They should import the euro fords over as Mercury just like GM is doing or kill the brand The entire line are all badgejobs and bad ones at that

Fifty years ago, Detroit was humming to the sound of the car factories rolling out gargantuan Chevy’s, Buick’s, Cadillac’s, Ford’s, Mercury’s, Lincoln’s, Pontiac’s. Fantastic, be-finned cars with vast engines and wonderful exhaust notes. Had it not been for the extravagant designs, these cars would have been useless. Over the years, the designers became more and more boring, and started churning out the crap that America is now used to. All the legendary marques became the same. Killing the Mercury brand would put it out of its misery. The American auto industry has sadly become a big, flobbering wreck, churning out rubbish at bargain prices. Have some inspiration, Ford, and you shall be saved!

1115 is right about making Mercury the import division (or at least import inspired via manufacturing of the EXACT foreign vehicle and not pulling some putzy Mystique game).

As for the dealers that rely on Mercury, how the hell do you build a business plan relying on Mercury? I guarantee the 23% of Mercury dealers who are not concerned with Ford killing the brand are the dealers who were smart enough not to rely on this turd in their business model, and more than likely they wouldn’t even notice it missing. Those who are concerned are the idiots who couldn’t see the winds of automotive change if it tore thru their dealerships like Katrina. I can’t and won’t pity such pathetically slimey and stupid businesspeople.

R-Head: If the’re just going to be rebaged US Fords, whet would be the point? Either euro-imports or new dedicated models would be the right move

I agree.. keep Ford as it is, making perhaps some “bold” moves here and there.. import the Euro-Fords as Mercury, and keep Lincoln the luxury division.. and drop a V8 in that flagship instead of a “rumored-to-be-but-not-twin-turbo” V6.

“Lincoln Volvo” sounds better than “Lincoln Mercury.”

1. This is definately a dead brand walking. Even the sales numbers are in freefall just like Oldsmobile’s were before it was cut.

2. If they want to keep the brand at all costs, bring the European Fords here and rebadge them as Mercury’s.

3. If they want to kill the Mercury brand, they MUST keep Volvo and use it to fill Mercury’s place.

4. I don’t think it’s possible to get people excited too much about a car with a dumb name. Cars named after planets need to go (So Saturn should change its name to Opel fast). This is why you’ll never seen me driving a Mercury or a Chinese car…”what kind of car is that thing??” “oh, its just my Dongfengyong”. No thanks

The last time Mercury made anything interesting, James Dean was driving it. And that’s been a while.

http://www.automuseum.org/NAM_collections_jdmerc2.shtml

JimJack – I meant they can just build the euro-fords here in US factories. They can also build a couple aussie-fords. Just DONT change the designs in the process ala the “softening” that the Mystique got off the euro-mondeo.

Basically – keep the style, keep the handling, keep the powerplants, keep (or improve) the material quality, build it here but sell it only thru Mercury to give it a clear differentiation. GM is doing this with Saturn and it works.

Plus any US Ford designer who maons about upsetting the “delicate balance of design” they have achieved should be promptly shown the way out, only instead of the door hitting him in the butt it should be Mullaly’s foot assisting the retard outta there. The foreign designs sell and win awards – something the US designers can’t seem to pull off.

Another result of Ford’s terrible marketing schemes. I think Ford probably took “brand symmetry” even farther than GM did, and it’s killing them.

Problem #1: There is no reason at all to pick a Milan over a Fusion, or a Mariner (moronic ad campaign BTW) over an Escape, Montego over Taurus etc., unless you think the Ford versions are too edgy, stylish, and extroverted…or some equally lame excuse.

Problem #2: Mercury’s marketing seems to hinge on its association with the Lincoln name. Bad for Mercury to always be linked to someone else. Bad for Lincoln if they want to be taken even remotely seriously as a luxury player. So Ford is essentially hampering two brands at once (no mean feat I might add) by mentioning the Mercury name in Lincoln commercials, and vice versa in Mercury commercials. Add to that the fact that the Lincoln MKZ is a rebadged Milan/Fusion (that just barely got a newer better engine than the other 2), and hey, in the exact same commercial Ford is competing with itself. GM found this to be a problem in the 80s, so the Blue Oval is 20 years or so behind.

Problem #3: Ford’s cash flow is in about as bad a shape as it could possibly be, and GM just hit its stride. Ford’s top brass should be utter basket cases at this point, now that Chrysler is still misfiring (goodbye Big 3 player #3), and GM, though losing #1 to Toyota, got it’s groove back and is now capable of dominating anything Ford offers. Only Mazdas are attractive as purchases any more.

