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Mullaly Wanted to Kill Lincoln !


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hmm looking at this pragmatically, I can see Ford PR doing this as a way to get Fields off to a good start as the new Ford CEO by showing he stuck up for Lincoln....I'm sure Mullaly was pissed at the way the MKZ was launched, but I doubt he wanted to kill Lincoln for that!

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Interesting story...I'm glad that the company has remained committed to the brand. It's also good to hear that the both Fields and Farley pushed to save the brand. I like the MKZ and the MKC looks better in real life than it does in the photos. I am looking forward to seeing the next MKS.

 

One wonders what Mullaly would suggest for Cadillac, given that sales of its much-ballyhooed - and expensive - ATS are already down during its second year on the market.

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Or he said it as motivation to prevent future screwups.

 

"Ok guys - I saved you for now but one more screwup and Lincoln is history!"

 

They would not have green-lighted a Lincoln rebirth without a sound business plan, and one botched launch would not have changed that, so I doubt very seriously that Mulally was serious about that. It was either a strategic statement or a frustrated rhetorical question.

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I just got though reading "American Icon, Alan Mulally and the Fight to save Ford Motor Company" by Bryce Hoffman and according to Bryce, yes early on Alan wanted to cut all the brands except for Ford. Apparently, the execs at Ford persuaded Alan that he needed to keep at least one luxury brand.. and that Mercury would stay until Lincoln could stand on its own (page 145).

 

BTW. Good book, I highly recommend it. I goes into some detail about just how dire the situation was at Ford.

 

-Shannon

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I'm skeptical because this statement is in there;

 

"VanDyke denied that Mulally ever wavered in his support of Lincoln.

 

Mulally and Fields have unique backgrounds and experiences and brought different perspectives, VanDyke said. But theyve both been completely, completely in unison on the strategic importance of Lincoln to Ford Motor Co."

 

However, I still believe a Lincoln/Mercury dual is still the way to go. Lincoln makes sense with 2 or 3 vehicles in the lineup as it had been for many years.

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I just got though reading "American Icon, Alan Mulally and the Fight to save Ford Motor Company" by Bryce Hoffman and according to Bryce, yes early on Alan wanted to cut all the brands except for Ford. Apparently, the execs at Ford persuaded Alan that he needed to keep at least one luxury brand.. and that Mercury would stay until Lincoln could stand on its own (page 145).

 

BTW. Good book, I highly recommend it. I goes into some detail about just how dire the situation was at Ford.

 

-Shannon

 

Fantastic book! Loved it and highly recommend it as well.

 

I actually can't believe this story about Lincoln still makes news, because it was in the book for all to see...

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However, I still believe a Lincoln/Mercury dual is still the way to go. Lincoln makes sense with 2 or 3 vehicles in the lineup as it had been for many years.

 

On what basis? What advantage do you gain by having Mercury in between? Any lower end Mercury can be sold just as effectively as a Ford and the higher end models can be sold as Lincolns. All you'd be doing is splitting the same pie 3 ways instead of 2.

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On what basis? What advantage do you gain by having Mercury in between? Any lower end Mercury can be sold just as effectively as a Ford and the higher end models can be sold as Lincolns. All you'd be doing is splitting the same pie 3 ways instead of 2.

Exactly. Just like Toyota, Scion, and Lexus.

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Lincoln makes sense with 2 or 3 vehicles in the lineup as it had been for many years.

 

Yeah, since that worked so well.

 

Mercury served no purpose as it was, and it would be more difficult to manage three brand images instead of two.

 

Toyota/Lexus/Scion is one example. Toyota and Lexus are successful while Scion languishes. All of Scion's models likely would sell better with a Toyota logo on the trunk lid. The same holds true for what any Mercury would do if it instead had a Ford logo on it.

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As for the article, wasn't it known pretty early on that Alan initially wanted to axe every brand except Ford? I think keep Lincoln was the result of a negotiation to get rid of Mercury. And now several years into the reinvention, Lincoln is in a more solid position that it has been for at least a decade.

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Well of course i will comment since we cant let Mercury rest in peace, High Eng fords to me are still not Mercury's The Milan and Mariner had more modern and attractivce styling then the ford counterparts. I dont know what a current Milan would look like but im sure it would still look better than the Fusion.

 

Anyway, I cared for Mercury more than Lincoln but I do hope it does well eventually but at the end of the day whats well for a luxury brand? the goal of the lux brand is to make a profit not sell in high numbers. Im sure Nissan and Honda have contemplated shutting down their lux brands too, they dont sell to well as it is.

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Well of course i will comment since we cant let Mercury rest in peace, High Eng fords to me are still not Mercury's The Milan and Mariner had more modern and attractivce styling then the ford counterparts. I dont know what a current Milan would look like but im sure it would still look better than the Fusion.

