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Ford investing in Mercury, but exec won't guarantee its future


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I don't see were updating the Mariners drivetrain or giving Milan a hybred is truely investing in the brand. Mercury would have neither if Ford wasn't adding these features to their own sister models.

 

I do not want to see Mercury go away. There is room for it in the line up. Especially as Ford sells off PAG. This gives Lincoln room to stretch and be the luxury car it should have always been--even go global as new, better models are introduced. There will still be a gap between Ford and Lincoln where Mercury can thrive-especially if it is ever given an identity again. It does not have to be volume, niche will work. Someone suggested a Pontiac approach of being Ford's sporty division, this could work, but it would take work and comitment from Ford.

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The Mariner will get updates and I believe that a new Milan is coming in 2009. It is possible that the Sable will also get redesigned when the new Taurus comes, but after that who knows? I am assuming that the Mountaineer is dead unless they plan a new one to come out with a new Explorer in 2010. It is possible. I guess we will see when the time comes.

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Wow. Ford doing something that makes sense is bound to do two things:

 

Enrage the zealots and cause the gloom-and-doomers to shift topics.

 

Once again, you have nothing new to add.

 

And I like how a refreshed Milan or Mariner is considered "New Product" in Ford's standards. I wonder if Ford is planning on a D3 Mountaineer, now that's new product imo.

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Once again, you have nothing new to add.

 

And I like how a refreshed Milan or Mariner is considered "New Product" in Ford's standards. I wonder if Ford is planning on a D3 Mountaineer, now that's new product imo.

I also wonder, if that doesn't happen, if Mercury will recieve the Taurus X after it's replaced in the Ford lineup by Explorer/Flex.

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Without the Grand Marquis, Mercury is a dead brand, as the rebranding towards women has been an utter failure.

 

Since Ford is spending nothing on the Panther, that is all you need to know.

With the Grand Marquis, Mercury is a dead brand. The rebranding towards women will always be a failure because at the end of the day, the average man and woman want the same things from their cars: reliability, comfort and functionality. You just end up patronizing the women and driving off the men.
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isn't that basically what mazda is to them? i realize ford doesnt own all of mazda but still alot cheaper to improve on a stable profitable company then a DOA

 

Which brand are you calling stable and which one are you calling DOA? Mercury's profit margins have been MUCH more stable than Mazda's.

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I do not want to see Mercury go away. There is room for it in the line up. Especially as Ford sells off PAG. This gives Lincoln room to stretch and be the luxury car it should have always been--even go global as new, better models are introduced. There will still be a gap between Ford and Lincoln where Mercury can thrive-especially if it is ever given an identity again. It does not have to be volume, niche will work. Someone suggested a Pontiac approach of being Ford's sporty division, this could work, but it would take work and comitment from Ford.

 

I agree. I don't want to see Mercury go away, either. Ford needs to make Lincoln more upscale like Cadillac is doing, going after Mercedes and Lexus. Mercury can then be more like lower end luxury imports like GM is doing with their Buick/Saturn, especially if Ford decides to let go of Volvo. Mazda can compete with Pontiac as a sporty division.

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I agree. I don't want to see Mercury go away, either. Ford needs to make Lincoln more upscale like Cadillac is doing, going after Mercedes and Lexus. Mercury can then be more like lower end luxury imports like GM is doing with their Buick/Saturn, especially if Ford decides to let go of Volvo. Mazda can compete with Pontiac as a sporty division.

 

Ford is working on making Lincoln a global luxury player.....it will take time. Consitently high quality, attractive cars (inside and out) will only help as well, and it appears that Lincoln is well on it's way to providing this.

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Mercury should be an American-style car. Ford can be the trendy volume make. Mercury should ( since it is a US only make) should be recoginicaly American. While the central body sections can be shared, the front and rear styling and the applied ornamentation can be very different. The auto companies have spent years trying to copy Japanese or German cars. What have they accomplished - lost sales - shrunken market share - discontinued makes. Maybe a little traditional American style to set at least one makes models apart wouldn't be such a bad idea.

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Mercury should be an American-style car. Ford can be the trendy volume make. Mercury should ( since it is a US only make) should be recoginicaly American. While the central body sections can be shared, the front and rear styling and the applied ornamentation can be very different. The auto companies have spent years trying to copy Japanese or German cars. What have they accomplished - lost sales - shrunken market share - discontinued makes. Maybe a little traditional American style to set at least one makes models apart wouldn't be such a bad idea.

 

I think that could be a good idea.

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  • 2 weeks later...
this makes no sense...investing monies in a dead dinosaur then refusing to support longevity of the brand...typical ford....they need to put mercury out of its misery and invest the savings in some innovative stylistic high mileage vehicles..

I would sit tight on you perceptions of Mercury until they get done improving the Lincoln line-up with unique platforms Like the MKS. In time there there plans will become more apparant. Im's Sure the Merc line is next on the list. But First the investment has to be made to set Lincoln apart as a distinctly different brand apart from For and utilizing our current global resources more efficiently!

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Mercury needs to break away from having all of there models being rebadged Fords. The last time Mercury had its own car was the last generation of the Cougar. Mercury definatly can have a spot in fords lineup and ford needs to realize this.

 

Give Mercury

 

1 CUV ( just as RMC said, give Mercury the META ONE concept )

1 Compact Car ( i believe the Tracer was the last compact for Mercury )

1 or 2 midsize sedans ( Milan and Mystisque )

1 or 2 Fullsize sedans ( but from seeing the Sable and GM competeing to when a sale, it looks like GM is winning )

1 Compact pickup truck ( if the Ranger is not redesigned, and no one wants a B-Series, Give Mercury the job )

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Mercury needs to break away from having all of there models being rebadged Fords. The last time Mercury had its own car was the last generation of the Cougar. Mercury definatly can have a spot in fords lineup and ford needs to realize this.

 

Give Mercury

 

1 CUV ( just as RMC said, give Mercury the META ONE concept )

1 Compact Car ( i believe the Tracer was the last compact for Mercury )

1 or 2 midsize sedans ( Milan and Mystisque )

1 or 2 Fullsize sedans ( but from seeing the Sable and GM competeing to when a sale, it looks like GM is winning )

1 Compact pickup truck ( if the Ranger is not redesigned, and no one wants a B-Series, Give Mercury the job )

Whether or not it is being reported or not I believe this is the plan, I watched an iterveiw of Alan Mullaly where he was asked about the Mercury line. He did not get specific as to it's future. He instead stressed the importance of drawing together Fords global resources in every aspect for design, sales, and marketing. He also adressed making the Lincoln line distinctly different from the Ford line as a priority after redefinning our core (Ford) brand! The Mercury line up is still good in that many options that are available on them are not on the Ford counter parts. I believe the Merc line-up will get the same treatment after the Lincoln transformation!

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