Problem #4: Ford refuses to bring their Euro/World cars here. I can’t explain this one, because it’s the biggest no-brainer for them, and they still refuse to do it because they apparently think of American customers as soulless appliances that would reject a car that actually drove well and was styled nicely. Again, GM figured all this out before Ford did.

Ford’s problem is apparently R&D, mixed with really bad execution. Pretty soon only GM will be left.

I wish they would stop talking and start doing! My first car 18 years ago was a 1983 Mercury Cougar. A 15 and a half year old with his own car was a big thing back then. I think one of the major reasons that Ford doesn’t bring the euros here is because of price. The very people that are bitchin’ about them not wouldn’t pay the kind of money they will need to price them at to turn a profit. It’s hard being loyal when sometimes other people make such good points. Anyway I still have no intentions of straying… I just hope the next batch of cars, trucks, X-overs, and SUV’s are more competitive.

OG and Tripleonefive.. bringing Euro Fords over as Mercurys may have made sense a few years ago, but won’t really be feasible now since most of Ford’s current US lineup will be replaced with platforms shared with the Euro models (Fiesta/Verve, Focus, Fusion/Mondeo) in the next few years, so bringing them as Mercurys would continue to be redundant.

How about having distinctive models for each brand? I dont have a problem with platform sharing, thats here to stay, but why not do what Honda/Acura does?
Give it UNIQUE sheetmetal.
Tired of the Lincoln/Mercury-esque front nose/rear end caps.
Hard to believe Mercury has been around this long with that strategy.

The argument that people wouldn’t buy Euro Fords because they’re already predisposed to hate/not buy Fords, whether true on some level or not, is a losing one. I’m personally predisposed to buy Hondas and Nissans over Toyotas for several reasons. This sort of argument can be used on any make, even the most expensive brands in the world.

If Ford wants to show they can get it done right, they’ll bring those cars here and put them in showrooms up against the Camrys of the world. If Ford doesn’t have the guts to do this, then I say if anyone has any stock in Ford sell it now, and if you’re a Ford employee, start looking for work ASAP.

Ford got in this trouble by playing it safe. They’ll only get out of it by taking risks. Releasing limited-run nostalgia wagons like the Thunderbird, GT and Shelby Mustang, and padding the new car list with nostalgic names (whether any of these cars is good or bad) won’t save them. Don’t get me wrong, the Ford GT kicks a lot of ass. But even AMC put out a decent muscle car (the AMX) to stay competitive, and still crashed and burned.

Ford as a company is at a total crossroads in their history, and they will go away if they make the wrong decision. I’m a GM guy at heart, but would rather not see yet another American giant fade into pathetic obscurity so easily. At least put up a damn fight.

buytheredcar Correction
The Honda and Acura cars dont share the same engine TL RL and TSX engines are different from Honda’s along with the different sheet metal. The MDX also is a 3.7 the Pilot is a 3.5 They are much different then Mercurys entire line of badge jobs

Bringing European FORDs over as MERCURYs makes sense, even now. But it will only happen if FORD stops playing “wait and see” when they can already see where the market is heading.

But with no news as to what is happening at MERCURY, a clear sign that nothing is happening given that there is so much news for FORD and LINCOLN, I will not be surprised when and if Mercury is dropped.

I have said it before, Mercury needs a mission of its own. FORD does not have the problem that GM does with Seven divisions to work with. Three divisons… technically four on paper. That’s it. It should be so easy.

FORD = Mainstream affordable cars. with the occasional supercar (needs their own division. SVT FORD maybe?)
FORD TRUCKS = Like GMC, nothing but trucks and SUVs
LINCOLN = Premium luxury. Could be FORD’s Lexus.
MERCURY = Named for the messenger of the gods and the acknowledged god of speed, so make it the performance divison with a twist of luxury. Could be FORD’s Infinti.

I will say though it might be too late. But then again, With many of FORD Europe’s cars getting turned over in the coming next few years, now would be a good time to get those cars engineered into “global” cars, that is cars that will pass US safety standards and, if nothing else, re-badge them as MERCURYs. Like anyone ins the US is going to complain. The Unions better not, it could mean the difference between having a job or not.

For the longest time Mercury was FORDs Buick, not quite but just enough to be a luxury division with the occasional muscle car to liven things up. I want a new Cougar, Put the IRS on it, and offer that 6.0L V10, detuned of course. Bring over a straight conversion of the Falcon as the new Marauder. Build the Messenger sports car.

