RE: Lynk & Co - what is it?

RE: Lynk & Co - what is it?

Author
Discussion

Pereldh

537 posts

111 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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Design & Engineering are not only LED from Gothenburg Sweden, but completely DONE in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Lots of old Volvo/Saab/Scania employees.

Ninja59

3,691 posts

111 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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All the main car is the "new" 40 series which will be on the Compact Product Architecture. Engines/elctricals from Volvo which means most of the overarching technical side is from them, the in car stuff will be based on Volvo Sensus which has an MS backend if I remember correctly, probably why many owners have seen it crash so often...

Telematics I presume is similar to the Volvo to.

The airbnb style is fine, but some insurance policies for many "consumers" exclude hire and reward...hmm.

Evilex

512 posts

103 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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Did I miss it, or was there no indication of a price-point anywhere in there?

If it's competing with Kia and Ssangyong, or even Ford and Vauxhall, then it may be a workable proposition in terms of a dealer-less business model.

It's when you move to a more premium price bracket that people want the fuss and glitz of a dealership.
Sort of works for Tesla, but they're a slightly different proposition.

IN51GHT

8,777 posts

209 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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Evilex said:
Did I miss it, or was there no indication of a price-point anywhere in there?
According to a senior Bloodhound team member who was there it will start at around £16k

forzaminardi

2,281 posts

186 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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The car itself isn't awful-looking, the front is quite attractive. Clearly it's not going to be a thrilling drive, but that's not the point. The Volvo link gives it considerable credibility as a product.

The distribution and ownership model is interesting and potentially appealing if you consider the realities of many non-PH folk.

On a marketing level, epic fail straight out of the blocks - if you have to explain that something (a brand, a name, a product) is cool, then it's not cool. Cringe indeed.

Fetchez la vache

5,568 posts

213 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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oldtimer2 said:
The direct to consumer distribution model seems a bit tricky if you are building in and shipping from China. Who do you turn to if it isn't what you ordered?
What model and options would sir like? "A big white one".

Sounds like the only difference in spec is going to be the colour. What to do when it breaks down may be the clincher.


To be fair the product looks fine. Like it or loath it, if you're creating a new brand then you're going to ignore petrol and diesel and focus on EV & hybrid at a push. They've given it an unusual yet memorable name, just not sold on the marketing BS.
Good luck to them.

kaiowas

70 posts

275 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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Are they even trying to sell them here?

Reading between the lines I get the distinct impression that they just want to create the facade of a succesful 'cool' brand in Europe, without the bother of having to sell cars here (apart from the odd one to the kind of person who wouldn't want one if they were popular anyway) with the overall goal of making the brand attractive enough that they can sell a whole pile of them back home.

It's basically Superdry (unknown British product, subtly marketed here as a successful underground Japanese brand) in car form.

j90gta

563 posts

133 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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So Geely are going to use all the technical knowledge and engineering integrity of Volvo to create a sub-brand. To date they have done a much better job of running Volvo than Ford managed to do. How many people mocked Toyota when they started Lexus and look how well respected they are now? Most motor manufacturers build SUVs because that is what the car-buying public want. If they can get the build quality and vehicle dynamics right, the biggest problem will be getting buyers to accept the whole marketing/sales concept. The internet has brought down the prices of many goods, and if this concept succeeds we will all be applauding the bringing down of car prices.

Behemoth

2,105 posts

130 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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The marketing strategy is pretty much spot on. The concept to disintermediate the dealership stranglehold is spot on. What can possibly go wrong? Quite a lot, but it's a brave move and I wish them the best of luck.

havoc

29,917 posts

234 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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Am I the only person who has genuinely NEVER thought "I need my car to have wi-fi and apps and lots of 21st Century tech to distract me from the RATHER IMPORTANT task of actually looking where I'm going!" ???

OK, I'm old (probably), and I sort-of-get the whole "interconnectedness of things" that's going on right now. But seriously - can people nowadays not disconnect from the web/net/etc. for even half an hour? Are we that afraid of the inside of our own heads?

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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havoc said:
Am I the only person who has genuinely NEVER thought "I need my car to have wi-fi and apps and lots of 21st Century tech to distract me from the RATHER IMPORTANT task of actually looking where I'm going!" ???
No.

Tuvra

7,920 posts

224 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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Front end reminds me of a Fisker:-

I don't mind it boxedin

cookie1600

2,094 posts

160 months

Monday 24th October 2016
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untakenname said:
Being a 'connected car' I wonder how well it will work out of urban areas with sporadic phone signals?
I wouldn't want to buy a first gen product from any company as you're basically a beta tester.
I'd worry more about a DDoS attack shutting down all your connectivity to the outside world. I'd like to see an AA mechanic get out of that one with your SUV pulled up on the hard shoulder refusing to go another cm forward until it's connected to the cloud or at least three passing satellites

cookie1600

2,094 posts

160 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
kaiowas said:
Are they even trying to sell them here?

Reading between the lines I get the distinct impression that they just want to create the facade of a succesful 'cool' brand in Europe, without the bother of having to sell cars here (apart from the odd one to the kind of person who wouldn't want one if they were popular anyway) with the overall goal of making the brand attractive enough that they can sell a whole pile of them back home.
Oh, you mean like MG Motors......

