The free services include vehicle inspections, oil changes, tire rotations, belts and hoses, and wear and tear items like brake pads and wiper blades.

In an announcement to the press, Ken Czubay, Ford Motor Company’s vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service said, “Our commitment is to further grow the Lincoln brand and offer our luxury customers the premium experience they deserve and expect. Our free scheduled maintenance offer marks only the first step in our plans to further upgrade the Lincoln experience.”

After this summer’s sales event, Lincoln plans to add it’s first ever C-segment vehicles – an array of brand-exclusive powertrains which include new transmissions and an all-new V6 engine. The Lincoln line is also planning to add EcoBoost engines across the board, which would include the first use of such an engine in a full-sized Ford or Lincoln SUV.

Figures from ADESA Auction, Inc. show that the average used vehicle in March, 2010 was 7 percent higher than the average price in March 2009, and 4 percent higher than it was two months ago. The average price, in dollars, was $10,549.

According to an article in Automotive News, the Manheim Used Vehicle Value also improved in March, increasing 13 percent over March 2009’s index of 106.1, to 119.9, which is also an improvement over February 2010’s index of 118.1.

Manheim’s chief economist, Tom Webb, said that the March prices were higher than he expected. Typically, he explained, every $1,000 in incentives on a new vehicle reduces the price of a used, currend model year version of the same vehicle by roughly $750, but because inventories of new vehicles are fairly low, used vehicle prices are staying high. “To the extent that dealers are not pushing new vehicles at the expense of used, you can keep both prices up,” Webb said on Wednesday, in a conference call with analysts and reporters.

Prices in March, Webb added, were improved by the low supply of recent-model used vehicle, and increased retail demand thanks to larger than usual tax refunds. In addition, there is an improving labor market, and credit availability, which also helped. Webb also said values of used Toyotas did not increase as much as their competitors, but they also didn’t decline, this despite near-record incentive spending by the troubled Japanese automaker.

Overall, sales of new vehicles were improved 24% over March of last year.

Granted, the Lexus line has not suffered from the braking and acceleration issues present on models branded directly with the Toyota name, but what really gives pause here is the message the selection sends in the middle of a recession with unemployment hovering around 10% nationally and exceeding that figure regionally and by socioeconomic class. The LS 460L has an MSRP of $76,572.

Sure, it’s a great vehicle, scoring 99 out of 100 on the survey’s rating scale. Sure, the description on the survey page talks about a luxury sedan that “pampers passengers with a comfortable ride and luxurious driving environment.” Sure, you can get a spiffy, optional self-parking system. Yeah, it has a 380hp V8 and gets 21 miles to the gallon overall. Oh, and there’s a hybrid version.

But the truth of the matter?

The vast majority of Americans will probably never be able to afford a car like this again — if they ever could. This is a best overall pick that speaks to the bygone days of credit fueled excess that landed us where we are — in national and international financial hot water. Is this really the best message to send to Americans who just want a reliable, fuel-efficient, affordable car?

Yes, you can drill down through the list and find that the Hyundai Elantra SE at $18,695 was named the top Small Sedan, but clearly reviewers still have their eyes on luxury in a land of famine. Shame on you, Consumer Reports. Stick the Lexus models over in the pie-in-the-sky dreamer list where they belong and find a car all of us can realistically hope to own. Showcase that car and you encourage carmakers to put their creativity and their excellence where it solidly belongs — in cars that operate cleanly and efficiently and are affordable.

The problem is that – so far – more than 1,500 car dealerships have said they intend to seek reinstatement through arbitration – and that number is three times the number expected by the American Arbitration Association, the organization tasked with overseeing the program.

While the association says everything is under control, and is planning ways to streamline the process, it’s likely that there will be clogs in states with high numbers of filings, like Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.

Attorneys representing dealers, many of whom have worked with the arbitration association on other cases, have much greater concern.

Mike Charapp, an attorney in McLean, VA, who represents more than twenty arbitration clients told reporters, “You’re going to be putting lots of cases through very small pipelines in a compressed time period. I’m concerned there could be delays and roadblocks.”

Charapp, who acts as a consultant to state dealer groups, also said that he’s worried there may not be enough case managers to process the number of intended filings, or enough arbitrators in each state to actually decide each case. In an interview, he said that he’d recently file two arbitration notices, and had still not received case numbers for them eight days later.

“Quite clearly, they’re struggling with processing at headquarters,” he said. “I am concerned that AAA does not have a real appreciation for the seriousness of these cases.”

But other lawyers are not having the same issues. Attorney Leonard Bellavia of Mineola, NY, who has also served as an arbitrator, said the association sent him a spreadsheet with all the necessary information for the 38 notices he’d filed. On the other hand, lawyer Leonard Bellavia said the association sent him a spreadsheet with all relevant filing information in response to the 38 arbitration notices he filed for clients.

“I was impressed,” Bellavia said. “I think AAA will administer these cases without a hitch. They run their operation like a business.”

The arbitration association was charged with the task of overseeing reinstatement cases in a law signed by President Obama last December. By the January 25 deadline, over half of the 2,789 eligible dealerships had given notice of their intent to seek reinstatement. Included among them are 409 of the 789 Chrysler showrooms that were forced to close.

Industry analysts are comparing the overwhelming response to this program to last year’s cash for clunkers plan, which gave rebates to customers who traded in used cars for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100201/RETAIL07/302019921/1400#ixzz0eGHgQz4v