mercury gone/but not forgotten

[wish4newstang]

had a chance to talk to the owner of a Lincoln/Mercury dealer, here in the Columbus area. i was able to ask him about the future of Mercury, i would assume he would have more invested in it's future then us. He tells me that the plan is simply to increase volume with lincolns. He noticed I was less then excited by the proposition. As he said though, he sells more Lincolns now then Mercurys. He is worried about losing the Grand Marquis group, though. I own and drive Fords, but I go to him for service. Huge difference, in the service provided by him and the Closer Ford super Store near by. I think that this maybe the most conclusive info about the demise of Mercury. As someone who remembers the first Montego, and the Colony Park, both that special blue green hue, that my father drove, I will miss Mercury. I think however,even I know now its time.

[NickF1011]

The Grand Marquis crowd will mostly be dead soon anyway. To keep it around forever without change expecting that demographic to exist forever is kind of silly.

[LincolnFan]

The Grand Marquis crowd will mostly be dead soon anyway. To keep it around forever without change expecting that demographic to exist forever is kind of silly.

 

Well Aramda Master is still alive.... isn't he?

[jasonj80]

had a chance to talk to the owner of a Lincoln/Mercury dealer, here in the Columbus area. i was able to ask him about the future of Mercury, i would assume he would have more invested in it's future then us. He tells me that the plan is simply to increase volume with lincolns. He noticed I was less then excited by the proposition. As he said though, he sells more Lincolns now then Mercury's. He is worried about losing the Grand Marquis group, though. I own and drive Fords, but I go to him for service. Huge difference, in the service provided by him and the Closer Ford super Store near by. I think that this maybe the most conclusive info about the demise of Mercury. As someone who remembers the first Montego, and the Colony Park, both that special blue green hue, that my father drove, I will miss Mercury. I think however,even I know now its time.

 

 

If Mercury does go away can will you still be able to have your Ford serviced by a Lincoln dealer or will Lincoln go the way of Audi/VW, Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, and Nissan/Infiniti where they won't service each other vehicles except for certain rare cases.

[NickF1011]

If Mercury does go away can will you still be able to have your Ford serviced by a Lincoln dealer or will Lincoln go the way of Audi/VW, Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, and Nissan/Infiniti where they won't service each other vehicles except for certain rare cases.

 

Well, one hope would be once Mercury is gone, Ford will have the extra resources available to improve service at FORD dealers as well.

[jpd80]

Well Aramda Master is still alive.... isn't he?

 

Doesn't Amarda buy his cars "pre loved"?

It's like a knock on sale with Panthers - the fleets buy them because they're durable and reliable but

there's also good disposal price as well. Maybe it's supporting a sub-prime version of car sales but it's worked in the past.

Edited October 9, 2007 by jpd80

[Sixt9coug]

If Mercury does go away can will you still be able to have your Ford serviced by a Lincoln dealer or will Lincoln go the way of Audi/VW, Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, and Nissan/Infiniti where they won't service each other vehicles except for certain rare cases.

 

 

as a matter of fact, the public cant even buy Lexus parts from most Toyota dealerships even if they do carry them. We dealt with a Toyota dealer when i worked at a body shop that would carry and sell Lexus parts, but they would not sell them to the general public. sometimes its all about keeping brand definition and a strong brand image that way. In fact, where i work now we do all we can to differentiate the different paint brands that we have under our umbrella, even though whichever brand your shop uses, the money still comes to the parent company.

[Pioneer]

Doesn't Amarda buy his cars "pre loved"?

 

 

Not only that, none of the cars in his signature are Ford's.

[armadamaster]

I guess I've got a thing for sloppy seconds.

 

There's a LOT of members over at CVN who'd love to argue the GMQ demographic dying off, and no they don't suffer from dimentia.

 

I've helped friends and family into five Panthers now new and used over the last few years. Unless GM wows me with a new American based B-O-F RWD fullsized sedan in the near future, a Panther is in my forecast.

 

And no I am not drawing Social Security, but I did just hit the big 30.

[matthewq4b]

The Grand Marquis crowd will mostly be dead soon anyway. To keep it around forever without change expecting that demographic to exist forever is kind of silly.

 

 

The same thing was said said in the late 80's mid nineties late nineties early 00's and now going in to the late 00's.

 

Yup owners die off and new one's step up in to Panthers But with body styling now almost old enough to vote on the CV GM fewer and fewer people making them a choice.

 

If nothing else Ford has been able to perfect is the ability to let class leading Vehicles wither away to shadows of their former selves.

 

 

Matthew

[fbmphil]

I bet Armada Master hangs out at bowling alleys.

[jpd80]

I bet Armada Master hangs out at bowling alleys.

Translation for foreigners please?

[RichardJensen]

Translation for foreigners please?

Best done with pictures:

 

 

There. That's about 4,000 words of 'splaining.

[Ovaltine]

I guess I've got a thing for sloppy seconds.

 

Hey, since this IS a Mercury-related thread, if the above has ANYTHING to do with Jill Wagner, then I'VE GOT YOUR BACK!

 

 

:lol:

 

-Ovaltine

[jpd80]

Best done with pictures:

.........There. That's about 4,000 words of 'splaining.

 

Sad thing is it looks a bit like our bowling local alley over here, except no karaoke night.

Aussies have the looks, singing talent and drinking capacity of camels.

 

'Nuff said.

