Mercury is dead. (Now Official)

[alphatarget1]

What's funny is that if Mercury gets killed, Ford will only have 2 brands (Ford + Lincoln), compared to 4 from GM (Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Chevrolet)

 

[DarkThinker]

I'll buy Mercury from Ford... for about Tree Fiddy.

 

[Arkaign]

A lot of these brands getting canned used to have real original classics, but it's a long time in the past now. What's the last great original Mercury car? Damned if I know.

 

[BoberFett]

WSJ says that lincoln may also be on the chopping block if sales don't pick up.

lincoln's lineup still isn't very good, though (despite claims of pouring money into it by ford). other than the MKS everything is either too close to a ford in styling and features, or simply uglier than anything on the planet (i'm looking at you MKT).

if it can manage to survive until the next major mustang overhaul ford could pull an infiniti with it. sell one car and one engine 4 different ways.

Current Lincolns suck, they need to go back to producing luxury cars, not Fords with leather and a different badge. I'd really hate to see Lincoln go away but if they're going to keep churning out mid-range cars that can't keep up with the competition there's little point to keeping it around.

 

[Tristicus]

I dislike them. My sister had a car, and all it gave her was problems it seemed. Granted, it got her through a year of high school and four years of college traveling thousands of miles from AL to NC to NH, but...

 

[Fenixgoon]

Current Lincolns suck, they need to go back to producing luxury cars, not Fords with leather and a different badge. I'd really hate to see Lincoln go away but if they're going to keep churning out mid-range cars that can't keep up with the competition there's little point to keeping it around.

i passed a lincoln the other day and thought it looked fantastic. i really like the split grille from the MKR (which they should make )

the front is good; i think it's the rest of the body style that looks a bit too boring though, if anything (also the MKT is pretty ugly).

 

[BoberFett]

I just think the only value of Lincoln is their roots. There are too many companies churning out nearly indistinguishable sedans these days. They need to bring back the Continental and Mark names and treat them properly.

 

[ElFenix]

I just think the only value of Lincoln is their roots. There are too many companies churning out nearly indistinguishable sedans these days. They need to bring back the Continental and Mark names and treat them properly.

i have no idea why they say 'em kay' rather than 'mark'

 

[BoberFett]

i have no idea why they say 'em kay' rather than 'mark'

I don't know either, but Lincoln should be about big luxurious boats, not sport sedans. Maybe I'm just turning into an old fart.

 

[Fenixgoon]

I don't know either, but Lincoln should be about big luxurious boats, not sport sedans. Maybe I'm just turning into an old fart.

what's going to be sporty then?

caddy has the CTS-V.. lincoln has nothing that compete with that. and honestly, lincoln really doesn't have much that *does* compete with cadillac overall. the side profiles of their cars are relatively bland, IMO.

 

[BoberFett]

what's going to be sporty then?

caddy has the CTS-V.. lincoln has nothing that compete with that. and honestly, lincoln really doesn't have much that *does* compete with cadillac overall. the side profiles of their cars are relatively bland, IMO.

I guess that's kind of what I'm saying. They don't have anything that's interesting right now, but if they jump into the sport sedan market they'll just be competing with every body else in the same segment. They should try to serve a slightly different market than Cadillac.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

WTF IS A MERCURY. they haven't put any R&D into that branch for the last 5 years. no wonder nobody bought their cars...

 

[Perknose]

The last breath of Mercury should have been the last unique car they built. After the Cougar failed, that should have been the last hurrah.

Mercury hardly ever built a truly unique car. I guess that fat assed last Cougar was unique to the brand, but, geez.

Most years, starting with their inception in 1939, you could tell they merely had a variant of the Ford body.

The exceptions were 1949-1951, not coincidentally the most iconic Mercs ever, when the body that was supposed to go only to Lincoln was suddenly given to Mercury as well, and a couple of years around 1957-1958, when, due to cousin Edsel, the senior Mercs had bigger bodies than the Fords (but not the junior Mercs.)

At least up until 1961 they had their own engines (shared with Edsels when they were around, and a couple of years the biggest were shared with Lincoln), but even they were basically variations of Ford engine designs. After that, they didn't even have that.

