LM4EVR

A true full-size car would be a wonderful thing and I'd buy a new one. I still have my bought new 10 Marquis and 11 Town Car but, alas, the two remaining auto companies only care about giant pick-ups and utility wagons.

Thanks for your help!

Please be patient with me, you threw me with the striker comment. The hole I am talking about is in the door skin, about 8 inches in from the leading edge of the back door, and no where near the door striker and latch assembly. If that hole was used for mounting the door, then it would be in both back doors? Then how did they mount the front doors, there are no holes in them. Also, what is a "DSO"? Thanks again!

Thanks for the reply. Does that mean it was done at the factory? Do all Grand Marquis and Crown Victorias have the hole underneath the rear door body side molidng? And what is a striker fixture? Thanks again!

I always wondered why they never asked me, the loyal Lincoln-Mercury customer since I was in my 20s, what I wanted? I buy new. I bought my last Mercury in 2010 and my last Lincoln in 2011. How come my opinion doesn't count? Why does the BMW, Lexus guys count but not me, the loyal customer? They haven't aimed a new car at me in 20 years. PS: I always liked the parthenon grille, which ended back in 1997. The "Lincolnesque" grilles never really cut it for me. Then they brought out the split-wing grille. I thought, wow, that is nice, especially on the MKZ. Chrome with argent. Eye catching. Now they have toned it down to a grey color. Ugly.

I scraped my 2010 Grand Marquis against a concrete pillar in a parking garage. Nothing serious but it did leave some scratches in the paint and nicked up the body side moldings. You had to get real close to see the damage but I am finicky and took the car to the dealer body shop to have the scratches fixed and new moldings put on. Well, for the second time, the moldings came loose. This time I decided to put them back on myself. While looking at the back door (passenger side) I noticed a hole, about an inch across, covered in a flexible, vinyl like substance and painted body color. The dealer said they painted the entire door, actually both doors, top to bottom to make sure it was a match. Would the factory have done this or the body shop and why? I bought the car new. Thanks.

I scraped my 2010 Grand Marquis against a concrete parking garage pilar. Some scratches to the paint and bodyside moldings. Nothing serious but I took it to the dealer to have the scratches fixed and the molding replaced. Well, the door moldings fell off and while I was looking at the back door (passenger side) I noticed a hole, covered by a flexible, vinyl like substance, body colored. This couldn't possibly be a factory hole, could it? I am wondering why the factory would drill a hole through the back door sheet metal and cover it with a vinyl thingy. I am thinking the body shop drilled the hole and then covered it, painted it and then put the molding over it. Seems bizarre. Can anyone help? I bought the car new.

Oh that is good, I would like to get a Town Car next summer and make my 2010 Grand Marquis the daily driver. The current Merc will then go to the scrap yard at about 300K. Then I will be good to go for 10 years or until someone builds a car I like once again. Maybe. Hopefully. 26 years with Mercury. Like the ad said "The substance shows". Never had a bad one.

Just bought my last new Mercury. Just got home, signed the paperwork on a 2010 Grand Marquis LS. Unlike many people here I actually "walked the walk". Loyal Mercury customer since 1984. All my service work has been done by my Lincoln-Mercury dealer. Have a GREAT mechanic who gets the job done right the first time and doesn't sell me stuff I don't need. He is honest and knowledgeable. The saleslady I bought the car from was always friendly and cordial when I walked the showroom floor while killing time waiting for my car to be serviced. We always had a nice chat, she was never dismisive when I was just in for service. Today she got a sale. While my mechanic was doing serivce on my car. I asked my long time service advisor (a nice kid who is now married with a child of his own) if he thought I would need to find a new service outlet once Mercury was gone. He thinks the dealership will continue on with just Lincoln. The saleslady wasn't so sure. She thinks it will be a rough couple of years until all the new Lincolns are online. In fact she thinks it would have made more sense to keep Mercury until Lincoln was fleshed out more (although she would rather not see Mercury go). My mechanic was more blunt...they want the Lexis customer and could care not less about the Mercury customer. None of them is happy about the death of Mercury. Ford ignored us, the Mercury customer. Starved Mercury of product. There was room in the market for one traditionaly styled car line. Mercury could have been it. Oh well, the plug was pulled. We all got our death notices signed by Ken Czubay, VP, US Marketing, Sales and Service (couldn't have Bill Ford had his name put to it?). Yes, they sent us a letter. The good will lost is probably alot more than they realize. Not to mention name recognition. I'll post a pic once I pick the new buggy up. Maybe an Avalon next time around? Oh, and I am not a "blue hair", I am a 51 year old who has a fair number of new cars left in him. (Although many companies make a good living marketing to those derisively referred to as blue hairs).

