It looks like a lot of Mercury's products are dieing after this model year. Milan is new for 2010, but who is shopping for one over a Fusion. Milan isn't even featured in any car magazine comparisons. Do people know it exists?

• Sable's last year is 2009
• Grand Marquis last year is 2009
• Mountaineer is done soon. They are not getting a MY2011 Explorer clone.
• Escape will be new for MY2012 a Mercury Mariner version is not planned.

Will Ford be announcing the shut down of Mercury soon? It is obvious they are done. How will this compare with Olds or Plymouth brands ending. Most dealers do Lincoln too. I'm thinking maybe those two brands would blend together. Lincoln already has a Fusion, Edge, and two D3 platform based vehicles. I could see adding an Escape sized crossover to Lincoln or maybe something like the Volvo C30. I'm not sure how the franchise laws work with this or what the contracts are like, but in seems like ending Mercury and expanding Lincoln on the lower end would make the most sense. But is that easy or even possible?

 

Mercury has to be the epitome of redundant car brands. I did think that Messenger concept for a few years ago was really sharp.

 

I do, only because the Mercury girl in the commercials looks good.

 

Ford is in the process of pairing up all their dealerships into Ford-Mercury-Lincoln. Once that's complete, there won't be any reason to keep Mercury around if it isn't making money.

I would be surprised if the Mariner was dropped -- I see a fair number of them around. Otherwise the rumor-mill seems to indicate a Focus rebadge, a "C-Max" microvan, and maybe a "Capri".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus_C-MAX
http://www.theautonewstoday.com/2009...he-ford-capri/

 

They should get rid of Mercury and invest more into improving the Lincoln brand. They can have all the bases covered with just these 2 brands...

Ford - low to mid-end market
Lincoln - higher-end market

 

qft!

 

I think thats the plan or it seems that way atleast.

 

*sigh*

I've said this a million times... Getting rid of brands is not a smart method of doing business.

Ford has a REAL opportunity with Mercury. Let's hope they realize that.

 

Saying Ford has a REAL opportunity with Mercury is like saying Honda should come out with another brand that just sells rebadged Hondas for about the same price as a Honda. I just don't see any real opportunity for Ford with it. I think over all they would have more sales if the money that went into a Milan went into a Fusion coupe. Then spend the rest of the money you would spend on mercury on a smaller Lincoln CUV.

 

It's not what the brand has now, but where it can go.

The potential that Mercury has with female buyers alone should be enough for Ford to value and develop the brand. Unlike many mismanaged domestic brands, Mercury LACKS an identity entirely (an advantage Saturn also had, hence why GM was so adamant about expanding Saturn)

That's the beauty of the asian companies. They KNOW the value and equity of a brand (especially one that's been around almost 100 years) And, unlike the "we gotta have results now or it ain't worth it" americans, they will nurture and BUILD the brand into something consumers appreciate.

Case in point: Look at the progress Cadillac has made... Now look at the progress INFINITI has made in half that time. (Not to mention, Infiniti didn't enjoy the past legacy that Cadillac has)

Sure, that's kind of an unfair comparison, since we all know that rehabing Infiniti was probably much easier given it is a japanese brand and japanese = gold to most americans, despite past sins. But the point still remains.

P.S. Oh, and the last time I checked, Honda already had a redundant brand in Acura Too bad most buyers aren't smart enough to know they're getting hosed.

 

Mercury should really compete with Mazda or Nissan. However Ford already has a ton of redunancy in a lot of areas's..so who knows. I mean how many small SUV/crossovers do they have?

 

I always thought that Mercury would be a good channel for importing its OZ/EU stuff before Ford decided to globalize its car programs.

 

Mercury isn't dying... at least in the immediate future.

What is happening is that Ford is streamlining Mercury and Lincoln.

Expect to see some direct Ford imports showing up under the Mercury brand. Ford came to the conclusion that Lincoln alone can not produce the volume to sustain the Lincoln-Mercury brand.

Ford has traditionally sold upscale models in their showroom that you would never see in Chevrolet or Dodge (ie: Thunderbirds, SHOs, etc...), but with the new Taurus (as well as an across-the-board upgrading of Ford interiors and a creep up in prices of new Ford models as well as an expansion of Lincoln, you can't help but wonder if by the middle of next decade if Ford will still need Mercury.

Regarding the death of the Grand Marquis, Ford originally intended to replace it with a vehicle shared with Australia that was supposed to replace the Ford Fairlane (which in turn was supposed to be based on the current Mustang).

The new Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS are effectively replacing the Sable. The Milan has just been restyled. The Mariner will be around as long as the Escape is. Mountaineer will likely be replaced with a version of the upcoming Explorer which is turning into a crossover.

 

Everything I've read and heard says the 2011 Explorer won't get a Mercury counterpart. We will find out for sure later this year as more info on the Explorer comes out. Ford C-max is expected to stay a Ford as is the Ford Transit. I got a feeling Ford is bailing on Mercury sooner than we think.

Mercury in 2010 will only have two vehicles, the Milan and Mariner. Both of which are just lightly restyled Fords. They don't even have different dash boards/interiors.

 

So they are gonna Pontiac it....

Shrink it to a few lines that don't sell much, and then use that as an excuse to pull the plug.