BREAKING: Insiders Say Mercury Closed by 2014

It may have been able to smoke the tires, but my Grand Cherokee could beat it to 60.

I like Ford, but Mercury should have been killed long ago. they put absolutely no money into it. It had nothing of its own, everything was rebadged. Not to mention the rebadges were pretty uneventful.

I hope this means they put even that much more effort and money into making Lincoln a higher-end badge.

No surprise. The timing makes sense as Lincoln should have a samll suv to replace the Mariner and probably a Explorer version also. My question is will we see more Ford/lincoln stores?

At long last....Mercury hasn't even been on the radar for the longest time. They shoulda pulled the plug years ago.

Mercury was Ford's Buick.

Interesting to see Buick get new legs, while Mercury goes into a death spiral. It's probably a sign that there's only room in the marketplace for one American brand that seniors can relate to, as that audience too is dying.

Bob

Assuming the rumors of it's demise are true, I'm sorry to see Mercury go.

"I like Ford, but Mercury should have been killed long ago. they put absolutely no money into it."

And yet they still apparently sold enough vehicles to justify its existence. The nice thing about rebadging is it's cheap. Still, with Ford vehicles as a whole moving more upmarket, there's no room for Mercury.

Finally.

Next Lincoln and then Chrysler....

Who DIDN'T see this one comming?

I guess with nothing new showing for the Mercury line-up, this is expected.

Ford could have used the old fox body (last gen Mustang?) and install the new V6 and top grade interior and make it a Mercury exclusive Cougar.

Since the Crown Vic is only sold through fleet, they could have upgrade the Grand Marquis and make that Mercury exclusive.

Forget the Escape Hybrid, just make it a Mariner Hybrid and that would be Mercury exclusive. Import the Ford Coupe Cabrio from UK and make it a Mercury exclusive.

And the Milan is a great alternative for those who like the Fusion but wanted a more conservative design.

But oh well...

"And yet they still apparently sold enough vehicles to justify its existence"

This from Bloomberg:
With Mercury accounting for 1.9 percent of Ford’s global sales in the first quarter, the family has decided ending it is best for the business, the people said.

Doc, pull the plug.

Aren't most Lincolns just restyled and rebadged versions of existing Fords? I mean, I can't name any of the Lincolns now that Ford has gone to numbers and letters (big mistake)

Lincoln has smaller sedans and larger sedans. Couldn't the smaller sedans be Mercurys? I believe there are Lincolns based on the Fusion and Taurus. Tell me if I am wrong.

ed, at least Lincolns are restyled! Mercuries only get grilles and lights that are different from the Ford versions. But I think what doomed the brand is that both Lincolns and Mercuries are both based on the same Ford vehicles… yet they’re sold in the same dealerships.

Good.

And GM keeps Buick around because they have room in the portfolio to reinvent the brand (and they have done so beautifully lol). And it's hugely popular in China.

No great loss.

Ford killed Mercury decades ago. No one bothered to tell the departments that make grills and badges.

Sad to see clueless businessmen lose such a unique bit of history and style.

Wonder how long before Lincoln follows. They don't have a single interesting product in their line up. When you are supposed to be a premium brand and no one dreams of owning your product someday it's time to close the doors.

Shutting down Mercury shouldn't cost many jobs. How many people does it take to make an emblem, anyway?

This move is so far overdue. I thought Pontiac would outlive Mercury. I'm shocked I called that one wrong. Then again, I'm also surprised Chrysler still exists.

Mercury should have been killed when Plymouth died in early 2000's. So as Pontiac/GMC/Buick/Saturn. Lincoln has nothing desirable. Chrysler is a ghost town. Ford, Chevy and Cadillac should be the only to stand. They offer at least very competitive models. Specially Ford. Less is more.

Ford's badge engineering at its finest. People complain about GM? At least with 99%+ of GM's badge engineered vehicles you can't easily swap out 99.9% of all body and interior panels. Mercury should've died in the 80's. Lincoln should get the axe next. That's the number one thing I HATE about Ford. It's no wonder Ford didn't need government funding to stay in business. They spend the least amount on true R&D and new vehicle development of the big three. D.O.B. for current vehicles: Crown Vic (1991), Ranger (1983), F-Series Super Duty (1999), Escape (2001), F-150 (2004), Mustang (2005), Focus (2000). If morons can't see past a few new creases in body panels, headlights, and interiors, they need to schedule an appointment at the eye doctor ASAP.

In retrospect, I think Ford should have kept Jaguar and ditched Lincoln. I had no idea they'd be doing so well.

Good riddance.

"Then again, I'm also surprised Chrysler still exists."

I think they should drop Chrysler and rename everything Dodge. I see no value to the Chrysler name. It has no luxury status, no performance status, no family status.

Dodge has the Ram, Challenger, Charger and a better history. Keep Dodge as the American brand, Jeep as Jeep and use the Italian fresh blood as the premium and Euro division.

So this means we're not seeing the "upscale" version of the Ford Fiesta: The Mercury "MIERDA"?

awww......

What was the last 'original' mercury model sold in the US? Original as in, developed and sold only for Mercury?

Capri convertible?

Wasn't that a Mazda built in Australia?

anon_imus, Cougar.

I just went to the Mercury website to see what they're even still offering, and bursted out laughing when I saw the Grand Marquis listed at nearly 30k - BASE.

You can still order a Grand Marquis with a cassette player!

brn -

Wasn't the cougar based on the Thunderbird?

I'm gonna buy me a Mercury and cruise it up and down the road.... that leads to the landfill.

smilez: No, the last version of the Cougar was a small 4/6 cyl 2 door coupe that competed (and I use that word loosely) with the Eclipse. I'm not sure what it was based on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Cougar#Eighth_generation_.281999-2002.29

The Cougar was based on the Mistique

"They spend the least amount on true R&D and new vehicle development of the big three"

Do you always talk about things you dont know about?

My bad, I forgot about that absolutely gorgeous, bmhhkhg (sorry, threw up in my mouth a little), vehicle.

It was time to let it go. Mercury R.I.P......... wait last chance....... ALAN, MAKE THE LAST MARAUDER STAND. DROP THE NEW 5.0 ON THE GRAND MARQUIS. They can mark it "the last burn out"

smilez, as bodyblue indicated, the Cougar shared the same platform as the Contour/Mystique/Mondeo/X-Type. You'd be hard pressed to call it a rebadge. It had some odd styling queues, but wasn't a bad vehicle. The 2.5L V6 winds up real nice.

Guess Ford probably won't be bringing the Mondeo to Mercury. I don't see it working as a Ford badge, maybe they'll call it a MKD and give it to Lincoln.