I would like to point out, in defense of my basic argument, that Henry Ford I made his fortune AND put thousands of men and woman to work in thousands of jobs of every conceivable skill level. Henry ford II did the same thing when he turned Ford around after the war. Did these men make missteps? Yes, so don't nit pick over the mistakes because they recovered from those mistakes and made Ford stronger. The thing is they built the company and contributed to the overall economy of our nation. If the F150 has dropped 50 per cent in sales over the last 5 years that is even scarier than the death of Mercury. That can not be entirely due to the economy. If it is then why isn't Ford maintaining higher sales by taking sales from Toyota and Dodge? I know enough that the F150 is not only more important than Mercury, it is more important than all of Lincoln, the Taurus or even the Mustang. The Ford F150 is iconic and a major money maker. It is also a fundamental product. Sort of like milk and eggs to a grocer.

Thank you Kev-Mo and AlRozzi, you guys actualy read my post and understood what I was getting at! Mercury became irrelevant because Ford let it become irrelevant. Adjusting your product content to reflect changing markets conditions is one thing. Shrinking the number sales outlets and factories because of a nationwide depression is one thing. The economy, however, was quite good from the late 80s to the early 00s. Yet Ford lost both gross sales and market share. As did GM and Chrysler. Dropping Mercury is not a good sign. "Mercury deserved to die because too many blue haired people drove them. " Geeze! Come on guys, think a little. PS: I don't have blue hair (yet!)

Since there won't be a 2011 Grand Marquis and the Crown Victoria is fleet only will there be a retail version of the Town Car?

"That's your opinion. No facts to back it up. You have a bummer attitude; that's your choice." Yes, two facts: Ford and Lincoln dealers are combined and not two seperate sales outlets, and 2) Mercury was dropped. Those are facts. I do not have a bummer attitude. The US automarket is now dominated by foreign companies. Just another fact. Going back to basics would mean going back to Ford w/o Lincoln.

I’ve read some of the comments regarding Mercury’s discontinuation. Some are reasoned and most are emotional (pro and con), I think the emotional ones are called “flames” in the chat room world. Things like Mercury should have died, or Buick should die, that sort of thing. But step back for a moment at look at the big picture. Now I will be honest here, having owned four new Mercurys, my first new car being a 1984 Capri and being a very happy, loyal customer. I get all my service work done at my selling dealer, a L-M (no Ford) dealer with whom I have also been very happy with. So, yes, this decision hits me personally. Now with my cards on the table…… Fifty years ago there were six US auto and light truck manufacturers (not counting Checker and IH) and 17 makes. These six companies had over 90 per cent of the US car market. Chevrolet and Ford combined controlled 25 per cent of the market each. The nation’s population was around 180 million. Fast forward to 2010. Population 300 million. Yet the number of manufacturers has been halved. Their combined market share of 45 per cent has also been halved. GM, Ford and Chrysler (the corporations, not the makes) combined control less than GM by itself did 50 years ago. The number of makes is now down to 9. Something is wrong here. This is more than just Mercury being discontinued. This is about a major US industry permanently downsizing and giving up 50 per cent of its domestic market to foreign companies. This is significantly different then when Chrysler Corp. passed Ford Motor in the early 30s or when Ford Motor regained second place in the early 50s. This is more significant than Rambler displacing Plymouth for third most popular make in the early 1960s. This is an entire US industry that appears to be dieing off. In early 20th century, as the automobile became ubiquitous the saddle and buggy industry retreated. Cars and trucks replaced horses as the main form of personal and business transportation. Today we still have saddle and buggy makers but it isn’t a major industry because horses are no longer a major mode of transport. This is a logical progression. In a 21st century vain we have the cell phone and the land line phone. The cell phone will probably replace the land line as the primary personal phone in this country (baring an unforeseen catastrophe). Will the land line go away? Certainly not, it is a valuable and useful part of our infrastructure but its’ prominence is being reduced. Both of these examples are in stark contrast to the automobile industry. Motorized transport is not going away. It may evolve. We will probably end up with a new type of fuel at some point. But the automobile itself is not going away. That is what makes this all so unsettling. The largest manufacturing sector in the US is now controlled by foreign interests. Gentlemen, regardless of what your opinion of Mercury is, and mine happens to be all good, this is a symptom of a much bigger problem. If the people at Ford truly thought they could regain their preeminence in the US auto industry they would have kept Ford and L-M as two distinct sales outlets and would have retained Mercury as an ongoing concern. There is something rotten, just not in Demark this time.

When will production of the retail Town Car end? Will it make it until next summer?