LM4EVR Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 (edited) 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). Edited June 23, 2010 by LM4EVR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 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). So, you automatically dismiss the possibility of buying something from the 2 surviving brands, without knowing anything about their future models, because of the name on the trunk? Congrats on the new ride... I hope that when it's time to replace it you at least consider a Ford or Lincoln. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmm55 Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Maybe the new Lincolns will be here sooner. I hope so for the dealerships sake. I don't know what was going to be "new" in the Mercury pipeline, but if there was enough sheet metal changes they could be rebadged as Lincolns. If not, they should have waited. This could kill Lincoln too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snooter Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Honda has all the new and exiting models you could ever ask for..get over it..Merc was no longer viable and no way could it be justified to exist...a few mercs i like are the eliminator and cale yarborough speshul editions along with Merc fairlane equivalent...Merc has been draining monies from the 70's onward for FOMOCO...ok..kleenex time here is a box Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 This could kill some of those marginal stand alone Lincoln dealers too. Fixed it for you. I think that was the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercurymichael Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Honda has all the new and exiting models you could ever ask for..get over it..Merc was no longer viable and no way could it be justified to exist...a few mercs i like are the eliminator and cale yarborough speshul editions along with Merc fairlane equivalent...Merc has been draining monies from the 70's onward for FOMOCO...ok..kleenex time here is a box I would rather walk! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Honda has all the new and exiting models you could ever ask for 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2b2 Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 major Congrats, LM4EVR!!! may you and your new MGM enjoy eachother for many years in mutual health & you've got a PM ...over here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Congratulations on your new ride. Happy motoring and pics please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelsonlu Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 My mechanic was more blunt...they want the Lexis customer and could care not less about the Mercury customer. They want lawyers as customers? Sign me up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 For every lost older Grand Marq buyer, [a quickly shrinking #] there will be more younger Ford customers coming along who will then move up into something else. Mercury was just a cut and paste badge job, get over it. Ford dealers offer good service too. Lincoln needs to be a true luxury brand, not a fleet/livery one. At 0.8% market share, Ford is hardly going to miss anything. Only thr die hards who still think it's 1978 want to "see" old brands still for sale. But like 8 track and cassette tapes, its time for the museums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Maybe an an Avalon? It may not be around either. "Traditional" = OLD FART = out of style = no future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snooter Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 [ hey KANSAS (so did some alice cooper) sounded pretty damn fine in my buddies old merc montego..dont knock the 8 track...every damn CD player i have had broke..so new aint exactly best..but MGM does scream blue hair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante hicks Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Oh, and I am not a "blue hair", I am a 51 year old ... Membership age for the AARP is 50. I'm just saying... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 By the time the Grand Marquis dies, they'll probably bring back Mercury as part of a brand diversification project. I always loved the name Mercury... but I'd buy a car named "I pick my nose and eat my boogers" if it's the best for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snooter Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 i bet there is a market for old 8-tracks..gotta be i would think...no worries..50 is creeping up on me too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 i bet there is a market for old 8-tracks..gotta be i would think...no worries..50 is creeping up on me too... My grandpa gave me an 8-track player. I kept it for years just because it looked cool... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glyphmon Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Glad you got at least one more Mercury in. I wanted to give Mercury at least one new car sale before they pulled the plug and I got my wish with my 2007 Milan. It would be nice if people could express their opinion on these forums without being told several times to "get over it." Yes, you know who you are. And I don't care if X amount of customers lost by canceling Mercury is made up for by Y amount of customers gained by the improvement of Ford. The goal should be retention of ALL customers and attracting new customers, that's called growth. What's better than 17% market share? 17.8%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosetang Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 And I don't care if X amount of customers lost by canceling Mercury is made up for by Y amount of customers gained by the improvement of Ford. The goal should be retention of ALL customers and attracting new customers, that's called growth. If people refuse to consider the rest of FoMoCo's increasingly excellent lineup because their heart is only for the Mercury name then that's a shame, but Ford can't afford to keep going the way they have with LM just for old-time's sake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmm55 Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 This could kill some of those marginal stand alone Lincoln dealers too. Fixed it for you. I think that was the idea. Ford is instantly making them marginal dealerships! They just lost 50% of their sales........what do you think that does for the bottom line? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Wow...someone on this forum actually bought a new Mercury Grand Marquis.....snap a couple of pictures of it and post please.....how much of a discount did you get on it...had to have been huge. Enjoy the car....I am sure the fears your dealership are feeling are real...lets just hope that Ford will follow through and you will be back there to replace that Grand Marquis with an MK<insert corresponding letter here> sedan.... I am betting you will continue to visit that dealership and give them your business since they are treating you well.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Ford is instantly making them marginal dealerships! They just lost 50% of their sales........what do you think that does for the bottom line? Half of their unit sales, but not anywhere close to half of their revenue. Margins are significantly higher on the Lincoln side of the showroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Half of their unit sales, but not anywhere close to half of their revenue. Margins are significantly higher on the Lincoln side of the showroom. Why does everyone forget used cars and the service bay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Why does everyone forget used cars and the service bay? Good point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelsonlu Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Ford is instantly making them marginal dealerships! They just lost 50% of their sales........what do you think that does for the bottom line? Assuming that Ford offers them Ford vehicles, I don't see how they'd lost 50% of sales. (Of course, some won't be.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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