Remember all those stories about Mercury's impending death? Well, not much has changed as the brand has been limping along with a shriveling lineup for quite some time.
But don't worry Mercury fans, your ship has finally come in, and it's called the 2011 Mercury Tracer. At least that's the word out of Ford's dealer meeting over the weekend.
It will be based on the same platform as the new 2011 Ford Focus which also arrives next year. How different it will be from the Focus wasn't discussed, but past experience says they'll be almost identical.
We can only hope that Mercury has more in the pipeline than a rehashed Focus with a name like Tracer. If not, Mercury is indeed dead, and not too many people will be surprised.
zoomzoomn says:
05:06 AM, 02/15/10
Ok, I had a Tracer wagon back in the early 90's. I bought it over it's Escort sister because, for $230 more, it had better interior trim and exterior trim. Today, though, I don't think that is enough. If Ford really wants Mercury to thrive then they need to develope a few models exclusively for them. Even if they are based on Ford-like platforms, they need to be absolutely distinctive to Mercury and not just a trim and badge tweak.
dg0472 says:
07:06 AM, 02/15/10
Could you really ONLY find a picture of an older Tracer with a handicapped tag in a handicapped space or were you trying to make a point?
redliner says:
09:40 AM, 02/15/10
I was looking at Escape Hybrids vs. Mariner Hybrids, and I couldn't help but notice that the trim options seemed better on the Mercury. Perhaps ford could offer Mercury as a trim upgrade package. For example, the Ford Focus, Mercury Edition with fancy trim and a nicer grill. (oh, wait. That's basically what they do already)
thejohnp says:
11:32 AM, 02/15/10
Wait a minute, a Mercury vehicle without an alliterative "M" moniker? Who approved that?
brn says:
01:57 PM, 02/15/10
thejohnp, it was a typo. It's supposed to be called the Mercury Macer.