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Lincoln Mercury 2001 Prices Balance Slight Increase With More Equipment

28 June 2000

Lincoln Mercury 2001 Prices Balance Slight Increase With More Equipment

    IRVINE, Calif. - Customers who buy 2001-model Lincoln and Mercury products 
will pay, on average, one percent more for a vehicle that contains more standard 
equipment than this year's models.  On comparably equipped vehicles, prices 
remain virtually flat.

    "With the introduction of our Lincoln Premier Experience program that will
improve customer satisfaction, the Lincoln Complimentary Maintenance program
for all 2001-model Lincolns, and more standard equipment, Lincoln and Mercury
customers will see that doing business with a premier consumer company gives
them products that are priced, packaged and serviced right," said Mark
Hutchins, Lincoln Mercury president.

    For the 2001-model year, key equipment has been made standard on many
Lincoln and Mercury products.  For example, a 2001 Lincoln Town Car will offer
a power-improved engine, advanced restraint system air bags, seat belt
pretensioners, and power adjustable pedals; LS V6 manual will feature traction
control and Alpine Sport audio system with in-dash, six-disc CD changer as
standard; Continental will add a standard universal garage door opener; and
Navigator will offer an auxiliary climate control system as standard.  All
four Lincolns come with the complimentary maintenance plan.

    For example, a typically equipped 2001 Lincoln Navigator 4x2 priced at
$46,360 is $270 (0.6 percent) more than the 2000 model.  A typically equipped
2001 Lincoln Town Car Signature series is $42,640, up $485 (1.2 percent) over
the 2000 model.

    Lincoln's complimentary maintenance program is a first for an American
luxury brand, Hutchins said.  The program, announced in May for all 2001-model
Lincolns, covers all routine maintenance -- from oil changes to wipers to
shocks -- for the first three years or 36,000 miles.  In addition, the basic
Lincoln warranty of four years/50,000 miles remains in place.

    Through the Lincoln Premier Experience (LPE), Lincoln and its dealers will
create a distinctly American luxury feeling at consumers' every touch point:
from dealership design, to the attire of the sales and service personnel, to
dealership amenities and ease of service.  LPE includes the entire customer
experience -- designing products customers will desire, engineering and
manufacturing luxury vehicles, marketing and advertising, the sales process,
the financial transaction and the service and maintenance procedure.

    Some Mercury items not previously available that will be standard next
year include a new in-dash CD radio on Cougar; new fog lamps on Villager; and
a power-improved engine, advanced restraint system air bags, seat belt
pretensioners on Grand Marquis, with power adjustable pedals included in the
Premium and Ultimate packages.

    A typcially equipped 2001 Cougar V6 with Sport package and automatic
transmission priced at $20,040, is a $150 increase (0.8 percent) compared with
the 2000 model.