cadillac Deville that rival General Motors Corp. plans to 
roll out later this year, and that alone could attract potentially 
unsavory customers like mobsters and drug lords. 

"SERENE TRAVELING"

But Bondy, who sees buyers including everyone from soccer moms 
to "someone that feels that they have risk because of the kind of 
business or country that they run," said Ford had no intention of 
screening people who shop for the vehicle.

"It's just like buying a ballistic vest," he said. "People don't buy 
armored product to commit crimes. This is a defensive device."

He also rejected stereotypes about individuals interested in such 
protection..

"The only thing that's consistent is that the people that buy the 
product want to feel secure and serene traveling through life," 
Bondy said.

The car has run-flat inserts to ensure it can keep moving even when 
the tires have been shot out. "If somebody's trying to kill you, all 
you want your car to do is keep trucking," said Bondy.

"They obviously are trying to prey on people's insecurities, which 
are rampant these days because of the terrorism. and that's their 
game," said marketing analyst Jack Trout of Connecticut-based Trout 
& Partners,about Ford's move.

He noted that one can buy "some pretty impressive cars" for the 
armored Lincoln's price tag. "So they're not bullet-proof, but you 
know what? I'll be going so fast they won't be able to hit me," he 
joked.

But Michael Robinet, an auto industry analyst at CSM Worldwide in 
Northville, Mich., said armored cars made good sense as a niche 
product for Detroit's embattled automakers.

"Companies like Ford and GM are looking at all facets of the market. 
They're looking at opportunities ... They may be able to put some 
heads of state into these types of vehicles." 

http://news.google.com/news?q=Ford+Goes+Ballistic+with+New+Lincoln+Car&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=nn

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