Treat MERCURY like it really is important and this will good away. Otherwise…

I did attend Oldsmobile’s funeral.

Mercury’s fate is already sealed from what I’ve heard. Unless something really major changes, it’s dead by 2011.

The goal is to bolster the Lincoln line-up before Mercury shuts its doors. So far so good as MKX and MKZ have driven up Lincoln’s retail sales a lot this year. With an MKZ revamp, the MKS, and the Lincoln Flex in the next 15 months and an upgraded Navigator and MKX within 12 months of that and a smaller CUV and a RWD flagship by the time Mercury is dead, the dealers will not be happy that Mercury is leaving, but at least they’ll have sales replacing it.

The problem with bringing Euro Fords over is that they are going to be in the Ford line-up by 2012 from Fiesta (or whatever they call it) through Taurus, from B-CUV through Edge. So then what will Mercury have? About the only thing for Ford to do is to create a Prius-like line where Mercury is specifically designed as an urban, eco car? I know, I know, you want the Euro Fords here now, but the new Fusion that launches in a couple months will be really good, and the only car wanting will be the Focus, which is scheduled to be replaced in 2010.

It’s a dead-brand walking. I think Ford is doing the right thing by killing off an extra brand as opposed to trying to keep a brand that is rebadged Fords – or worse trying to sink more money into it to make it “upscale” and threaten Lincoln’s territory. The only option is hybrid/diesel-ize it or cut it. I would prefer the former, but I’ve come to expect very little innovative or creative thinking out of Ford. So, cut it is!

i think mercury is a great brand, especially today. Their offerings are what the ford versions SHOULD look like. The Milan is so much better looking than the Fusion, and the addition of LED taillights practically across the brand makes them look very upscale at a lower price. Id take a mercury over both a toyota, and a regular ford anyday.

Mercury over a Toyota huh Unless you are a die hard Mercury fan I cant see that happening. Even then its tough Jeez the domestics suck
Brands that need to die
Mercury useless unless they rebadge Euro Fords
Isuzu Worthless just pure worthlessness
Mitsubishi They should work with the new Chrysler or just die in the US
Buick Old people buy them. I did see a white Lucerne today with tints and it looked nice. SOme old guy was driving it of course
Saab- This brand has some life in it but GM sucks therefore they will get no where
DIE DIE DIE

Murcury should be turned into a hybrid drivetrain company only. Whatever new variation of fuel efficient drivetrains that comes out should be used in the Mercs first. Toyota wants to do this with the Prius making it’s own hybrid company so why not beat them to the punch and save a classic car company with a good name a refreshing new direction offering something that everyone wants these days.

Also a good idea but isnt Ford still buying Toyotas old technology for the hybrid powertrains ?

lol 1115 i like your hit list. Buick can’t be killed though…GM is making too much money off of it in CHINA

Move em to China they arent selling **** here You are still a fraud BTW Stop trying to kiss my ass

For just about the 1000th time, Ford does not buy Toyota’s old tech, per se. They developed their hybrid system separately, and it ended up too close to Toyota’s system. So, Ford and Toyota shared some IP. Ford’s system is programmed differently than Toyota’s, however, and delivers at least equal boosts in fuel economy over conventional engines. What Ford does source is its CVT and battery from Toyota suppliers, although Ford will be getting a new battery supplier for the 2009 models. What Ford lacks is good mastery over all the systems and a more compartmentalized design in its hybrid system that Toyota has developed. That is coming in about six months.

PLEASE~ KILL THEM ALL~!!!

There is absolutely nothing I would ever buy from Mercury or for that matter Ford USA. Mercury and Lincoln have been the most useless brands in auto history in my opinion.

Mercury should die as should the entire Ford Motor company. General Motors is killing them.

O’Please. How long has this been a topic that someone brings up every 6 months? At least for the last 5 years. This is so old, I don’t even know why I wasted my time posting.

Because Ford should’ve killed Mercury a LONG time ago, that’s why.

GM already kills Ford, let Ford do the gruntwork for GM.

I think the biggest loss will be not seeing the ‘Mercury Girl’ in the television ads anymore.

Mercury is so ****, they should paint their cars brown

Ford hasn’t known what to do with Mercury since about 1972. There’s no longer any rationale for the brand. Most of the time Mercurys are Fords with slightly nicer carpeting.

The Euro/Aussie play won’t work. Not only are global platforms informing the Ford lineup, but FoMoCo management doesn’t have the guts to bring those cars to the US without dumbing them down. Look at the new-gen Focus and how it’s being suppressed from the US market. It’s shameful that in this day and age Ford has no competitive small car for the US.

