I’d think more highly of Ford if they dropped the charade and admitted Mercury was doing an Oldsmobile-style exit. You’d actually create a little demand for the last couple of model years as a classic marque goes out… and Ford would get credit for focusing realistically on a clearly defined future.

Is there a guarantee that Ford will be around in 2012? Their balance sheet disagrees with their expectations.

Let it die in a dignified way. There is just no reason to have two of everything from Ford. Details at Merc were often better than the base version at Ford and Mercury had a good history – not so much now. But let this be a huge lesson at Ford and other makes – be creative with your reasons for branding.

No, there is no guarantee, but they’d improve their odds a lot if they did rational brand and product focus. Kill Mercury, kill the biggest SUVs, stick to one or two CUVs instead of four or more, import European minicars more quickly.

Ford Europe will still be around in 2012, they have cars people actually want.

Why not sooner like summer ‘08.

If Lincoln had kept pace with Cadillac in terms of pursuing their goal to deliver world class product, then there might have been enough of a gap to slot Mercury between them and Ford. As they are now, it’s a stretch to say Lincoln is in the position Mercury was in its heyday.

Is Mercury still alive? Come on guys, let’s face it, Mercury’s been dead for a long time. Some nostalgic people may still want to keep them alive, but just like GM’s Oldsmobile, the time has come to kill it off permanently and move on.

i dont get it i like the mercury versions better than the ford ones they are based on… what am i missing here? they are much more upscale from the ford’s with a small bump in pricing. They all get things like LED taillights, projector beam headlamps, tasteful chrome touches, and sharper styling. At first i begged to differ that the sable is sharp, but then i remembered what the taurus looks like. Mercury’s are at a good stage, They just need to be marketed better.

If Ford reveals that the Mercury brand will be dead, people will stop buying it. True, they are not buying so many right now, but it will be worse. Ford’s “keep quiet” policy is probably best. My Lincoln-Volvo dealership theory may come to fruition.

Even though I own a Mercury and would hate to see the brand go, it makes sense given the current positioning of the marques.

Here’s my idea to save Mercury: make Mercury all about near-lux small cars. A, B, and C-segment vehicles, with some cute utes to boot. Make them ALMOST as nice as Lincolns and definitely nicer than Fords.

Lincoln doesn’t suffer the downmarket hit it’d take by adding something under the MKZ, Mercury becomes a niche brand in a segment that America desperately needs to compete in, there is clear distinction between brands once more, L/M dealers get the volume they need to stay in business, and Ford’s small cars get some profit margins by putting them in a decent luxury outfit.

Someone get me Mually’s address.

It’s Mullaly. Ford does not have room in it’s pricing structure to keep Merc around. They would either have to raise Lincoln, or lower Ford to give Merc it’s segment back. Just kill it, but do it like TomF said. Admit the timetable, give it a good sendoff, and put the dirt on top of it.

I really couldn’t care any less.

The Ford Motor Company that sells cars in America is like a obnoxious girl at a party that wants everyones attention & doesn’t care that she’s the fat ugly one in a room full of attractive women. You kind of give her a quick look, decide you don’t like what you see & you ignore her until she finally goes away.

****’em…….don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Mercury would be a great place to showcase the Mondeo, S-Max, C-Max, Ka and other of Fords “Euro” designs. Much easier than creating a new brand like Saturn. Most of the R&D is already done, the Euro cars are more fuel-efficient and pretty much ready to go. Now THAT would be a BOLD move.

Opportunity lost yet again…

TomF, johnnycanuck, et all, gentlemen you are all correct and if company board and management consisted of people who actually drive their own cars with their own 2 hands and even 1 leg, your voices may be heard. Unfortunately for the company reason had left their headquarters 30 odd years ago and never came back.

I agree with ‘caldwell’. Sell the usual North American **** as Ford products, since the Focus is accepted by the monkeys, and sell the Euro stuff as Mercurys.

Maybe instead of checking with only American suppliers they can check with European suppliers to Ford, and see if they are getting orders for 2013 Mercury’s.

Ford as a company should be dead by 2012. We don’t need a worthless peice of **** company building cars anymore.

We don’t need a worthless peice of **** company building cars anymore.
We would have to kill GM then

Chrysler – Plymouth
GM – Oldsmobile
Ford – Mercury.

Kill Mercury, kill all bull**** brands and so-called divisions.

Not suprising, other then a refresh of the Milan and a hybrid version of that car, Mercury has almost nothing in the product pipeline, plus Lincoln can pick up were high trim Ford’s leave off.

THEY SHOULD KILL GHETTO MAZDA

Who the hell gets orders for 2013+ model year parts in the middle of 2008 anyway?

SSEAN54, you do not kill of a brand or company that is pulling a profit.

off

Another dumb move by Ford if true. You could use Mercury as you low priced, fuel saving, “average man” brand.