Well its sad to see ANOTHER American brand bite the dust....sigh...

 

Is Mercury Done? Sadly the probability is high that it is.

I have several decades of family history with Ford Motor Company. And I have zero interest in owning a Mercury, my entire family feels the same way. We would not select a Mercury over a Ford vehicle. The existing product line (as of today, 05/27/10) has no compelling advantages over Ford's offerings.

Yes, I remember stupid marketing blunders like Merkur, etc., best forgotten.

 

I don't know why GMC is still around. They do basically nothing but sell Chevy-truck/SUV-clones. There is less of a buisness case, IMO, for GMC Trucks to continue in existance than with the divisions GM already HAS dropped.

 

Valid question. Short answer tarted-up GMC vehicles are high margin/profitable. The same cannot be said for most Mercury products today.

 

The Merkur XR4Ti and Scorpio, at least in my area, was not sold at Mercury dealerships, but at Ford. They failed as much because of poor reliability (and the unfamiliarity of the Ford service people with them) as they did from poor marketing.

 

Agreed, stupid marketing, lame engineering, poor product all rolled into one. Doesn't change the fact that the marketing group was dumb when they tried to compare these cars to BMW.

Nothing like having a Pinto 4 banger with a turbo that wouldn't last 40K miles.

 

Great move. End of story.

 

Yes, if it eventually happens, the only people that will miss it are the ones that haven't bought one in 25 years.

 

I'm not sure I agree. Many of those ex-Mercury buyers, especially with the Grand Marquis, have already passed away, and won't be around to see the division go.

I'll miss it some, but mostly because of the nice memories of the Mercury Cougar/Cyclone muscle-cars and plush, quiet Marquis, Parkwood, and Colony Park luxury cars they did in the 1960's and 70s....not so much their present products. My dad, back then, after his Army retirement, worked at Philco-Ford, and would bring home all kinds of new Mercury/Lincoln products at night after work, toss me the keys (though young and still in high school, I was a safe and sensible driver and could be trusted), and let me take them out for a ride to check them out. I enjoyed the chance to drive anything on 4 wheels. (yes, those were the beginnings of my car reviews).

OK...so much for memories. Back to topic.

 

 

Regardless, another chapter ending for another American Icon. I'm so sad that so many bad decisions have led up to this despite better ones as of late. With the retooling of Ford and Lincoln products, Mercury certainly was shunned but this is the right thing to do for now. Guess the only question now is what could have been a few years down the road. I'd have loved to see a mustang based Cougar, Euro focus Tracer, and Kuga based Mariner

 

Yes, you are a good example of somebody that hasn't bought a Mercury for over 25 years, just like I mentioned.

 

Yes, there is a BIG difference between being interested in a car and actually buying one.

BTW, I bought a Merkur XR4TI when they first came out - Lost my shirt on it too.

 

I thought they were already finished ...

 

I for one will miss the grand marquis. My recently departed 89 grand marquis was one of the toughest cars i ever owned. The thing was built like a tank but the ride was softer than my LS430. NO lie!!