End of the road?

[rumble]

This does not look good..............

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/industry/end-of-the-road-for-mercury/

[gonzo50]

"Simply, Mercury vehicles are just rebadged Ford models":bs:......."WOW"!!! I didn't know that.....:depress:J/K

[RCSignals]

Once again the automotive media has a slow NEWS day

[Bigdogjim]

It cost more to end Mercury, than to keep it going

[Illss]

:( They're doing it to themsleves.

[Richy04]

You said it, If there were a 2008 S/C Marauder, it would be in my garage now... No biggy to make one as the parts are all there.. Even punching out a 4.6 is no big deal if they want an N/A only car..

[SideshowBob]

Here's what I added to their blog:


One huge problem is that, traditionally, every time Mercury has gotten something distinctive in their lineup the Ford division pitches a fit until they have the same thing. Mercury introduced the Cougar in 1967 as an upscale Mustang; an American Jaguar, if you will. By 1969 Ford was offering the Mustang Grande to try and capture the same market the Cougar already had. Previously, in 1965, Ford introduced an upscale Galaxie and called it the LTD. This gave buyers less reason to step up from Ford to Mercury. When Mercury revived the Marauder badge in 2003, Ford almost immediately showed the Blackhawk concept car; a very slightly downscaled clone of the Marauder. Mercury failed to let Mr. & Mrs. Average American in on the existence of the Marauder and when their best kept secret failed to sell in significant numbers the Blackhawk was scrapped. But if the Marauder had been a big success you can bet your bottom dollar that Ford would have released the Blackhawk, in direct competition to their own Mercury Marauder. Ford needs to get back to the original concept of the Mercury line: a stepping stone between the Ford and Lincoln lines and they need to stop upscaling Ford models until they’re competing with their own Mercury brand. That’s what killed Oldsmobile, DeSoto and Plymouth; they competed against the parent company’s own brands and did not draw customers away from other makes.

[bigjon]

my local lincoln/mercury dealership that had been open for about 40 years closed its doors a few weeks ago. i used to work there too. it is very sad.