Mercury Dead, Lincoln Lineup to Expand

[630land]

The hobbyists, loyalists, old timers, brand fanatics, car trivia buffs, 'bring back all full szied cars' fans, and all the whining doesn't matter in the real car market. The 0.8 % will get made up in no time. Fleets will get Fords instead!

 

Someone from Canada said Mercury died in 1999 there and "no one noticed". Cry all day, but it's the same as when CBS cancelled 'Gudiing Light', a 70 y/o soap opera, was time to go.

 

There have been hundreds of car makes that have went down since 1900, and the world still is turning.

[KCM1]

Why not make Mercury an option: paint/decals/nameplates/engine selection/tail lights/grill styles...

 

I actually had that thought today as well, and think it would be a great idea. Ford could offer an upscale Mercury appearance and luxury package on some of it's models which would include a waterfall grill, Mercury logo badging (even a grill badge), different taillights, wheels, and other exterior and interior changes. Ford already does something similar with the VOGA package on the Milan, and the 2011 Fusion has similar appearance and luxury packages. This would keep the Mercury name and spirit alive, and adding a package like this is essentially what Ford has been doing with Mercury for the last few years anyway. Some of us like to have something that looks unique, or simply want another choice that may be more appealing to us, so a Mercury package would be perfect. Ford already makes changes like these on the Mustang to give the car a different look and make it different than others on the road.

 

Is this just crazy talk? Or is the real question how can this idea get passed on to Ford?

Edited June 4, 2010 by KCM1

[blazerdude20]

I actually had that thought today as well, and think it would be a great idea. Ford could offer an upscale Mercury appearance and luxury package on some of it's models which would include a waterfall grill, Mercury logo badging (even a grill badge), different taillights, and other exterior and interior changes. Ford already does something similar with the VOGA package on the Milan, and the 2011 Fusion has similar appearance and luxury packages. This would keep the Mercury name and spirit alive, and adding a package like this is essentially what Ford has been doing with Mercury for the last few years anyway. Some of us like to have something that looks unique, or simply want another choice that may be more appealing to us, so a Mercury package would be perfect. Ford already makes changes like these on the Mustang to give the car a different look and make it different than others on the road.

 

Or is this just crazy talk?

 

so basically just keep mercury but not the dealers? maybe im misunderstanding you.

 

glad to see it go. time to focus on lincoln.

[KCM1]

so basically just keep mercury but not the dealers?

 

Essentially, yes. The Mercury dealer network unfortunately has outlived its usefulness and will be disbanded, though it is painful to say and hear. As has been stated in other posts, Mercury is just a rebadged Ford product today with minor trim changes. These changes could fairly easily be incorporated into a Mercury appearance and luxury package that can be purchased on models such as the Fusion, Taurus, and SUV's. Ford in recent years has been big into these luxury and appearance packages, so would fit right in with their current philosophy.

 

I know there are some people that say the Mercury/Lincoln service departments are superior to Ford's, and if true, that is just something Ford needs to improve upon and raise the bar over time. I suspect that if Ford offers dealers the option of taking on Ford in place of Mercury, most would take them up on the offer, so their service would still be superior whether they sell Mercury or Ford.

[2b2]

dupe

Edited June 4, 2010 by 2b2

[2b2]

Essentially, yes. The Mercury dealer network unfortunately has outlived its usefulness and will be disbanded, though it is painful to say and hear. As has been stated in other posts, Mercury is just a rebadged Ford product today with minor trim changes. These changes could fairly easily be incorporated into a Mercury appearance and luxury package that can be purchased on models such as the Fusion, Taurus, and SUV's. Ford in recent years has been big into these luxury and appearance packages, so would fit right in with their current philosophy.

 

I know there are some people that say the Mercury/Lincoln service departments are superior to Ford's, and if true, that is just something Ford needs to improve upon and raise the bar over time. I suspect that if Ford offers dealers the option of taking on Ford in place of Mercury, most would take them up on the offer, so their service would still be superior whether they sell Mercury or Ford.

I pretty much agree, KCM

afterall, I'm trying to figure out how to customize a new Focus into a "Capri"...

 

...and, switching Mfgs to avoid an attack;

I ranted for GM keeping all their NAMEPLATES - the sport versions would be Pontiacs, the base would Saturn, the full-featured trim would be Buick - along with different grille inserts but not much more.

Imho it'd keep more brand-fans in-the-fold

plus

if/when the market changes, they could be split-back-out

so they wouldn't have to re-introduce the customers to either a resurrected-fossil or, worse, a new nameplate.

 

I never could understand why "they" won't let us keep our beloved Names just don't see how 2 'names' cost more than one.