[armadamaster]

I bet Armada Master hangs out at bowling alleys.

 

Hey...thanks for that. BTW, I found an aerial shot of your house:

 

 

Is that you on the.....phone?

 

Edited October 9, 2007 by Armada Master

[NLPRacing]

Hey, since this IS a Mercury-related thread, if the above has ANYTHING to do with Jill Wagner, then I'VE GOT YOUR BACK!

 

 

:lol:

 

-Ovaltine

 

If we're talking about Jill, let's show a real picture...

[atomaro]

The Grand Marquis crowd will mostly be dead soon anyway.

 

 

Thats so wrong, but so true!

[NickF1011]

The same thing was said said in the late 80's mid nineties late nineties early 00's and now going in to the late 00's.

 

Yup owners die off and new one's step up in to Panthers But with body styling now almost old enough to vote on the CV GM fewer and fewer people making them a choice.

 

If nothing else Ford has been able to perfect is the ability to let class leading Vehicles wither away to shadows of their former selves.

 

 

Matthew

 

If new buyers were stepping to the plate, Panther sales wouldn't be as abyssmal as they are now. The Panther may have been class-leading over a decade ago, but unfortunately, the rest of the industry has moved on without them.

[wescoent]

It doesn't surprise me that dealers are expecting the worst, considering no reports of all-new product on the horizon, as well as Ford's efforts to grow Lincoln. In September, the Grand Marquis, Milan, and Mariner all sold about 2,500 units, and the Sable and Mountaineer both sold around 1,500 units. This translates into approximate annual sales of 120,000 units for the entire brand. We have to factor in that, by in far, most Grand Marquis and Sable sales are to older folks unlikely to buy another car again. Scrub those two, and we're down to about 72,000 annual sales of the Mountaineer, Milan, and Mariner, three products which predominantly sell to a much younger crowd keen to Mercury's urban chic theme. Hardly a record breaking figure, but still meaningful numbers, reflecting sales that WON'T GO TO FORD if the brand is dropped.

 

Mercury does not have a dedicated product development team, nor does it need one. It's true Mercury is watching its Grand Marquis/Sable customers literally die off, but what remains is a solid core group of products capable of carrying the brand into the future and acting as an affordable supplement to what will be aspirational Lincoln automobiles.

 

First thing would be replacing the Mountaineer with a Mercury version of the next On-Road Explorer. It's what people want, and people will buy it in far greater numbers than the current Mountaineer. A very easy 3,000 sales per month.

 

Secondly, Mercury is screaming for a Kuga to replace the Mariner. Keep the Mariner name, though. Another easy 3,000 sales per month.

 

The Milan is an opportunity waiting to happen. Ford should get on the ball right now, and get on the Huntsman Falcon program, and allow Ford to build the Falcon in the US as the next MKZ. That way, the next Milan can become what the MKZ is right now... a true step above the Fusion. A Milan of this nature would be able to maintain sales of about 3,000 units per month, much like the MKZ.

 

Obviously, with the price hike, a new Mercury Tracer based on the C2 Focus would be in order to shore things up in the 18k-24k range. With proper advertising, they should reach volumes of about 6,000 units per month initially.

[old_fairmont_wagon]

I firmly believe that Ford spent too long just letting Mercury wither on the vine. They stripped it of its luxury image by constantly making them virtual carbon copies of Fords with almost no differing features (content, performance, body panels, etc). Now, they are trying to sell it as am urban chic brand, but, give it a big handicap by not offering anything in the C segment which is where a lot of the "urban chic" market happens to be buying in at the moment. They have no clear direction for Mercury and it shows.

 

Their best bet would have been several years ago. They needed to decide that Ford was to have mainstream appeal, Lincoln was to be American Luxury, and Mercury was the "trendy" brand. Do what it takes to give mercury trendy vehicles off of existing platforms and body skeletons but with enough differentiation to make it look "cool". I know, money was tight, but, if the investment had been made back when it wasn't, would money have been as tight?

 

Its too late now. The brand, like apparently the Taurus name and perhaps the Ford name, is damaged goods. Its time to walk away and go a different course.

[Tico]

Mercury shoulda, coulda, woulda fit in the same place as Saturn does for GM. Heck, I think many people don't even know Mercury is made by Ford. Looks like the decision has already been made however. I guess Lincoln dealrs better find a Ford dealer to merge with or pick up a deal with some competitor. I can't see most dealerships surviving alone on Lincoln.

[Mark B. Morrow]

If we're talking about Jill, let's show a real picture...

 

WOW :shades:

[Watchdevil]

Obviously, with the price hike, a new Mercury Tracer based on the C2 Focus would be in order to shore things up in the 18k-24k range. With proper advertising, they should reach volumes of about 6,000 units per month initially.

 

Tracer sounds so discount. Let's stick with kitty names like Lynx or Puma from the former Euro model... But the way things are going with the shift to all things Lincoln we could end up with an MKY...

[NickF1011]

Mercury shoulda, coulda, woulda fit in the same place as Saturn does for GM. Heck, I think many people don't even know Mercury is made by Ford. Looks like the decision has already been made however. I guess Lincoln dealrs better find a Ford dealer to merge with or pick up a deal with some competitor. I can't see most dealerships surviving alone on Lincoln.

 

Lincoln is almost to the point of self-sufficiency already. Smaller luxury players like Infiniti have managed to survive as stand-alone dealers.