Mercury Gets Axed: Tragedy OR Long Overdue? What Are YOUR Mercury Memories?

Now that we know that Mercury is finally gone for good, I have been wondering if this is a tragedy or long overdue.

Usually, I look at several aspects:

1) Were there any exciting upcoming products?

2) Were there any exciting products recently?

3) How were sales?

Unfortunately it seems that Mercury was a victim of rebadging for far too long. In turn, this left the brand with no pipeline in the works. When I was discussing the topic with several other car guys last Thursday on FOX Car Report Live, we quickly realized the last original product was the early 2000s Mercury Cougar.

It wasn't bad and it wasn't all that good. It was just par.

With that said, it is clear that there were not any genuinely exciting recent products.

On top of this, sales were not blowing anyone's doors off. Granted, they were still better than Lincoln's; however, that is not saying much. Keeping in mind that Lincoln's sales are lower, does this mean that Lincoln is next on the chopping block OR is that brand going to have to move upmarket?

Additionally, what were your favorite Mercury memories?

Popular Mechanics' readers know that Ford Motor Company is on a roll with new product introductions. Our archives are filled with recent reviews of new models ranging from the B-Segment Fiesta to the XXXL F-Series Super Duty and the luxurious new Lincolns.

But auto show after auto show, something was conspicuously missing from Ford's corporate announcements: new Mercury models. For more than two years, executives deflected questions about the brand going away. On June 2, Ford announced what many thought was inevitable: Mercury is no more...

[Source: Popular Mechanics]








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Joe_Limon - 6/8/2010 2:09:50 AM

-1 Boost

My first car was a 1986 Ford Thunderbird and was glad I didn't own its rebadged cousin. My second car however was a later iteration of the rebadged cousin, a 1999 Mercury Cougar. I had a blast in that small fwd car, and it was very ahead of its time in terms of style. All in all, Mercury has been dying for decades, this was all a matter of time.

Agent001 - 6/8/2010 2:37:02 AM

+2 Boost

My Orange 1976 Capri.

And the sign of the CAT!

001

Agent00R - 6/8/2010 9:57:53 AM

-1 Boost

My only Mercury memory...

A girl I had a crush on in H.S. had a 2000 Cougar.

That about does it.

BondMI6 - 6/8/2010 3:20:43 AM

+1 Boost

My Metallic Green Mercury HotWheels car................

BondMI6 - 6/8/2010 3:21:27 AM

+1 Boost

Edit: Metallic Green Mercury Cougar HotWheel!

LACMAN - 6/8/2010 8:20:01 AM

+2 Boost

#Ivehadit. Go take a time out dude.

85bmw745i - 6/8/2010 7:24:34 AM

+3 Boost

There is really no room for mercury. With so many luxury features available on the ford models, there really wasn't anything special about Mercury. There is no longer big enough difference between ford and Lincoln to have room for mercury. Mercury used to be an upscale version of ford cars to fill the void between budget fords and luxury lincolns, but since the gap between ford and lincoln is so small, as ford has moved to add more upscale features to their models, making a mercury a step nicer would put it on the same level as a Lincoln.

HSCenterconsole - 6/8/2010 7:38:20 AM

+4 Boost

Mercury has been irrelevent for decades now. My only Mercury memories are getting stuck behind Grand Marquis driven by 80+ year olds doing 50mph in the passing lane.

LACMAN - 6/8/2010 8:21:46 AM

+1 Boost

The last Cougar and the Maurader were my only good Mercury memories. I was born in '83. *shrugs shoulders*

iamdabest1 - 6/8/2010 8:41:02 AM

+3 Boost

my parents bought 4 grand marquis in a row from 1990 to 2005... i hated it cause it was boring, and the interior was absolute garbage... they loved it cause the drive was as soft as a lexus LS but cheap as hell.

you could buy a 2 year old 30k msrp car for $12,000 and seriously, this car NEVER had any serious problems, and if something would break, it was cheap to fix.

freeagent - 6/8/2010 9:09:34 AM

0 Boost

The original Capri. Rest is forgettable and this action is long overdue. Great Mercury song by David Lindley, however.

Not sure why Ford kept Lincoln and sold Volvo (unless it was purely to build their balance sheet), but as of now Lincoln is barely more viable than Mercury.

Agent00R - 6/8/2010 9:56:03 AM

-1 Boost

If Lincoln moves more upmarket, it would make sense to keep them...

Sarcastic1 - 6/8/2010 3:00:14 PM

+1 Boost

When I was younger, my mother drove a 1992 Mercury Sable wagon. I would be less embarrassed to stand on the 50-yard line at the Super Bowl than ride in that piece. I could not be happier that it's dissolving.

It was less embarrassing, however, than the 2010 half-time show...

ThierryHenry14 - 6/8/2010 3:30:05 PM

+1 Boost

The only thing Mercury every did right (And its Credit to Ford) is put Jill Wagner as its spokesperson. She's Hot.

Audiphile - 6/8/2010 11:05:21 PM

+1 Boost

I learned how to drive in my parents' 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7 and 1966 Buick Wildcat. I have fond memories of both cars, but I digress.

Mercurys have for decades been nothing but Fords with different grilles and badges. Why bother?

Now Ford has two distinct marques - Ford for the mass market, Lincoln for the luxury market. Keep it that way. The two marques can share platforms on a few models, but badge engineering won't work in today's automotive industry. After the recent demise of Plymouth, Pontiac and Oldsmobile, you would think Detroit would have learned its lesson.

Lincoln is improving, but their product line has yet to catch up with Cadillac, Lexus, Infiniti, Audi, Mercedes, and BMW. Give them a few years, and Ford just might be able to turn Lincoln around.

rubenkincaid - 6/8/2010 11:46:10 PM

+1 Boost

In 1998, Hertz had a special deal on renting a Grand Marquis for $300 per week with unlimited mileage. It was a great highway cruiser, and with a white exterior at 80 mph in the left lane, many other drivers assumed we were cops. We held onto the car for 9 weeks and drove 14K miles around the US. Hertz didn't make any money on that car.