Mercury sold more Grand Marquis so far in 2006 than Montegos and Milans combined. I didn't know that many people in their 80s were still buying new cars.

Geez. Ford has sold more Fusions YTD than Mercury has sold cars.

Kill the brand. Cut your (many, many) losses.

 

If they cut the Mercury line up. Would the value of 1968 Cougar go up.

 

Probably not. But you could take it to the Orphan's Car Show in Carlisle and park it next to my Plymouth!

 

If they continue to use identical vehicles as Ford they will end up like Olds.

 

NO! dont even suggest it, Ford should go back to what they originally ahd mercury for. rebadge a mustagn,put sequntial tailights on it, call it a Cougar. start pushing Mercury in Canada instead of Ford. if Mercury goes, i will forget about Ford, i have immense pride in thinking about the days when Mercuries were Canadian only, i have no problem seeing them sold in America or any wheres else. as long as they are around, its matter of pride for me, and i would pay a few more dollars for a Mercury than a Ford.gladly

 

Mercury was an "invented" brand so that Ford could try and compete with Dodge, Oldsmobile, etc. in the mid-price area that was important 40-70 years ago, but not today. I say kill it, sell Jaguar and make Lincoln a true luxury brand without cheaper cars sharing the showroom and service bays. After all, you dont see Mercedes-Chrysler dealerships, do you?

Oldsmobile, Dodge, Buick, and others were independent companies bought out by GM or Chrysler. Ford evolved as a company in a totally different way, probably because Henry Ford was so stubborn.

Jim

 

If Mercury start building cars that don't look anything like Fords - they might stay alive.

Milan was a great idea. It shares many parts with Fusion but it doesn't look anything alike. If Mercury could do same thing with rest of vehicles, they could stay alive.

 

It's in it's death throes. Within a couple of years there will be widespread "corprate" talk of giving the brand the........

I agree with dumping Jaguar, It's time Ford quit propping up the British auto industry and started propping up the American one. They can throw Aston Martin and Lanr Rover in to sweeten the deal.

 

JimMandy Oldsmobile, Dodge, Buick, and others were independent companies bought out by GM or Chrysler. Ford evolved as a company in a totally different way, probably because Henry Ford was so stubborn.

I thought Ford Bought Lincoln from Henry Leland or am i wrong?

 

Linkinluver,

I think your right. Leland sold Lincoln to FORD and Cadillac to GM. Cadillac was named after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac - French Explorer

 

HEY--i am not in my 80s (try 50s) and drive a grand marquis-excellent performance and ride-handling and very respectable gas economy. it is a very reliable car and if it needs service it is MUCH easier to do than some of the front wheel drive cars. i think if you drove one you would be very impressed. although it doesnt have cutting edge styling is is still an attractive design that can go 200k miles or more with proper treatment
jim

 

Bring back cougar as a slightly redesign mustang, if the interceptor concept is a go rebadge the mercury version as a comet and ford the fairlane, come out with a sporty 2 seat conv based off a miata call it a capri. Mercury would then have alot more excitement in there line up, and some competition in the market. I really think ford should come out with a sporty 2 conv., they own mazda and theres many new fords that share alot of what mazda has, the solstice/sky are doing great and bringing gm lots of money

 

FoMoCo needs to trim the fat.

 

then lets get rid of Ford, keep Mercury, rebadge EVERYTHING!!!!!!! (its late, and i could probably be charged with posting under the influence)

 

If ford continues to badge engineer the mercurys then I see no reason to keep it around. I would like to see the brand become more upscale and performance oriented - with an emphasis on driving experience ... something in between mazda and bmw - the only two brands that really focus on the driving experience. They could also use the brand to import Ford of Eurpoe models like the mondeo and even some FoAU models.

Some might say that it would end up competing with Lincoln.. but IMO Lincolns should be big cars that float down the road and have big v8's, with most emphasis on luxury and having a cushy ride and a breeding ground for new technology.

On a side note - has anyone seen the MKR and Interceptor concepts? Two new cars based on the same platform.. and they have different bodies! It seems like Ford might really be turning things around if they actually build these cars and don't water them down beyond recognition.