The Saturn L series was nothing more than a rebadged Opel. Sales were so poor they dropped it one year before they said they were going to. A GM exec said, "Why keep it, no one wants it.

Merkur, remember them? Ford wanted to use the name the car was using in Germany, but couldn't because GM was using it-Sierra. The XR4Ti with its 2.3 turbo 4 wasn't a bad car, but Ford overpriced it hoping to draw away sales from BMW...that didn't work. Not only did no one know what a Merkur was, but the name was hard to pronounce and meant nothing to most people. Ford literature pointed out that Merkur was the German translation of Mercury..that did more harm than good.


Then there was the terd called Scorpio. The car was a POS from the get go. Ford rushed it to market with all the flaws intact. It was totally unprepared for the North American market. In Europe, air conditioning wasn't the big thing it was here, so Ford added a A/C system that was totally inadequate when the outside temp reached 90 degrees. It had a ONE row radiator, and idling for a few minutes caused it to overheat. Then there was the blower fan that couldn't be turned off...you had a choice: heat or air conditioning. Fresh air? Forget it, because when Ford added the A/C system, they deleted the fresh air ducting. Sales were slim and none, it was the Edsel of the 1980's. After only a couple of years, Scorpio went the way of the dinosaur.

 

GUILTY!!! I LOVED the SCORPIO.....While F&I at Magic, A lady traded in a Scorpio....ESP TOTAL and all. I snapped it up. A one year old $30,000 German Ford for $18,000!!!

The interior was incredible, had rear reclining seats, people stopped the wife in parking lots to ask what it was........Then summer in So. Cal hit. I remember the Service MGR. at Magic (Did you know Mike Green??) say that POS couldn't blow outta match!!!

Then the big read headed POS used car manager (you probably knew him too) would only give me 14K for it after a couple months!!!

Hard to admit that a know-it-all car guy like me could mess up soooo bad!!!

Traded it at Vista (my brother worked there) for a Mazda/Escort GT.....that was a very good car!!!




Even though the U.S. Turbo XR4TI (Sierra) was OK, the Pinto/Turbocoupe 2.3 has always been thrashy when revved........If it had made it here with the Velvet DOHC Cosworth motor, BMW would have been crying IMHO.

 

I grew up around Sierras and Scorpios (I lived in Europe until I was 15). In fact, my uncle had Sierra and he loved that car (so did I).

 

It's a shame Ford sold Aston. After scrapping the GT it was the one jewel they had left. Aston has a fine reputation and though they didn't sell many I'm sure Ford made a bundle on each one. Jaguar is a different story. They would need some new products. Even with new refined designs with better performance and reliability, if they ever intend to be competitive again they have to win customers back. Not an easy task given their current reputation. Yes I think they sold the jewel and kept the dogs, but sometimes that is what you have to do to stay solvent. It’s nothing to cheer about in my book. Aston will do well and Ford won’t get the halo effect they could have. Let's hope they put the money to good use. A redesigen Towncar with more power could be a winner.

 

Yup, GREAT accolades when introduced.....couple of minor tweaks over the years and Ford let it die a very unceremonious(sp?) death.

And while the manual was only available with the V6....could you imagine a S/C Jag. 4.2, same motor as the 3.9....it would bolt right in.... and a 6 speed T-56????


God, I wish I was in charge of product devolpment at Ford!!!

 

While I hate that Ford is selling one of their few diamonds......sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.


Like already said, they should sell Jag..........but nobody wants 'em.

 

His is a V8 with the sport shifter and every available option that works real well. I had never even heard of one until he asked me to go look at one with him. I immediately had to check out the web for info and they had very favorable reviews. There only seemed to be one minor problem with the V6 model. To bad they let them die since they were very nice vehicles.

 

The cars were fine in Europe, we rented one in Frankfurt and drove it nearly 2000kms in three weeks. But the Scorpios sold here were dogmeat. People that lived in warm climates had nothing but trouble with them, because of the one row radiators and heater blower fans. There were nine different issues, I remember the A/C and blower fans, but there were seven others that I forget. Ford replaced all the parts free by late 1988, but it was too late to save it. The reviews and owners experiences killed the car. The XR4Ti's were fine, but it was grossly overpriced, and that did it in. Maybe the cool breezes around the Dalmation Coast kept your Scorpio from overheating.