Is Ford using the Toyota hybrid system?

Although the Ford hybrid system is very similar to Toyota’s, Toyota is not directly supplying any components to Ford. Toyota and Ford have entered into a licensing agreement allowing Ford to use technology that had been patented by Toyota. Toyota welcomes the introduction of the Escape hybrid and Ford’s effort to demonstrate and gain acceptance of this important environmental technology.

http://www.toyota.com/about/environment/technology/2004/hybrid.html

Ward Cleaver, I agree. Last summer I remember that delicious actress from Blade: The Series. Not sure if she’s still around in Mercury commericals, but I definitely missed Blade this summer….

I agree with a lot of what’s been said, but my vote would be to kill Mercury, bring over the Euro-cars and work them into Ford/Lincoln lines. I think part of the Mercury sales decline is that brand loyalty or brand recognition is deteriorating. BlueIndependent’s got some good stuff to say about that. And, say what you will about Honda/Acura, but for good or bad, there is certainly enough engineering and design to distinguish the two.

I disagree that Mercury could live as a hybrid-only line. I hear that Toyota is considering doing that with Prius–basically “Scionizing” the brand. I think Toyota can get away with that for Prius, because the name is synonymous with hybrid technology. Not so with Mercury. It would take a lot more expensive marketing effort to change people’s perceptions about Mercury from the negative to the positive (in the first place), and then from re-badged Fords to hybrids (in the second place).

R-Head: I could preach long about how marketing killed the Countour/Mondeo, which was actually a pretty good car. I said “Euro imports,” but I meant what you described.”

redcar, 1115: the differences between H-Hondas and A-Hondas is smaller than the difference between say a tempo and a topaz

Blakkar: Mercury is FORD’s L—s. The same cars with a different name. Although a mercury costa a little bit more that a ford, while adding an “L” to a camry will cost about $5,600

1115: A—a should die, or get some dedicated models. Toyota, it seems, has the best hybrid technology. Everyone should use it

I was wondering what was going on with our Mecury/Lincoln dealership – all the vehicle have been cleared out and the building is an empty shell – wonder if they’re relocating or if they’re done?

jkt

“Most Mercury dealers anticipate Ford will kill the brand”

Most buyers anticipate Ford to be bankrupt by 2009.

Jackjimturkey,

Mercury has been to FORD what “Buick” is to GM. The same cars with better appointments.

And yes I know that the LEXUS ES is a dressed up Camry with noticeably different bodywork and interior. But that is, aside from the LX, about the end of Toyota’s re-badging. Most LEXUS vehicles share the same platform but get completely new styling to the point that is it almost impossible, without already knowing, that it is built on the same frame.

The problem is that LINCOLN looks better, feels better, and is better than MERCURY, with FORD trying to split the difference between FORD and LINCOLN.

The biggest problem is that FORD has not differentiated their divisions strongly enough. Given that there are only three, there should be an enormous difference between them all. Unfortunately, the differences were at best minimal.

If FORD wants to continue this model of business, then they only need FORD and LINCOLN. But if FORD wants to make that “bold move”, then they will turn Mercury around completely and make it a different and utterly separate division.

I think your view about MERCURY in comparison to LEXUS is faulty, showing a disregard for what each subject is with any degree of detail.

Someone please shoot GM Sales in the head. God damb this guy is anoying. First we had to deal with gmnumberoneforever, now this dip****.

Try learning how to spell ^ D*p****” was about the only word you spelled correctly moron.

I agree with Blakkarr, Ford’s three U.S. divisions have very little distinction between them. All Lincoln and Mercury are today are divisions that sell premium trim levels of Ford brand products. Both Lincoln and Mercury are completely irrelevant in today’s auto market. Both brands lack identity or purpose. Unless someone is blind or ignorant to the auto market, it does not take much effort to see that all of these two brands’ products are nothing more than gussied-up Ford brand products.

I understand the need to share platforms between divisions to reduce development costs and increase profits. What I don’t understand is the lack of differentiation of design, execution, or performance between divisions. I believe GM has finally learned the lesson that everything about a product that the customer sees, feels, and interacts with must be unique and upscale to make a customer truly believe that a product is a premium or luxury vehicle. Ford has not learned this lesson and now has two seriously damaged brands that it must either fix or kill.