[NickF1011]

The hobbyists, loyalists, old timers, brand fanatics, car trivia buffs, 'bring back all full szied cars' fans, and all the whining doesn't matter in the real car market. The 0.8 % will get made up in no time.

 

It already has been, more than twice over. Mercury's market share has been flat in 2010. Ford's market share has increased 2.2 percentage points in the same timeframe.

[saintlaz1]

It already has been, more than twice over. Mercury's market share has been flat in 2010. Ford's market share has increased 2.2 percentage points in the same timeframe.

 

Well if you leave Mercury with only two viable products what do you expect?

[NickF1011]

Well if you leave Mercury with only two viable products what do you expect?

 

Their market share was dropping even when they had more product. It simply wasn't worth the investment anymore, especially when it has been demonstrated that it's much easier to build market share simply by using the existing Ford brand instead of trying to do it with Mercury.

[Chester]

You guys/gals that said to use the upper trim level name on Fords as Mercury could be on to something. What's the difference between Titanium and Mercury. Both are metals. Not much difference really, except that the name Mercury does have some draw to Ford fans.

 

I know if I was buying between two exactly the same vehicle, but one was the titanium edition, and the other a Mercury edition, I'd pick the Mercury.

 

Seems like a good idea to me.

 

But, to do this, you may need to kill the Mercury lineup for a year or two at least.

[NickF1011]

You guys/gals that said to use the upper trim level name on Fords as Mercury could be on to something. What's the difference between Titanium and Mercury. Both are metals. Not much difference really, except that the name Mercury does have some draw to Ford fans.

 

I know if I was buying between two exactly the same vehicle, but one was the titanium edition, and the other a Mercury edition, I'd pick the Mercury.

 

Seems like a good idea to me.

 

But, to do this, you may need to kill the Mercury lineup for a year or two at least.

 

If you are going to choose the Mercury name based on it being a metal, that is just poor marketing. Titanium is a metal associated with strength. Mercury is a metal associated with poisoning our drinking water.

[papilgee4evaeva]

If you are going to choose the Mercury name based on it being a metal, that is just poor marketing. Titanium is a metal associated with strength. Mercury is a metal associated with poisoning our drinking water.

 

:lol:

[glyphmon]

There have been hundreds of car makes that have went down since 1900, and the world still is turning.

 

No argument there. And while this is getting sorely off-topic, combined GM/Ford/Chrysler market share in the early/mid '80s... approximately 72%.

 

Today: 47%

 

I'm not arguing that this is due to closure of "irrelevant" brands, just that it's the result of marginalizing customers, and building what you think you can get away with. And every marginalized customer counts in the end.

 

No whining, no complaining - just a statement. Agree, disagree, doesn't matter. Mercury's dead, the haters got their wishes, it really was only a matter of time without significant investment BEFORE this decade. I hope everyone who has been hoping for this does their victory dance long and hard.

[Chester]

If you are going to choose the Mercury name based on it being a metal, that is just poor marketing. Titanium is a metal associated with strength. Mercury is a metal associated with poisoning our drinking water.

 

Or it can be associated with Hotness. Such as when the temps go up so does the Mercury.

[akirby]

I'm not arguing that this is due to closure of "irrelevant" brands, just that it's the result of marginalizing customers, and building what you think you can get away with. And every marginalized customer counts in the end.

 

It's the result of taking a de facto closed market which only faced real competition from each other and which resulted in high overhead and mediocre products and opening it up to foreign competition. Detroit didn't move fast enough to compete until recently. Number of brands is only relevant to overhead costs. It's about the company's total sales and the number of companies now competing.

 

You can't possibly maintain a 70+% market share among 3 companies when you have viable competitors like Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, BMW, MB, Audi, etc. not to mention all of the smaller ones.

 

It would be like expecting Motorola to have a 75% market share on cell phones just because they were the first to market 20 years ago (not sure if they were or not - just making a point).

 

Just as no new company would be expected to grab a 50% market share, we shouldn't expect Ford or GM to be able to maintain their old market shares because the market has changed. And it doesn't matter what was done or will be done with individual brands.

[akirby]

Or it can be associated with Hotness. Such as when the temps go up so does the Mercury.

The only thing hot associated with Mercury was Jill.......

[FordBuyer]

Essentially, yes. The Mercury dealer network unfortunately has outlived its usefulness and will be disbanded, though it is painful to say and hear. As has been stated in other posts, Mercury is just a rebadged Ford product today with minor trim changes. These changes could fairly easily be incorporated into a Mercury appearance and luxury package that can be purchased on models such as the Fusion, Taurus, and SUV's. Ford in recent years has been big into these luxury and appearance packages, so would fit right in with their current philosophy.

