Mercury will play major roll in Ford’s shift to small cars

Mercury will play major roll in Ford’s shift to small cars
Ford is expected to make some significant announcements along with its quarterly results this Friday. Along with the announcement of retooling U.S. plants to produce its European models, The New York Times reports that Ford will also announce a drastic shift to build more small cars.

According to sources, FoMoCo will announce that it will completely convert three of its North American plants from trucks to cars. Ford will also realign factories to produce more fuel-efficient engines and will produce six of its next European cars for the U.S. market.

The New York Times also reported...
Read Article

HantraHantra - 7/22/2008 4:33:11 PM
+2 Boost
Errr. . . I thought Mercury was done. Wasn't it here at Autospies that they said there were no plans to build any Mercury cars after the next couple years?


t_bonet_bone - 7/22/2008 6:04:08 PM
+1 Boost
It's weird. I could have sworn either Mercury or Lincoln was shut down a few years ago, but they are both still going.


AudiphileAudiphile - 7/22/2008 4:46:55 PM
+1 Boost
I read the entire article, and a corollary article linked to it. Nowhere did Ford management explain how Mercury will be part of their small-car efforts. The thought cloud in the photo suggesting that Mercury could become Ford's Scion was cute, however.

My advice - drop the redundant Mercury marque, and sell Ford and Lincoln models under one roof. GM dropped Oldsmobile and Chrysler dropped Plymouth without the world coming to an end. Who knows, we might get rid of "badge engineering" altogether!


w209w114w209w114 - 7/22/2008 5:00:01 PM
+2 Boost
Title Correction: ROLL = ROLE


no1listensanywayno1listensanyway - 7/22/2008 6:42:26 PM
+2 Boost
This economy is the perfect excuse to dump Mercury, these American companies will never learn. On the next economic upswing, Mercury will continue to struggle, while Ford continues to dump money into it. That money should be allocated for Lincoln, so that it can truely compete in the luxury market.


CanadaCraigCanadaCraig - 7/23/2008 4:56:22 AM
+1 Boost
Just as Chrysler [DaimlerChrysler] should NEVER have dumped Plymouth - Ford should NEVER dump Mercury. Mercury could be [Just as Plymouth would have been] perfect for the new American econo-car class of cars.
Craig!! :o)


WhelanWhelan - 7/23/2008 10:49:12 AM
+1 Boost
Why not just ditch Mercury and create a small brand like Scion then? Open a Ford/(insert name here) dealer. Then put your money into Lincoln. Scion means descendant or heir anyways.

You wouldn't even have to come up with another name, just make it the small division and name every car the same letter. Your lineup would be like the Ka, Kg, Kx, etc. That way you can see they are in the same family.


WhelanWhelan - 7/23/2008 10:49:46 AM
+1 Boost
Sorry let me add...they can utilize the same engines and frames and just have different shapes, very similar to Scion who pretty much does that exact thing.


AudiphileAudiphile - 7/24/2008 10:39:13 AM
+1 Boost
From the very start (1939) Mercury was supposed to be Ford's "mid-level" car, higher in cachet than Ford but lower than Lincoln. Unfortunately, it has failed in that regard. Most people accurately consider it nothing more than a Ford with a different badge and grille.

I have yet to figure out the logic behind Toyota's Scion marque. I believe that Toyota wanted to market the Scion to young people who couldn't afford a brand-new Toyota, i.e. they would rather have them buy a new Scion than a used Toyota. But isn't that the same market the Toyota Yaris is aiming for? Go figure.

Thus I can't see the logic behind relaunching the Mercury as a Scion clone.
Copyright 2026 AutoSpies.com, LLC