Sad Day for Mercury

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. will discontinue its 71-year-old Mercury brand and end production of vehicles in the fourth quarter, Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said today.

Fields also announced plans to expand the Lincoln lineup with seven new or refreshed vehicles in the next four years.

Ford product development chief Derrick Kuzak said a new compact car will be developed for Lincoln. The car will be based on the same platform that the 2011 Ford Focus sits on, but it will be designed and engineered specifically for Lincoln, he said.

The final decision to kill Mercury was made this week and approved by Ford's board today, Fields said.

A total of 1,712 dealerships sell the Mercury brand in the United States, but there are no stand-alone Mercury stores. Among the Mercury stores, 511 also have Ford franchises and 276 are combined with Lincoln franchises and 925 are dualed with both Ford and Lincoln franchises.

Some of the 276 Lincoln-Mercury dealerships are in markets that cannot support a stand-alone Lincoln store, Fields said. He said Ford will work with those stores, helping them to either get a Ford franchise or consolidating their Lincoln franchise with a Ford store.

Mercury dealers will all receive packets tomorrow morning outlining Ford's transition plan for the brand and outlining monetary compensation for their store based on a formula Ford has developed, Fields said.

Sources previously confirmed that Ford executives planned to propose to the board in July that Mercury be wound down by slowly starving it of product and marketing funds.

Mercury sales fell 74 percent from 2000 through 2009 and dropped 11 percent in May. "Sales had sunk too low to keep Mercury around," said John Wolkonowicz, an auto analyst with IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Mass. "The volumes are now probably too small for it to be profitable."

Mercury joins the ranks of other departed Detroit brands, such as Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn and Plymouth. Edsel Ford, son of founder Henry Ford, established Mercury during the Great Depression as a mid-priced alternative to mainstream Ford and upscale Lincoln.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...#ixzz0pjVtrCv1

While it's sad to see any of the car brands we grew up with go by the wayside, let's face it, Mercury today isn't the Mercury of old. Back in the day we all knew every make and model on sight, but today every car looks pretty much like every other car. I have to look at the badges to see if it is one I recognize, and even then there are some I have no idea what they are.

The car business has changed so much. Remember when we couldn't wait for the new year models to arrive every fall? It was like a celebrity appearance when they did and we all rushed down to see them. I worked at a Ford dealership in 63-64 and when the trucks rolled in with the new Mustangs it was almost a riot, people pushing and shoving to get a better look and to buy one. Now cars are like toasters, or vcrs...............very bland.

As for the Mercury brand, I can't remember the last good one......maybe the Marauder.

Don

Hate to agree - they are not what they once were. Friend of my father had a late '60's Marauder with dual quads and that thing would really cook.

Wife has a 2004 Mercury Mountaineer - would not buy another based on our experience.

Still - I hate to see imports and "Obama Motors" become the only options. I understand the Ford division is still strong and I certainly have been well served with a 2002 Expedition - 185K miles and running strong.

The last GREAT Merc was made in 1951. (IMO)

They will probably stop selling them for a couple year and then bring them back as a
noveltie. That way they can charge twice as much for it, like GM did.
All about the sales gimmic.
Kurt

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruce lee

The last GREAT Merc was made in 1951. (IMO)

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I always wanted a 49 to 51 almost had a restored 50 about 12 years ago but I couldn't keep my excitement contained until the deal was done. I was telling the guy how nice the car was and how I had seen ones not as nice going for more and so on. The only reason he was selling the car was because the big chain auto stores were putting a hurt on his owner-operated store. Anyway he backed out and I lost out, $20,000 today it would be worth $50,000

I did get the next best thing to a 49 to 51 imo that is a 54.

Attachment 43879

Richard

Mercury has not been sold in Canada since '99 or '00.. and aside from being a diffrent company, it evolved into an up scale trim line of Ford.. Mountianeer, just an explorer, Milan is just a Fusion, Sable was a Taurus from the start.. all of these are better optioned vehicles, but theres no point. just make an upgrade trim line on the Ford.... a while ago I had a '94 Ford Tempo that started having problems. I looked at a '94 Topaz because I knew they were the same car and I had just put all new tires on my car a few months earlier.. same color, same engine, same everything. the diffrence, was a very slight revision to the roof, and power everything instead of power locks and manual windows

My first car was a '51 Merc tudor, of course then it was just a cheap, old car, not an icon.

My second car was a Pontiac. Later I had an Olds. Used to have Hudsons too. A few years back I had a Plymouth. I think there's part of a pattern here!:eek:

The slashing of Mercury has been in discussion for probably a decade or so, it seems like they gave it all the chance they could. A leaner, "meaner" Ford Motor Company is probably a good thing.