 

Before the Scorpios even hit the showrooms, a letter came from Ford detailing the campaign to fix them. I was P/M at Lynch, and I ordered 100 of those kits. Dealer net was $900.00! The entire replacement cost was P/L = $3100.00 and when it was finally added up to include dealer markup to Ford, the price was $4000.00! No sooner did I order 100 of those kits, I ordered 200 more. We were one of the few dealers that had the parts in stock. BH L/M would only order the kit when a customer needed it. We got 90% of Beverly's business, and prolly 70% of the rest of the LA District. The owners were calling and asking.."Do you have the kits? I got a bonus at the Xmas party, totally unexpected: 10 big ones!



I remember Mike, and where is Bob today?

 

I wonder if I would have liked it/kept it with the kit???

Bob, I think, is at a Nissan dealership (is there a Wondries Nissan??...I can axe my brother in law)


The jolly green giant red headed jerk off used car mgr. was Mike Ya*******

Mike Green always treated me well. I remember one time my mom's Lincoln's anti-lock brakes took a dump.

Mike was the assistant service Mgr at the time. The acting mgr said Ford won't cover the particular part that went out.....I showed him the coverage and it absolutely stated, "Anti-lock brake system excluding pads"

Mike Green backed me...........almost a year later, Norm calls me into his office to get me to pay the $1,000 repair....Mike Green took my side and Norm still docked my pay.........on my MOM'S car!!!

Hard to argue with the owner when you're a 25 year old making almost mid-six figures a year in the late '80's.....they freakin' owned you!!!

 

its to bad jag isnt working out for ford, my fathers 2005 3.0 x-type awd, is almost on the lower end of the jaguar line and its still much nicer than anything ford puts out.

its tough with the amount of foreign automakers out there that make luxury vehicles, for people to line up and buy a luxurious ford product

 

I totally disagree, I like jag, it's a more atainable car for the masses, it has a long heritage. I just saw Tony Blair climb into one on the news. I've allaways liked jag and they could really do something with it. I could buy a jag, I could never buy an astin martin. Ford does have money, lots of it and it takes lots of it to be competetive and stay in business. If ford is so broke they can't design and build a new car, then thier done now. Even chrysler is designing away and bringing out new product as is gm. Ford says thier going to produce new designs at a rapid pace. I know you guy's are smart and all, but I think Alan knows what he's doing, fords future depends on it.. Look at the benfits of bringing jag back from the dead, it's a worldwide nameplate, they even race. I would like to see jag make a come back, am I the only one?

NumberDummy, I totally agree with you about linclon mercury, they need sme fresh cars thats all thiers, not rebadged fords. Ford could do with linclon what gm has done with caddy, make it a class of it's own. The only all mercury we've had in awhile was the couger, ford had no copy. You can share plateforms to save money, but the body and car should be all linclon and mercury. The sports sedans all the rage in this class, ford needs a hot rod linclon. You guy's remember the tamosa linclon panteria, now that was a hot rod linclon. I only saw one in my life, but it was love at first site.

 

I agree with you that they are great cars. My Dad has a 2000 V6 and a friend a V8 of the same year. The V6 so far has been the better of the two while the V8 has had minor problems. Both are very comfortable cars. Even when they were still be produced there was very little advertising on them.

 

I guess this will allow jag to move up market some now that aston is gone. Maybe we'll see some more jag based Lincolns at lower price points. Sad to see such a beautiful car go especially when it was turning a profit.

If I was in charge I would have Mercury turned into a luxo-performance brand bringing low volumes of European and Australian models over with an emphasis on driving experience - performance and handling - to slot somewhere in between Mazdas and BMWs (the only two companies that REALLY focus on the driving experience) Then Lincoln would just get filled up with techno gizmos and luxury products, cushy seats, extra soft suspensions, etc.

 

This a good point captain, with all the hipo offerings in Austraila, they would make nice mercs and make a positive impact over here, The R&D has been done, so it would be cost effective as far as development.