I don’t want to see Mercury killed off, but it is painful to watch it deteriorate into the badge engineered nightmare it is today. If Ford can’t give it a unique identity with distinctive, upscale products, then I don’t see much sense in keeping it around. With Ford Corporation’s current financial woes, it might be better to retire a weak, redundant brand and focus development dollars on elevating Lincoln back to true luxury status. Maybe Ford needs to pattern its U.S. brands hierarchy after Honda/Acura, Nissan/Infiniti, or Toyota/Lexus; keep Ford as the affordable, sporty volume brand and reestablish Lincoln as a true upscale luxury brand.

As far as Ford’s other brands, Jaguar and Land Rover need to go and Ford needs to keep Mazda and Volvo. Mazda would continue to be a sporty, alternative Japanese/Asian brand. Volvo would offer Ford an upscale division in Europe as well as give U.S. buyers a taste of European/Scandanavian luxury.

Mercurys were always different from Fords and Lincolns in the ’50’s, 60’s and ’70’s. Even had some different engines. No sheet metal was interchangeable except the roofs. Dashboards were different too, and they sold very well. Could be done again with distinctive styling. That’s the only difference between Yota’s/Lexus; Datsun/Infinity; Honduh/InAcura. Mercury is a great American marque and deserves to continue. Give it great styling and folks will flock to it. Brother-in-law owned a Mercury Lynx with diesel engine in the ’80’s and got somewhere around 60mph way back then! Why can’t Mercury do that today? A new Cougar with ‘67/’68 cues would bring folks back to the sign of the Cat!

Like it would ever happen but…

MERCURY should offer as a restart ONLY three cars, as MERCURY shares lot space with LINOCLN already. These would be very different from LINCOLN’s offerings.

Make MERCURY consistently more upscale in terms of perfromance and trim.

COUPE = COUGAR. Based on MUSTANG but with IRS or, if next mustang has IRS, then include more powerful upscale engines. The styling would be rather “retro” (I tend to use the term “reminiscent”), but more opulent than the MUSTANG’s best trim. Think SVT MUSTANG, meets Meets Lincoln. Offer the 6.0L V10 for a road ruling XR-7 or “Eliminator” version.

SEDAN = MARAUDER. The Australian Falcon GT and GT-P only real difference would be LSD and the available engines. Similar engines to Cougar. Base Engine the 3.5L Cyclone V6 (306 hp). Top Engine 5.4L V8 (re-tuned to 400+ hp).

Sports Car = PANTERA (get the rights if they don’t have it). MR V8 sports car to mark the division as a serious hi-pro segment of the company. This would be a long term production car, possibly a perennial, aimed at challenging world class sports cars like the PORSCHE 911 and FERRARI 460. Aim High or go home. The MESSENGER becomes a LINCOLN, The MarK SC.

Just cut out everything and start over. If it means putting the division on hiatus for a few years then do so. Once MERCURY is re-established, then carefully add a few new vehicles over the proceeding years.

The COUGAR and the MARAUDER are both fairly easy to make happen with out too much extra investment. The PANTERA would take some money and time, but wouldn’t have to happen immediately. Just before anything else. LINCOLN could still get it’s development done and launch new product with less concern about stepping on MERCURY. MERCURY gets their unique product and hedged back. I would doubt MERCURY would have a car for everything. just a few focused products that offer a premium of luxury and performance, with a tack that is in another direction from LINCOLN.

It’s a dream. Nah. I don’t think it would happen. It makes too much sense.

The writing was on the wall when mercury came out with a minivan

What minivan? When? MERCURY doesn’t offer a minivan. FORD MOTOR COMPANY hasn’t since they killed the Freestar.

You don’t remember te Monterrey? It was a rebadged Freestar. if you haven’t heard of it, maybe that’s a clue of why it was such a loser

You make it sound like they are offering that now. It was not the sign of the end for MERCURY. Yes I’ve heard of it. Ford opted out of the Minivan market a couple of years back. I never pay much attention to minivans anyway so, it could have slipped my mind, but again you made sound like they were selling minivans now.

I don’t want to ghet into a dispute. I should have said “a few years back, when mercury came oput with a minivan.”

Anyone know that Mercury started what is now the flip-top “Funny Car” class of dragsters? The very first flip-top funny cars were 1966 Mercurys driven by Dyno Don Nicholson and Fast Eddie Schartman. Anyone remember the Woods Brothers Mercury’s that dominated NASCAR super speedway races in the ’60’s and ’70’s? I recall the 1965 Mercury Park Lane was the Car of the Year from either Motor Trend or Car Life! 1967 Mercury Cougars won several Trans-Am races. Big Mercs won the famous Pikes Peak races in ‘63 and ‘64. Mercury has a proud heritage, Ford just needs to get their act together. We don’t need to lose any more American brands.