Ford to End Mercury Brand This Year, Expand Lincoln

businessweek ^ | June 02, 2010 | Keith Naughton

[JoeProBono]

Ford Motor Co., after selling its European brands, said it will discontinue its 71-year-old Mercury brand by the end of the year and expand its Lincoln lineup with a new small car. Ford’s board voted today to cease production of all four of Mercury’s models in the fourth quarter, Mark Fields, the automaker’s president of the Americas, told reporters. Ford will send letters to 1,712 Mercury dealers this week offering them buyouts and giving some the chance to merge the Lincoln half of their franchise with Ford showrooms, he said.

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

1970 Ford Mercury Cougar XR-7

[JoeProBono]

1955 Mercury D528 Prototype Sedan

[mnehring]

No more Jill Wagner commercials? Now that is depressing.

[al baby]

She hosts wipe out now don’t ask me how I know that

[JoeProBono]

[omega4179]

The 1950 Merc was cool but they are just re-badged Fords now.

[al baby]

And she practices good trigger safety

[guitarplayer1953]

My older brother was always talking about getting a 1940 something Merc as he called them never did get one but he did have one of those old cars that had what looked like a chrome donut on the front of it nice two door with a split front windshield.

[I_Like_Spam]

I always liked the rear windows of 1960’s era Mercurys.

They were electric and quite vertical and distinctive.

[Huskrrrr]

No more Jill Wagner commercials?”

...or Al Stewart’s “Year of the Cat.”

[martin_fierro]

TRUE DAT.

One of the finest fillys to grace a Mercury ad since ... ever.

[I_Like_Spam]

Stallone drove a 50 Merc in “Cobra”, I was impressed by its suspension when he drove it out of the 2nd floor of a parking garage and continued the chase scene.

[al baby]

I hit it

[FlingWingFlyer]

Mercury Blues

[oyez]

I was an idiot to sell that car.

[JoeProBono]

[GOP_Lady]

I have always loved looking at Lincolns.

[al baby]

He made some pretty silly movies

[GinaLolaB]

When I was younger, my mother had a classic 1964 Mercury with the breeze way back window. It had a 4 barrel, 390 super marauder engine in it. It could haul, it was sooo fast. In the summer, my brothers, and I would tell my mother to race on the main street in the city where we lived. We beat every single car there. We beat all the muscle cars of the '70's. The car was fast. I still have the car in the garage, it needs work but someday I am going to restore it to its former glory.