 

Anyway, I cared for Mercury more than Lincoln but I do hope it does well eventually but at the end of the day whats well for a luxury brand? the goal of the lux brand is to make a profit not sell in high numbers. Im sure Nissan and Honda have contemplated shutting down their lux brands too, they dont sell to well as it is.

 

If it might "look better" is up for debate. But what would a Mercury counterpart to the Fusion actually offer in terms of content and value that you can't already get on the Fusion or MKZ? There is already overlap between Fusion and MKZ. There's just no room for Mercury there. When the Milan and Mariner existed, there was either still a gap there or no upward Lincoln product available.

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I think keep Lincoln was the result of a negotiation to get rid of Mercury......

 

Exactly....With the Ford family in control, they would never have agreed to axe Mercury AND Lincoln...both were products of when Edsel was actively running the company along side Henry. Edsel orchestrated the purchase of Lincoln because he saw the profit potential of offering higher end vehicles. He also was the one the created Mercury because back then, Fords were as "plain jane" as it got and Lincoln was too high a step for aspiring trendsetters that were not hugely wealthy, but did have extra income to allot to car purchases....Fast forward to the 21st Century and with trim lines that Henry would have hated (Titanium, Limited, Eddie Bauer, etc etc) the point of Mercury became irrelevant....but the Ford family was not about to turn it's back on the great Ford Family scion, Edsel....so, I believe that Alan made just that type of deal....allow the company to euthanize Mercury quietly and respectfully and we can do all that we can to save Edsels' vision of a true luxury line that is above Ford, but with the companies solid reputation of reliability and value at its core.

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Any CEO that wasn't at least asking the question about whether to keep Lincoln back in 2008 would not have been worth hiring in the first place.

I've been through this once or twice (just last week, in fact). "Because we've always done it this way" is never a justification to a good manager, and sometimes you need the threat of killing something to force you to give it the cold, hard look that it takes to make it better. You never know what you can do 'til you've got a gun pointed at your head..

Golden+Yeggs+%252843%2529.jpg

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Just look at Focus for a more concrete example.

 

We're losing $3K on every one we build.

 

So why don't you figure out how to build one that you can make money on? And if you can't then get rid of it.

 

I fight this every day at work.

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Well of course i will comment since we cant let Mercury rest in peace, High End fords to me are still not Mercury's

The Milan and Mariner had more modern and attractivce styling then the ford counterparts. I dont know what a current Milan would look like but im sure it would still look better than the Fusion.

 

Anyway, I cared for Mercury more than Lincoln but I do hope it does well eventually but at the end of the day whats well for a luxury brand? the goal of the lux brand is to make a profit not sell in high numbers...

thumb.gif + thumb.gif + thumb.gif

 

 

Exactly....With the Ford family in control, they would never have agreed to axe Mercury AND Lincoln...

that always strikes me as being willing to only murder One of your CHILDREN groucho.gif

 

...Fast forward to the 21st Century and with trim lines that Henry would have hated (Titanium, Limited, Eddie Bauer, etc etc) the point of Mercury became irrelevant...

nope

if it was, they wouldn't have immediately alchemy'ed quicksilver into titanium

(look up the meaning of "iosis" if you can remember those Concepts)

 

EVERY Nameplate is an OPPORTUNITY

but

FoMoCo had painted itself into a corner

cuz

for past decades they just didn't have the imagination to take advantage of their Goldilocks Brand's potential (...actually anything but trucks & Suvs )

+

they wanted to decimate the dealerships

 

anyway

Mercury is only on HIATUS!!!

 

...can't wait until Lincoln gets the he!! outta their way

344vzgn_th.gif

MMXX

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Earlier today, I read on C&G that if GM had a fifth brand (Pontiac or Oldsmobile or Saturn), they would have sold 300K last month.

 

I am CERTAIN that many posters here would have called them crazy. I almost commented to that tune myself but decided not to.

 

Then I come here, and the discussion has turned back to resurrecting Mercury. :doh: :do what:

Edited by papilgee4evaeva
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nope

if it was, they wouldn't have immediately alchemy'ed quicksilver into titanium

I'll agree that the "point" of Mercury wasn't rendered irrelevant--it was the brand itself that was rendered irrelevant by the Titanium Fords. The Titanium trims covered the same market segments with minimal investment on Ford's part.

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Mercury started out as a deluxe Ford with a wheelbase stretch. From that beginning, it became a whole division.

 

Well, delusional management destroyed that division and changing market conditions have eliminated the necessity for a mid-price brand in North America.

 

IF Mercury had not been run into the ground, it might have done very well, but Jac came along, and here we are.

 

But, maybe one day, Ford will bring back a "Mercury" — as a specific model. Maybe Lincoln could call its Mustang derivative a Mercury? :)

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