I personally thought the 63's and 64's were good looking cars and at least as different looking from the big Fords as an Olds or a Buick was from a Chevy. I also liked them circa 69-71 or so (yea Marauder!).

But most years it was painfully clear that they were re-skinned Fords, even those (prior) years when Ford tried to differentiate the Mercs with those backward slanting "breezeway" rear windows.

Sometimes they just looked like a pregnant Ford with WAY too much chrome.

Mercury did have a few models that Ford never had, but they were still all badge engineered, like their Nissan Quest based minivan or the Ford of Europe based Capri or the German Ford Mercur x4ti (sic).

Their demise is a small shame because sometimes in these later years I thought their styling (Milan vs Fusion, for example) was subtler and classier, a case I think you could also make for the original 1967 Cougar vs. the '67 'Stang, if you were so inclined.

Mercury should have stayed with the larger, up-scale look of the 49-51's, they sold really well, too. Just look at the difference between a 1951 Mercury and and 1952 and you'll instantly see what I mean.

1951 Mercury

1952 Mercury

 

[Perknose]

I don't know either, but Lincoln should be about big luxurious boats, not sport sedans. Maybe I'm just turning into an old fart.

I pretty much agree. The "Lincolns" they have left in their lineup are nothing but thinly disguised, stop-gap, badge engineered Fords. Not much class to 'em.

But I do think the Lincoln name has enough resonant cachet left to it that it should be honored and could easily front a couple of truly upscale cars.

For me, that would be a Lincoln Town Car that mimicked the styling and timeless panache and styling and CLASS of the slab-sided suicide door Continentals of the early sixties, with a smaller Continental coupe that would be more like the MkII Continentals of 56-57.

Both would have to have big Mercedes level technical sophistication and and performance to go with their classic American idiom styling.

Done right, I believe there would be an enduring market for them, and that FoMoCo would get the (deserved) halo benefit.

Once both were fully established and the Lincoln name restored to its former glory, then Ford could go a bit down market with a baby Lincoln (still FAST and not cheap though) for more volume sales.

And off the smaller Continental coupe Ford could revive a four seat "executive express" T-Bird.

Heh, I guess I am one dreamy geezer because I also think that senior Cadillacs should plumb their rich history of classic formal design and look nothing like the junior ones, which are fine as they are.

Now get off my lawn! :awe:

 

[MBrown]

Its official now.
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/02/ford-kills-mercury-to-expand-lincoln/

http://www.thefordstory.com/our-pla...ry-production-ends-in-fourth-quarter-of-2010/

 

[Pocatello]

It's a good idea. I couldn't tell a difference between a mercury mariner vs. a ford escape.

 

[ElFenix]

i keep seeing mercury fusions and think they're the new buick (very similar grille)

 

[Zenmervolt]

Seven new or refreshed vehicles for Lincoln? Holy crap. Hopefully they'll find room for a RWD sport sedan in there somewhere.

ZV

 

[Squisher]

I wonder if any of the interiors will be retained in upscale versions of their sister Fords?

 

[Fenixgoon]

Seven new or refreshed vehicles for Lincoln? Holy crap. Hopefully they'll find room for a RWD sport sedan in there somewhere.

ZV

lincoln MKR!!!!!

 

[Zenmervolt]

lincoln MKR!!!!!

The Mark IX and Mark X concepts weren't bad-looking. With a serious engine and some cleanup on the interiors (no square gauges!) they could be serious Q-ships.

ZV

 

[Fenixgoon]

The Mark IX and Mark X concepts weren't bad-looking. With a serious engine and some cleanup on the interiors (no square gauges!) they could be serious Q-ships.

ZV

That Mark IX is really sharp :thumbsup:. The Mark X reminds me too much of the most recent incarnation of the thunderbird. Very bland.

 

[bommy261]

mercury was crap. good riddance.

 

[BoberFett]

The Mark IX and Mark X concepts weren't bad-looking. With a serious engine and some cleanup on the interiors (no square gauges!) they could be serious Q-ships.

ZV

That IX is sexy. That's what Lincoln needs to get back to, I'd buy that in a heartbeat.