JohnGoodridge

529 posts

194 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
havoc said:
Am I the only person who has genuinely NEVER thought "I need my car to have wi-fi and apps and lots of 21st Century tech to distract me from the RATHER IMPORTANT task of actually looking where I'm going!" ???

OK, I'm old (probably), and I sort-of-get the whole "interconnectedness of things" that's going on right now. But seriously - can people nowadays not disconnect from the web/net/etc. for even half an hour? Are we that afraid of the inside of our own heads?
Me too. Probably not target market either then.

Car as connected device is always going to compete with car and connected device. IMHO my choice of car with CarPlay or Android Auto will be more attractive. They've obviously thought about this with the whole open access thing which may appeal to some but security is an increasing problem. Bus wifi being notoriously easy to hack on. And why would I want to give my supermarket access to my boot when I can get them to deliver it to my door?

RoverP6B

4,338 posts

127 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
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I have consulted my sons (25 and just short of 18) about this. Their answer? A chorus of "Oh, for f***k's sake!". They don't want to know. They want big old RWD barges with big old petrol engines with at least six cylinders. The younger is utterly obsessed with 8-litre Bentleys. The elder currently has a big thing for Merc W126s and W140s, as well as a guilty fetish for 3-litre Citroen XMs and Xantias, and is trying to work out the cheapest way he can find into something with a V12, while trying to persuade me that I need a Range Rover 4.4 V8, partly because he's quite keen on getting to inherit it. They also hate smartphones and have never shown the slightest interest in Playstations or xBoxes. They couldn't give a st about wifi on the go or global interconnectedness, and treat fashion with iconoclastic contempt. Elder son is often to be found either out in the countryside or in a church, working fastidiously on an old pipe organ. The younger is never happier than when stripping, cleaning and reassembling a gun as part of his CCF activities, or practicing his fencing moves.

I realise they may not be entirely typical of their generation, but I get the impression that they're not alone in being bored with 21st century life and seeking more profound, meaningful life experiences - which often means taking a trip into the past.

I do find it interesting that, to this day, the best-selling electric guitars are old Gibson and Fender designs going back 60 years or more (almost everything else being derivative of these), and the youngsters usually want a Fender, Vox or Marshall valve amplifier to plug them into. Attempts to reinvent the electric guitar and amplifier have fallen flat on their face (see the hugely unpopular introduction of motorised automatic tuners to the 2015 Gibson Les Paul range).

Could it be that, whatever middle-aged marketing execs and hipster focus groups say, we've actually reached a peak of interest in digital connectivity, and that the youth of tomorrow will push in the opposite direction? I have a feeling that the silly money being commanded today by old Porsches and 90s Nokia mobile phones may signify this becoming a dawning reality.

My sons think this may be so. I think it might possibly be bks - but we all hope not.

technodup

7,576 posts

129 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
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RoverP6B said:
I realise they may not be entirely typical of their generation,
No st.

If the PH collective don't understand it/don't want it I'd say they've got it pretty much spot on. These car companies are not marketing their wares to middle aged male driving 'enthusiasts'.

RoverP6B

4,338 posts

127 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
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technodup said:
No st.

If the PH collective don't understand it/don't want it I'd say they've got it pretty much spot on. These car companies are not marketing their wares to middle aged male driving 'enthusiasts'.
I never thought I was the target market, but my sons could well be. Instead, they're running in the opposite direction. The guitar market is interesting to observe, with the vintage stuff, once marginalised, dominant once more... and the youngsters are really getting into it. The resurgent market for pre-smart-phones also suggests there are those who don't want to be part of "the digital revolution".

technodup

7,576 posts

129 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
quotequote all
RoverP6B said:
I never thought I was the target market, but my sons could well be. Instead, they're running in the opposite direction. The guitar market is interesting to observe, with the vintage stuff, once marginalised, dominant once more... and the youngsters are really getting into it. The resurgent market for pre-smart-phones also suggests there are those who don't want to be part of "the digital revolution".
I think you're in dreamland. When any tech gets to a certain age/development stage there is a bit of 'retro' action. A handful of folk fetishise older tech as being the pinnacle, peak or whatever but actually it's just the point at which they were a certain age, associate it with childhood/teens/first gilfriend/job/whatever and have their rose tinted glasses on. The forward pace of technology isn't affected in the slightest.

Think record players, games consoles, classic cars etc. If a lot of people like them the price rises due to scarcity, but it's usually an 'as well as' rather than an 'instead of' situation.

Alternatively, if I'm wrong show me the stats for the size of the new phone market v the 'pre smart phone' market.

If you think the car market is about to go retro, remove features or go back to old tech from the 80s/90s/00s you're going to be disappointed.

cptsideways

13,535 posts

251 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
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Microsoft, connectivity, Satnav & Infotainment systems rofl possibly the WORST combination as a user you could ever come across. If you have experience of a truly awful mainstream manufacturer system I guarantee you its Microsoft in the background.

The sales system needs to be there if only to shake up the god awful current car experience.