Reviving the Blackwood

Writen by Carol Mitchel

This vehicle was sold in 2002 only. In fact, it is one of the most short-lived vehicles in the automobile industry. The Lincoln Blackwood is a luxury pickup truck that has been manufactured and introduced under the Ford Motor Company’s Lincoln brand. And all due to its short lifespan, this vehicle has been known and considered as one of the most spectacular failures in the automotive industry.

In its history the Lincoln Blackwood has been considered as another version of the Ford F-150 Crew Cab pickup truck. The difference, though, between the two is that the Lincoln Blackwood is trimmed and accessorized with luxury. During its one year lifespan, the Lincoln Blackwood was made available with a black exterior and a black interior. The bed of the truck was made over to serve as a trunk. This was done so by adding in a power tonneau and plush carpeting. As per the exterior of the truck bed, it featured aluminum pinstripes over artificial burled black wood.

Mark Hutchins, the president of Lincoln Mercury was noted to state, “We were so pleased by the public’s enthusiasm for the concept Lincoln Blackwood that we knew we had to build it. The Blackwood delivers all of the emotional ‘got to have it’ appeal of the concept, and we’ll keep production limited to enhance its exclusivity and collectibility.” Adding to this, Jim Rogers, the general marketing manager for Lincoln Mercury, stated, “The Lincoln Blackwood is American Luxury because it breaks all the rules about luxury vehicles. It completely erases the lines between luxury cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks. Probably the best word to describe the Blackwood is fun - fun to drive and fun to be seen driving.”

However, come this year, the Ford Motor Company has decided to revive and bring back the Lincoln Blackwood. The 2006 model has been introduced in one trim level only which is the Luxury Utility Vehicle. It sports four doors and has the ability to take in four passengers at the maximum. This luxury pickup has found its competition through the Cadillac Escalade EXT and the GMC Sierra Denali. This new vehicle comes equipped with a 5.4 liter V8 engine that can produce 300 horsepower. It can achieve 12 mpg in the city and some 17 mpg on highway driving. Standard for this model is a four speed automatic transmission with overdrive.

The new 2006 Lincoln Blackwood provides great space and plenty of room for passengers. It offers many refinements and a creak-free body. This vehicle also provides users a sense of security and gives them peace of mind as with regards to purchasing the right vehicle. Performance of the 2006 Lincoln Blackwood is a far cry from its predecessor with its new and exciting features. This new vehicle shares its design with the Lincoln Navigator, and sports complex-reflector headlamps, chromed door handles, side mirrors, and fuel-filler door, as well as fog lamps and tail lights that stand out against the deep black paint.

http://www.landrparts.com manufactures and sells auto parts and accessories for Lincoln vehicles. Lincoln Parts and Car Parts strives to be the ultimate source for excellent and quality performance body parts and accessories. This online store’s product line up for Lincoln vehicles include drive belts, air intake, brakes, and a variety of additional upgrades that compliment the car. Interested parties can visit their site and browse all of the store’s top of the line Lincoln parts. All Lincoln parts are new and guaranteed to fit.

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Mobile Carwash Promotions and Tips

Writen by Lance Winslow

It seems kind of silly to be talking about promotions for a mobile car wash business, especially since there are more cars than people in our country. God made dirt on the second day, as he made the heavens and then the Earth. Of course smart thinking for him and very opportunistic for you he made the damn thing out of dirt? Wonderful as it gets on everyone’s cars. As a mobile carwash owner, you are thinking; Right On! God is cool business partner indeed.

So then, why would anyone car to want to attract more customers when everyone is automatically a potential customer since they own a car? Even homeless people could use a good stray down once in a while along with that stolen shopping cart? Here is the thing, you need to create excitement so that every time you stop your mobile car wash rig people want the service. Not just a few people everyone on the lot. So you need exciting newsworthy stuff. The more cars you do in one place the more efficient you will be and the more money per hour you will make because you are not driving in traffic wasting your time on your way to your next stop. Think about that for a minute. Now here are some exciting things you can do to build awareness and bring fun to your business and secure greater concentrations of good paying customers.

Volunteer to wash that mayor’s car before it enters the big Christmas parade. Get footage and pictures. Alert the media.

At a big sporting event, volunteer to give a month’s worth of car washing as a runner up prize for the raffle.

Charity Bingo Games; offer to wash cars for participants or as a prize for winning one of the Bingo games.

