Production of the Mercury Sable will on Thursday for the second time ever, leaving the Ford division with just four models. The Sable, which had initially been discontinued in late 2005, was revived as a new name for the Mercury Montego in 2007. Slow sales doomed the Sable, which was always a badge-engineered Ford Taurus .
Though Ford will get a new Taurus later this year, Mercury’s full-size stable will only include the Grand Marquis, which is set to survive through at least 2011.
The Sable’s death brings up more questions about Mercury’s future. With no unique products and the end in sight for two models, the Grand Marquis and the Mountaineer, it would seem as though Ford is paring down the lineup to pull the plug.
Yet analyst Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics LLP told the Detroit News that Mercury’s buyer is important to Ford.
“Keeping Mercury allows them to do specialty vehicles that appeal to different demographics,” he said. Both the Mariner, a rebadged Ford Escape , and the Milan, a rebadged Ford Fusion , have sold well.
