Ford: End of the Line for Mercury Brand

Ford Motor Co. says it will end production of its Mercury brand by the end of this year.

Ford's board of directors approved ending the brand Wednesday morning. Ford plans to make up for the lost sales by expanding its luxury Lincoln brand.

Mercury sold just over 92,000 vehicles last year.

"We have made tremendous progress on profitably growing the Ford brand during the past few years. Now, it is time to do the same for Lincoln," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas, in a press release.

Ford has 1,712 dealerships currently selling Mercurys. Some will continue selling Lincolns and Fords and some could be consolidated into existing Ford dealerships.

Ford didn't say how much it expects to pay to close the dealerships. But Americas President Mark Fields said the closure doesn't affect the company's forecast that it will be solidly profitable in 2010.

Owners and dealers will reportedly receive information about care and maintanance and service support for Mercury products.

Ford says it doesn't plan to lay off any workers at its Dearborn, Mich., headquarters.

"We are 100 percent committed to supporting Mercury owners through Ford and Lincoln dealerships and working hard to keep them as valued customers in the future," Fields said in a statement. "At the same time, we will work closely with our dealers to phase out Mercury franchises and continue to build a healthy, growing Lincoln with strong new products and a profitable dealer network that delivers a world-class customer experience."

[abbycat2]

I have a 1997 Mercury Mountaineer that is closing in on 250000 miles. It has been the best vehicle I have ever owned. It has never needed more than regular repairs-such as brakes or a battery or an alternator. Still has the original engine and tranny. In fact, I am looking to buy another mountaineer-AWD V8. I have a 35 mile commute to work(healthcare)and so I need a competent vehicle for snow and ice. I am sick that they have decided to quit making these vehicles. Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Mercury were some of the best out there. And they appealed to the middle class buyer-as the middle class disappears-so do the buyers for these cars. Our country has become Rich or Poor. The rich buy the Lincolns and the people on a budget buy the Fords. No room for Mercury anymore. I will buy a 7 year old Mountaineer before I ever step foot into a Toyota.

[presjfk]

"by cleantheDCcesspool June 2, 2010 9:30 PM EDT
No way will car prices ever come down until the UAW's stranglehold on auto companies is broken. And that sure will not occur under obamao's regime."

There is no stranglehold by the UAW, ridiculous.

Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes Benz and BMW (maybe others) all build cars in the USA without the UAW. Add to this the many, many imports that obviously do not have the UAW and your comment just doesn't make sense.

Cheaper cars are coming to America soon, from China. When that happens, what will you say about the UAW? Also, what will cheaper cars do for our roads and for our environment? What will happen to our car industry? Maybe we will lose our car industry as we have lost so many others?

Worry more about the environment, worry more about cheap Chinese labor and the loss of American jobs overseas, and stop worrying about the UAW which is struggling to survive.

As for your Obama comment;your George Bush had 8 years to destroy labor and did an excellent job. Relish the victory.

[tmittelstaed]

What your seeing here is the end result of increasing communications in our technological age. Nowadays when an automaker advertises they make a single national commercial buy and their commercial is aired over every TV station in the country. Years ago they would make individual buys in different regional markets - and if that market was a strong Mercury label, (as a result of history) the advertising would be Mercury, if it was a strong Ford label, (as a result of history) the advertising would be Ford. But the communication infrastructure today has pretty much erased those regional differences, at least in the big cities.

[tsigili]

Car brands have become a joke. All of the US makers have been selling the exact same car, under different labels, for years now. There wasn't a single model in the Mercury line, that was any different from the Ford line, save the nameplate.

Lincoln is the same, save for an upgrade in trim.

GM and Chrysler, are just as bad.

Even the imports are doing it now, as the Hyundai and Kia merger has now introduced a dual model, from them, that is basically the exact same car, with a different label.

It is long past time for these duplicate labels to disappear. The consumer wants real choice, not just an outdated label.