 

I know there are some people that say the Mercury/Lincoln service departments are superior to Ford's, and if true, that is just something Ford needs to improve upon and raise the bar over time. I suspect that if Ford offers dealers the option of taking on Ford in place of Mercury, most would take them up on the offer, so their service would still be superior whether they sell Mercury or Ford.

 

 

Living in Metro Detroit, the Ford dealers are huge with thousands of cars on lots and very busy service departments and showrooms. I do business with Bill Brown Ford and they are huge. So is Jack Demmer. On the other hand, the Hines Park Lincoln Mercury Dealer by me is like visiting a small town...quiet and sleepy. So it would seem to me that someone buying or servicing their vehicle at average Lincoln/Mercury dealer would have much better one on one experience with no stress and pressure. Now with Mercury gone, those dealerships will be real quiet. The Ford dealerships will get busier and busier as there are less of them and as they pick up Mercury buyers and Lincoln dealerships will get quieter. No wonder Lincoln/Mercury owners get better dealership experiences. Who likes crowds and service personnel pressed for time.

[lincmerc51]

I, for one, will miss Mercury. Actually, I have missed it for aboout 20 years since Ford began letting the brand wither and die. First going first thru a stage ,probably thanks to elana ford who ran Merc for some years, where Mercury intentionally catered to women almost exclusively. Brilliant marketing strategy that, eliminating more than 50% of your potential customers up front.

 

My first car was a '64 Monterey convertible. Totalled by a drunk driver (not me, the other drunk driver). I replaced that with a '67 Cyclone GT convertible. 390/4 on the floor. red buckets, black ext, white top. Sweet. If I had it today, would be worth $50,000 or more. Ah, the 60s. Next door neighbor had a '67 Camaro. Other friends - GTOs, bonnevilles, 442s, RoadRunners, etc etc. All now GONE. Sad it is. Sad am I. A modern day Cougar is the one car I was hoping and hoping and hoping that Ford would build. Ford thinks I want a Lincoln 'C' car. Yeah, I want that as much as I want a nissan leaf or a scion xb. IE - NOT AT ALL.

 

But the Merc was named and built for speed. Not for soccer Moms. Ford lost sight of that and ended up with some of the worst badge-engineered cars ever - bobcat, lynx, topaz, etc etc. Ugh. Sad. Milan and Mariner a wee bit better, not much. Mountaineer was always a joke - an SUV without a 4WD option? Bah humbug. But the ladies dont need 4WD to get the groceries do they? Marquis became a legend of room, style and reliability for the older generation. But that demo is naturally dying off. I actually considered one of the new Marauders - til I saw in person how badly they screwed THAT pooch.

 

So now it falls to Lincoln. Alone? Stand-alone Lincoln dealers? Really? Sounds like a recipe for failure to me. Does Lincoln sell 1/2 what Lexus does? 25%? 10%? Can u build a dealership on that volume??? But from Ford's perspective, hey, this could be a big time money maker. Just take the Mariner for instance. Ford has been working on an up-market Mariner for some time. Right now, they charge a few hundred more for a MAriner over an Escape. Now, they'll be able to charge several thousand more for a Lincoln version. Instant money. Same for Milan. Dont like the Fusion? Well, used to be able to move 'up' or at least 'over' to a somewhat different-looking vehicle for about the same price. No more. Now, try the MK'Z - for about what $8000 more? Instant money. And more new Lincolns on the way. Gee, how long have I been hearing that? Oh and, have I mentioned how I feel about the letter names for Lincoln? UGH should be enuf.

 

Last, I wanna say that I think Ford is actually in trouble as deep or deeper than the other formerly American car companies. Sure, they didn't take TARP money or any other government help (that we know of). Everyone thinks Mulally is a genius for that and other moves. But really, Ford is only in the capitol position it is in because of the sell-off of other brands putting cash in the coffers. Doing that severly limited Ford's future and trashing Mercury (long known to be Mulally's goal) limits it even more. They sold most of their stake in Mazda too. Soon Volvo is gone (if it's not already.) Then we're down to Ford. And Lincoln. From Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Jaguar, Land Rover, 1/2Mazda, Volvo, did I miss any? THis is progress?

Then there's the UAW - refused to take any hit for Ford even though their 'brothers' at GM and Chrysler took a stiff hit on salary etc for the good of the collective. So now it costs Ford more to build a similar car than ANY competitor. So Ford is at a disadvantage out of the gate. Oh and Mulally's other brilliant decision, to bring back the Taurus name (and for the ladies, Sable) just never made any sense to me. Other than that, I'm sure he's doing a fine job.