Had this very same red car in '66. Drove it for a couple of years, then my dad bought it from me. 260 V8/Auto. What a little sweetheart to drive. Only Mercury I ever owned.
http://webspace.webring.com/people/v...63/63side2.jpg

Hate to see the name go but their cars have sucked for quite a while. You have to go clear back to the 70s to find a slightly cool Mercury.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ford2custom

I did get the next best thing to a 49 to 51 imo that is a 54.

Attachment 43879

Richard

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I had one like that in green, only it was a Monarch (Canadian version of the Merc.)

Not long ago Rod and Custom did a feature on a really nice 54. Some guys are partial to a particular make or model but I like just about all Rods and Customs.

Richard

I think what peeves me off so much with the car companies, is that I have to buy stuff I don't want.( i.e. Package 1, Package 2, ect.) If I want cruise control, I have to buy it in the package with the aluminum wheels and heated Butt cushions. They need to let you order stuff the way you want it. I don't need 500.00 electronic navigation, I can read a 3.00 map. I don't need airbags, I married one, and if the Mother in Law comes along, I have dual airbags. I don't need heated windows, I own a ice scraper. I don't need 4 DVD moniters at 300 a pop for the kiddies to watch, I'll buy them dollar coloring books (throw in 50 cents for crayons). And the killer.... I don't need 150 mph rated tires, I only do 70 max. All I need is a heater, lights, and wipers.

They claim that new vehicles are user friendly. Well, maybe to the driver, but if you have to work on it, because you can't afford 90.00 an hour service at a dealer, you are screwed. Make it so we can fix them, and back the warranty time off to a year or two to bring costs down.

Don't get me wrong, I know alot of what manufacturers have to do under the hood is not their fault, it is standards set by the Gov't, and they need to stay out of it.

I feel your pain, Diesel

The automobile industry, for the most part, stopped listening to the consumer a long time ago. With the exception of Ford Motor Company, all took government bailout money to stay alive. The reason they were dying is because they were not making enough of what consumers were willing to buy (hence the demise of Mercury as no one is buying them) - couple that with bloated salaries for the executives and union demands for increased wages and benefits and the model becomes totally unsustainable. The “packages” were one of Detroit’s ideas to recoup some of the loss. By combining cruise control with heated seats, electric mirrors and sound absorbing carpet the automobile manufacturers could increase their margins and oh by the way, you need to have leather seats to get heated seats and the sound absorbing carpet only comes with premium six CD audio with Bose speakers.

One of the reasons that Ford has done better that GM or Chrysler is that they are a great truck company that happened to be the first to market with the snappy “retro” in their Mustang. When the “new” Mustang GT was introduced you could go to your local Ford dealer and buy a car that had some get-up-and-go, nice appointments and remind the 50 plus generation of our youth for less than $30,000. Now that was innovation. The other two came late to the party and needed to charge more, etc, etc.. I’m not going to debate the Mustang versus the Camaro or the Challenger, but Ford had a five year jump and it proved very successful.

I’d like to think that car manufacturer’s will come back to a consumer driven commodity but I can’t believe we’ll ever be able to again go into a dealer and “check boxes” like the “good old days”… It’s just not feasible – especially with government mandates on fuel standards and the “politically correct” thinking that wants to eliminate gasoline powered cars altogether and have us become a nation of Prius and Honda hybrid drivers.

On the bright side – cars are safer, more comfortable, more fuel efficient and typically last a lot longer than they used to. That 90 bucks an hour is a real bite – but if I can drive my cars 250,000 miles and not see that mechanic very often it’s not so bad.

But hey – that’s why we build hot rods, eh?

Regards All,
Glenn

With the "retro' Mustang being a top seller,maybe Ford is missing the boat.Dump all the Mercury models and bring out a "retro" Merc based on the '51 sedan powered by the new 5.0.,Horsepower and style for Dad and room for the family don't sound too bad!

That sounds good and it would be priced less then a custom 1951 with all of the amenities. It would have to have a chopped top for sure.

Richard

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JeffB2

With the "retro' Mustang being a top seller,maybe Ford is missing the boat.Dump all the Mercury models and bring out a "retro" Merc based on the '51 sedan powered by the new 5.0.,Horsepower and style for Dad and room for the family don't sound too bad!

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Something along the lines of the 49er 2001 concept car?

Has it really been that long ago? I have all of the pictures in my old computer of that car.


Richard