Posted on 05/28/2010 6:53:31 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Mercury could soon be the latest Detroit car brand to disappear.
Ford Motor Co. is assessing the future of Mercury, although a final decision on whether to kill the brand hasn't yet been made, a person familiar with the company's deliberations said Thursday. The person asked not to be named because the process is ongoing.
During a trip to Washington to meet with lawmakers, Ford CEO Alan Mulally declined to discuss Mercury, saying the company has nothing new to announce. He added that Ford is continually reviewing all its brands.
Several Lincoln-Mercury dealers contacted Thursday evening said they hadn't heard that Mercury could be discontinued. The news was first reported by Bloomberg News, citing unnamed sources.
The fate of the 72-year-old Mercury brand has long been in question. The brand, conceived as a mid-range brand between the no-frills Ford brand and the luxury Lincoln brand, saw its peak sales in 1978 at more than 580,000 vehicles but has been in decline ever since. Ford sold 92,000 Mercurys last year.
"It's a brand that has really lost its relevance to the American consumer," said James Bell, an executive market analyst with Kelley Blue Book.
Bell said that since Mulally took over Ford's restructuring in 2006, Mercury seemed to be the one undecided issue, getting little attention even as the company remade the Ford and Lincoln brands and shed noncore brands such as Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover. Mercury never got a twin of the hot-selling Ford Edge crossover or the Ford Focus compact car, for example.
"It's the one thing at Ford that hasn't been decided cleanly and done the right way," Bell said. "It seemed to be this little void that was sitting off in the corner."
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearmarkets.com ...
I didn’t even know they still made Mercurys.
The best car Mercury ever made was the ‘49, ‘50’ and ‘51 Merc Coups. Great hotrods could be developed from them when our parents got done with them.
I’m really surprised that Mercury has survived as a separate brand for as long as it has. It hasn’t had a reason to exist for decades now.
Let it go.
unions and mismanagement destroyed the competitiveness
of the american auto industry.
I’ve never understood why automakers cloned their own cars, changed a little trim and gave the clone a new name. Chevy/GMC Ford/Mercury, Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge.
Years ago, they were very different cars and trucks, but they evolved into little more than trim difference.
My dad owned the German made Mercury Capri during the 1970s. Fun little car.
This can’t stand. We can’t lose the Mecury spokesperson.
I would add the 67 Cougar to that list. Beautiful car.
They can buy here some additional jewelery and let her hock Lincolns. :)
I’m suprised that the EPA didn’t demand that Ford stop producing and selling the Mercury many years ago because everyone knows how dangerous to the environment mercury is. Except of course when it is used in compact floresent light bulbs that Congress has mandated everyone buy.
That sales ratio is about what I would expect, given the vastly larger number of Ford dealerships.
My kids always wanted one of those. I told them to get a job so they could buy one.
Here, here!! Thank you. I have a cherry '67 Cougar sitting in my driveway. The Mustangs prettier sister.
Obviously, you are younger than I am. I always leaned more to the fat fenders. That would be pre-60’s.
didn’t even know they still made Mercurys.
Me either. Shocker.
As long as they still sell Ford Trucks and there are still Dirty Jobs, I’ll be fine.;-)
My bro bought a Corsa Convert and I went Dodge after that, then bought the Marauder after coming home from the Navy. I ended up married and traded for a '73 Olds wagon. It was a bigger boat, like this one...
(my ex- wife threw away all of my early pics. Thank God I have digital, now, with remote storage...)
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