Chamber of Commerce Breakfast; make an announcement in front of the whole group that you will give a free car wash to anyone who makes a five dollar donation to the group this morning.

Policeman’s Ball; Wash all the cars. Go to a major league sporting event and wash all of the V.I.P. section cars.

Let’s face it. Nobody will turn down a free car wash and the publicity is all yours. Remember - it only costs you about $ .52 to wash a car including labor, so you can wash 100 cars for $52.00 of variable costs, not including overhead. You should be able to get at least a minimum of five new weekly customers at $7.50 per week out of 100 free car washes. That’s only five percent: $7.50 Revenue Per Customer X 5 New Customers is $ 37.50 Total Revenue Per Week X 4 Weeks Per Month is $150.00 Total Revenue The First Month. So your promotional costs exceed what you could expect an advertisement to pull. Monetarily speaking you will receive three times your money back in one month plus you will gain credibility, good community standing, etc. Not to mention five new customers with a potential yearly gross of $1,950. So if you want to increase you gross income by $2,000 per year simply throw and event. $20,000 per year plan ten events over a ten week period. $200,000 then plan 100 events over lets say a 2-year period. It is not going to be easy by any means and you still have to do the work, maintain the equipment and hire additional help, but promotional event publicity makes a lot of sense really; think about it. We already did.

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Pssst: Wanna (not) Buy a Stolen Car?

Writen by Michael Trusthold

Would you buy a used car–with cash–from someone you just
met in the bar, and who walked you down a dark alley to show
you the car? Not likely. How about from a well-dressed,
friendly, middle-aged man or woman, who placed a classified
ad in your local newspaper, and who meets you midday at a
restaurant of your choice?

Oops! You may be more likely to be cheated by seller number two. That’s the story of Jennifer Warwa, who bought a minivan and had her mechanic examine it. The mechanic later said how shocked he was that Jennifer had been scammed:

“Because I met the gentleman who was selling the vehicle.
Very clean cut. In his fifties. Very soft spoken…. And he
went with her to get it inspected. There was just no sign
that was the kind of person he was” the mechanic told CBC’s
Marketplace.

A few months later, Jennifer got a phone call from the
police. They said she had purchased a stolen minivan, and
they were coming to seize it. She was so upset, she tried
to hide the van from the police. Eventually they caught up
with her and she ended up paying for a year and a half for a
$5,000 bank loan on a van she could not drive. Ouch!

Jennifer was just one victim in the chain that included the
original owner, the insurance company, other consumers whose
insurance rates keep rising, and the police, who spend
thousands of hours tracking thefts. According to the FBI, a
vehicle is stolen about every 25 seconds in the USA,
amounting to an $8 billion yearly problem.

Here’s how these scams often work. Thieves target
particular cars: for their value, their ease of resale as a
whole or in parts, or because they are easier to steal.
Years ago, most cars were stripped for parts, including
unusual parts such as airbags. But today some thieves are
so brash they sell cars through newspapers.

This newer scam is called “VIN cloning”, because the Vehicle
Identification Number is stolen from another car. Criminals
obtain VINs by copying them from the dash of cars in parking
lots–even at dealerships. Some even physically remove the
VIN plate from vehicles in auto salvage yards that allow
customers to “pick your own parts.” (They do not mean that
literally!) The number is used to falsely obtain new
ownership documents, or documents are forged. Either way, a
cloned VIN allows them to transform stolen cars into pseudo-
legal vehicles that can be officially titled and sold. Many
thieves work across state lines: cars may be stolen in the
East, registered in the Mid-West, then sold in California.
Scary!

Here’s what you can do to avoid buying a stolen car:

** Check the VIN on the dash against the VIN in the driver’s
door jamb, under the hood, and on the paperwork

** Use the VIN to get the car’s history at carfax.com for
about $20

** Ensure title and registration documents match the name
and address of the seller

** Is the car from out of state?

** Be suspicious if you must meet a private seller in a
parking lot. Better to see that they live at the address
where the car is registered

** Has the vehicle recently been transferred?

** Does the seller use a home or work phone number, or just
a cell?

** Is the selling price oddly low?

** Be warned that some used car dealers are getting scammed,
too

** Pay by certified cheque or money order, not cash.

Keep in mind that most private sellers are not thieves, but
rather honest, regular folks like you. And prices do tend
to be lower with private sales. So if you follow my advice,
you can greatly improve your chances of driving away with a
“genuine” used car.

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