Ford plans to kill the Mercury brand slowly by starving it of product

The Mercury brand will die a slow death, according to an Automotive News report that cited two sources. Ford Motor Co. supposedly wants to eliminate the 71-year-old brand in a manner that will be disclosed in detail to the board of directors in July.

The sources say that Ford is no longer able to defend the cost of supporting Mercury in view of the brand’s declining volume. Of course, Ford didn’t come up with this plan overnight. In fact, Ford has been planning Mercury’s departure for years. Decades ago, Lincoln dealers were urged to include Mercury franchises so that they can have the volume required to survive
Read Article

freeagent - 6/2/2010 4:41:45 PM

0 Boost

bad strategy. a slow death is worse for everyone than a quick closure and focus on the remaining brand. who is going to buy mercury cars for the next few years?

pushrod27 - 6/2/2010 5:21:10 PM

+2 Boost

since it is pretty common knowledge (even among people who don't know a lot about cars) that Mercury cars are based on Fords, I think they will be able to find more than a few takers for deeply discounted Milan and Mariner models. Think about it: if you are in the market for an Escape or a Fusion, you could actually get the better equipped Mercury version for less money. You can have it serviced at Lincoln/Ford dealers, so aside from driving a Mariner or a Milan, I don't see the downside to buying soon to be defunct Mercury, from a consumer's perspective.

rubenkincaid - 6/2/2010 6:43:44 PM

+6 Boost

Pull the plug.

Joe_Limon - 6/3/2010 12:27:32 AM

+5 Boost

lol $21k, the fiesta starts at $13k. Let's do a proper comparison...

4door Accent
$13,645
110hp
27/36mpg
4door Fiesta
$13,320
119hp
29/38mpg

TauronB2G - 6/2/2010 11:42:15 PM

+2 Boost

Ford killed Mercury years ago. THey have been starving them of fresh, good products, technology and advertising for more than a few years.
Alan Mulally kept Ford out of Bankruptcy by selling things not by selling new and innovative products. I personally think this is a poor move. I think they should have nurtured and buuilt on Mercury.
T

asternmadkatz - 6/3/2010 9:36:46 AM

+2 Boost

I think it's pretty funny that Ford NOW thinks it is a good time to kill off Mercury.

It's bad enough that Lincoln is MOSTLY rebadged fords with leather seats, there was no room for Mercury in Fords line-up.

Ah well. Maybe they should just sell the name and rights for a dollar. Probably not even worth that.