Mercury Brand Ending

[boom3]

Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Ford has shed other divisions,

like GM has. The gap between Ford and Lincoln will get narrower and I am

afraid that will kill Lincoln as well. Although I've owned two Grand

Marqs, I was never under any illusions that they were anything but

gussied-up Crown Vics, which, itself was just the baseline "Panther"

chassis which, in various guises, was the Crown Vic, the Interceptor,

the Marauder, the Grand Marquis, and the Lincoln Town Car. Of course, a

lot of Interceptors got recycled into taxi cabs after their police

departments were through with them. I have always wanted one of the

Grand Marq L models that was only made for the Middle East. It's back

leg room is 6 inches longer than normal, and is a junior version of the

Town Car L which was rarely bought by anybody except the limo trade.

Still, Ford sometimes used Mercury for a bit of innovation, like the

Monterrey S-55 sporty big sedan of the mid 60s, which for a few years

had no direct sibling in Ford. Not to mention the Breezeway sedans of

the mid 60s, which used leftover power back glass from late 50s

Lincolns. My father owned one. I never drove it, being 14 when he traded

in on a 1969 Buick Skylark that mechanically was a POS. The Buick became my

first car and so of course has a nimbus of nostalgia around it that it's

build quality did not deserve.

I will keep my 2001 Gran Marq for a while. I kept its predecessor, a

1989 model, until 2003 (I bought it in 1992), and so the 2001 has miles

to go before it sleeps. Contrary to folklore, my cars did not/do not

have a homing instinct for early bird buffets or bingo parlors. Maybe in

a few years I will trade it for a hybrid Something, but nothing can

replace the land yacht feel on my many errands up and down I-10. These

Mercurys may not have been the Messenger of the Gods, but at least they

were/are the messengers of Me.

[Islander]

I still miss my 1990 police Caprice. The 5.7 litre B-body was always a pleasure to drive, especially in police trim, and reasonably quick and nimble for a big "non-sporty" car. However, it was a product of its time and that time is over.

[LarryC]

What do I know, but I always thought Mercury should have been more a distinctively upscale car than a feebly uptrimmed Ford. This comes from my all time favorite car, the 1950 Mercury -- the only car I've ever owned that stayed comfortable throughout 13-hr. drives.

Ford had two main "body shells" -- Ford and Lincoln. Mercury around that time used the Lincoln "shell," moderately trimmed down. I believe it worked for the market then, and my perception is that '49 and '50 Mercurys are still more renowned than Fords of that era.

1950 Mercury:

It wasn't too many years before Mercs went indistinctive Ford. I think they lost their way. I like your idea of the junior version of the Town Car, but of course that's kind of dinosaur, so maybe that's the problem. 1950 Lincoln:

[Marvel]

...but of course that's kind of dinosaur, so maybe that's the problem.

Butthe ride is sooooo smooth! The mileage on the later models isn't really bad on the highway, and they are great for a long trip.

Bruce

[theplummer]

I still miss my 1990 police Caprice. The 5.7 litre B-body was always a pleasure to drive, especially in police trim, and reasonably quick and nimble for a big "non-sporty" car. However, it was a product of its time and that time is over.

I'll second that one, The quickest and fastest police car I ever had was a 90 Caprice with an LT-1 Corvette engine. Never lost a pursuit with that one, two of which were Ninja style bikes[Y].

[boom3]

The demographics are part of Ford's angst. The attached article says the average Grand Marq owner is around 70. However, I think there will always be a market for highway cruisers like the big Fords/Chevys and their clones. Parallel parking my car is not fun, so if I lived in a big city I probably would buy a smaller beater to drive around town and keep the whale-mobile for road trips. It's interesting to see that the low-profile tire/gold rim/lift kit "pimp my ride" guys are starting to tart up the Panthers. The first time I saw a late 90s Grand Marq is bright purple, lifted 6 inches, with gold rims and skinny tires my eyes popped out.

Ford Said to Plan End of Mercury After Seven Decades (Update2) - BusinessWeek.pdf

[Groomlakearea51]

Yah... it's a shame.... Memorial services being held at all the retiree RV parks around town.... But the demographics are the key. Ford was the only one not to borrow money from the feds, and has been pretty ruthless in their operations over the last 2 years to keep the company profitable. Shame though, at least from a nostalgia point of view.

[Bill H.]

Honestly I liked the Crown Vics...........good ride / Power..............

Ford should have shuttered this Brand 20 years ago...............

[Tom Adams]

Hey boom -

When you're runnin' up & down I-10, keep an eye out for my Dad. Can't miss him. He's the 89 year old guy in the 1998 Lincoln Town Car Cartier Edition with retired Air Force tags doing 67mph (thankfully in the right hand lane). LOL......

Everytime we visit my parents and ride in that car I tell me wife to take both of our cell phones so we can talk to each other from the front and rear seats!!

Tom

[Jay481985]

Not to undermine the thread but does anyone actually like the new ford direction with the fiesta and the fusion 2012 international model? I wouldn't mind if they brought the Mondeo over as well and kill the ugly fusion.

[Bill H.]

i Like the Idea that the Fiesta get 40 mpg and 30 in the city. Not wild about the Alien Looking front or the colors though.

[Bill H.]

According to the report, executives at Ford are preparing a proposal to kill the brand, to be reviewed this summer. The two- to four-year wind down would include the eventual transition of all Lincoln products -- currently sold alongside Mercury vehicles in distinct dealerships -- to Ford showrooms.

[Jay481985]

I build my own mdeneen [] computers that is!

[Jay481985]

Top Gear tested it 2-3 years ago and gave it stellar remarks for which not many cars impress Jeremy Clarkson.

[Bill H.]

Strange that a vehicle so Popular in Europe over the last 3 years was not brought over here sooner. This would have really helped Ford, who is once again playing catch up with other more popular gas saving models !

[Jay481985]

Ford Europe is loved in well Europe. They make economical and fun to drive cars that looked sharp enough.Hell they even turned a profit. The biggest problem was the labor costs as most of Ford Europe was designed and built in Europe as the Fiesta was built mostly in Germany and England, since then Ford ramped up a plant to built Fiestas in Mexico.

The new focus is finally the european focus. http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/focus/2012/

[Mighty Favog]

My first car, a 1975 Mercury Montego MX. A mut of an automobile with the nose of a Cougar and the tail of Torino.

[triceratops]

The best thing about a Mercury is you can crank up the "Mercury Blues"
while you're driving:

Well if I had money
Tell you what I'd do

I'd go downtown and buy a Mercury or two

Crazy bout a Mercury

Lord I'm crazy bout a Mercury

I'm gonna buy me a Mercury

And cruise it up and down the road



Well the girl I love

I stole her from a friend

He got lucky, stole her back again

She heard he had a Mercury

Lord she's crazy bout a Mercury

I'm gonna buy me a Mercury

And cruise it up and down the road



Well hey now mama

You look so fine

ridin round in your Mercury 49

Crazy bout a Mercury

lord I'm crazy bout a Mercury

I'm gonna buy me a Mercury

And cruise it up and down the road

Well my baby went out

She didn't stay long

Bought herself a Mercury, come a cruisin home

She's crazy bout a Mercury

Yeah she's crazy bout a Mercury

And cruise it up and down the road



Well if I had money

I tell you what I'd do

I'd go downtown and buy me a Mercury or two

Crazy bout a Mercury

I'm gonna buy me a Mercury

And cruise it up and down the road

[Mighty Favog]

I used to play disco in mine while sitting at stop lights......oh, the wierd looks I would get. LOLOLOL