 

Right now, I own 2 Lincolns, a 2001 LS and a 2004 Navigator. They are both fantastic cars. The LS of course is a breed of Lincoln we'll NEVER see again, even with this decision to free up $$$s for Lincoln by killing Mercury. The LS was meant to be an opening volley for real Lincolns, not badge-engineered Fords. Alas, though it had unlimited potential, in the end it failed. THe failure atually started right out of the gate since the Lincoln dealers I approached early-on would not even ORDER me a car the way I wanted it. Because I wanted a stick shift. THey were afraid I'd bail and they'd be stuck with a hot rod Lincoln they couldn't sell. I wonder if Caddy dealers treated manual tranny buyers of the CTS like that??? I had to contact the VP of Lincoln marketing who then pressured a dealer to order me a car. Unbelievable but true. So here I am almost 10 years later with my manual tranny LS and wife and I still love it. It runs like new and I love running thru the gears. Of course, the car really needs the twin turbo engine. But that would blow the getrag to bits. Is there anything in Lincoln's current or known to me future line up that I would consider replacing the LS with? NO. The MKS comes closest due to twin turbo and AWD. But in the end, it's a freeway cruiser only and I could get a Grand Marquis for a lot less if I wanted that. Ford? I like the new Taurus SHO (Looks better than the MKS and cheaper too), but without a stick shift option? No thanks. A Cougar with a six speed and a 5.0 liter? Yeah - gimme one of those. Ooops - not on the menu? Guess Infiniti, Acura, Audi are the ones vying for my business now.

 

So, good luck to Ford/Lincoln. I think they will need a whole lot of it.

 

Oh, and really good luck with Ford/Lincoln dealers. Imagine a luxo-customer being 'treated' to the same service as the contractor driving the dirty F-150 and the 20-something with the cheap POS Foci etc. I've already had that experience, having bought my LS from a FLM dealer and the service dept SUCKED BIG TIME. They even caused about $1000 worth of body damage to my LS once and then DENIED they did it. Fortunately, I had the service tech do a walk-around when I brought it in so there was evidence of ZERO body damage in, $1000 worth out. So they HAD to fix it. Lexus-type buyers won't put up with that.

 

OK, I guess I've ranted enough. Bottom line - I feel like a stranger n a strange land now. No more Mercury, Plymouth, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, etc. But Japanese and Korean and now Indian and soon Chinese brands growing more and more. The world has changed so much. I don;t like much of it. But tilting at windmills will get me nowhere.

[NickF1011]

Then we're down to Ford. And Lincoln. From Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Jaguar, Land Rover, 1/2Mazda, Volvo, did I miss any? THis is progress?

 

I'll take a profitable Ford & Lincoln over a money-losing Ford/Lincoln/Mercury/Volvo/Jaguar/Land Rover/Aston Martin/Mazda any day.

[lincmerc51]

I'll take a profitable Ford & Lincoln over a money-losing Ford/Lincoln/Mercury/Volvo/Jaguar/Land Rover/Aston Martin/Mazda any day.

 

I'll take a 2011 Cougar Eliminator myself.

[NickF1011]

I'll take a 2011 Cougar Eliminator myself.

 

Even if it means an unsustainable business for Ford Motor Company? How very considerate of you. :P

[ausrutherford]

Even if it means an unsustainable business for Ford Motor Company? How very considerate of you. :P

 

I guess Ford could make a Cougar without Mercury :shades:

[NickF1011]

I guess Ford could make a Cougar without Mercury :shades:

 

They do. It's called Mustang. :poke:

[KCM1]

But the Merc was named and built for speed. Not for soccer Moms. Ford lost sight of that and ended up with some of the worst badge-engineered cars ever - bobcat, lynx, topaz, etc etc. Ugh. Sad. Milan and Mariner a wee bit better, not much. Mountaineer was always a joke - an SUV without a 4WD option? Bah humbug. But the ladies dont need 4WD to get the groceries do they? Marquis became a legend of room, style and reliability for the older generation. But that demo is naturally dying off. I actually considered one of the new Marauders - til I saw in person how badly they screwed THAT pooch.

 

I know I'll get flack for this, but why was the Topaz such a bad car? The 2nd and 3rd generation were good, dependable, well built cars at an affordable price. Ford redesigned the roofline to seperate it from it's sister Tempo. Sure they were not speed demons, but no mainstream car maker has 100% performance cars unless they are a specialty car company. Afterall, Ford, and Mercury, needs to sell cars to everybody, including soccer moms and the older generation if they want to stay in business.

[AlRozzi]

Oh crap!

 

 

AutoTrader said that 11 percent of Mercury shoppers also considered Chevrolet, while 8 percent looked at Hyundai, Honda and Toyota vehicles