I hope Ford is correct in their assumption that those 100k mercury sales a year will translate into Ford sales. Otherwise, that spells trouble.

 

Good comments. Like you guys, I'm not conviced, myself, that Ford and Lincoln are going to get those lost Mercury sales. Buick, most likely, going to benefit the most.

 

Yup, and with Buick going through a revival former Mercury customers are likely going to shop there. The new Regal is a nice looking alternative for former Milan customers...

 

Former Grand Marquis customers are also (likely) to gravitate to the Lucerne, as Sable customers will to the LaCrosse. Buick's current plans to do away to (possibly) do away with the Lucerne could end up being foolish, as I pointed out to the Buick people at the D.C. Auto Show.

 

The new LaCrosse is as big as the Lucerne, I believe although the LaCrosse is sportier. Anyway, Grand Marquis customers can get the Town Car until that gets discontinued as well or the Chrysler 300C.

 

No arguments there. For its comfort level, the LaCrosse has amazing handling and steering. It's one of the closest things that GM has done to a BMW yet. It's taller than the Lucerne, but, if I remember the stats right, a little shorter. It also has an AWD option that the Lucerne lacks.

Yes, that's true to some extent, but the Town Car is, currently, all but inaccessable now to anyone but fleet-buyers/limo firms, and the 300, though having an AWD option like the LaCrosse, has unimpressive build quality. Its interior, for instance, has a lot of poor-quality plastic. The Town Car (when still available) is also in a higher price-bracket.......Grand Marquis customers may not want to spend that much.

 

Ford made a business decision that places a higher priority on profit over sales unit volume and gross sales revenue. Ford still needs to prove to shareholders a pattern of consistent profitability, so they opted to not continue with a division almost entirely based on badge-engineering.