This is The Morning Shift, our one-stop daily roundup of all the auto news that's actually important — all in one place at 9:00 AM. Or, you could spend all day waiting for other sites to parse it out to you one story at a time. Isn't your time more important?
1st Gear: The Ford Fusion Is Selling Like Crazy
The Lincoln MKZ is based on the Ford Fusion. It isn't selling all that great. The Ford Fusion is based on the Ford Fusion. They can't keep it in stock, especially on the coasts.
In fact, Ford can't build enough cars to keep up with demand for the sexy midsizer. You might think that's a good problem to have, but it's actually a pretty bad one. If they can't meet the demand, they'll lose buyers to cars like the new Honda Accord.
Ford has about 39 days worth of inventory of the Fusion, which is 21 days short of a healthy supply.
2nd Gear: Lincoln Will Get More Models
You might be surprised to learn that Lincoln has a number of models that aren't the new MKZ. Of course, you don't hear about them. Ever.
That's because they're kind of dated and aren't selling. At all. Ford knows this, and they're setting out to add more cars to Lincoln's product mix. First should probably be the MKC crossover that we saw at Detroit earlier this year. There is also talk of a smaller sedan to go on sale in the near future.
But why aren't they talking about a rear-drive mid-size sedan? Mustang platform, suicide rear doors, and call it the Continental. BOOM, that would be the next great American luxury car.
3rd Gear: The Car is The Next Great Tech Platform
GM CEO Dan Akerson just called the car the next proving ground for technology, especially communications tech.
People spend an average of 16 hours a week in their cars, so intuitive and non-distracting smartphone integration in new cars is a move that needs to be made for cars to be successful in the future.
Akerson then went on to make a joke about cars having better battery life than an iPhone.
4th Gear: Volkswagen Celebrates 100 Billio... I Mean 30 Millionth... Golf
The VW Golf is one of the best selling cars of all time. And now they've sold their 30 millionth model of the car since it went on sale in 1974. And even though Americans aren't the number one hatchback fans, that hasn't stopped the car from becoming a global hit in countries that don't share our prejudice against little hatches.
The 30 millionth Golf is a Mark VII TDI BlueMotion, which is the most economical version of the car currently made.
Congrats VW.
5th Gear: Here Is How To Get A Ride In The McLaren P1
The McLaren P1 will be going up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this summer. McLaren wants you to come along. That's right dear reader, you.
All you have to do is go here to enter, and then you could be one of the lucky few to take a ride in the P1. And not a slow ride either, but a fast ride up a crazy driveway with a skilled driver. It sounds like a dream come true.
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In one of the most memorable scenes in the film "The Bourne Identity," released on this day in 2002, the amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) drives a vintage Austin Mini Cooper through the traffic-heavy streets of Paris to evade his police and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) pursuers.
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What does Lincoln need to be a success again? I suggested a car above, but what do you think? Give us your ideas below.