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  • Ford retires Mercury brand

    Detroit News....

    Ford retires 72-year-old Mercury brand

    Dearborn -- Ford Motor Co. today confirmed that it is killing its mid-market Mercury brand to focus its resources on its luxury Lincoln marque.

    "We are very proud of its history, but we are now looking forward," said Ford Americas President Mark Fields, who promised that the nation's 1,712 dealers would be fairly compensated for the loss of their Mercury franchises.

    He said the company would work with them to make sure their remaining Ford and Lincoln franchises make up for the lost sales. "We absolutely remain committed to working with our dealers."

    There are no stand-alone Mercury dealers left. However, 276 of those stores are paired only with Lincoln, and Ford acknowledged some may have a hard time surviving alone.

    Ford said no employees will lose their jobs as a result of the decision, which was ratified at a meeting of Ford's board of directors this morning. It had been expected for some time; the brand has been losing market share in the United States since the 1990s.
    >
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    Guess it sadly joins the list of Pontiac, Plymouth, DeSoto and Rambler. Names which I new well when I was young..
    paulw

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    • #3
      Considering most Mercurys are just rebadged Fords with a handful of cosmetic changes, I don't think they're losing much.

      Kevin

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      • #4
        They removed the Mercury brand from Canada years ago, so it doesn't surprise me
        Yeah, well I'm gonna build my own lunar space lander! With blackjack aaaaannd Hookers! Actually, forget the space lander, and the blackjack. Ahhhh forget the whole thing!

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        • #5
          The 'big name' car Mercury had was the Cougar, which way back then meant a wicked member of the cat family and thus appropriate for a muscle car. Now, however, the term Cougar has a whole other connotation that doesn't really fit with a muscle car
          Dr. Mordrid
          ----------------------------
          An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

          I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

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          • #6
            Originally posted by gt40 View Post
            They removed the Mercury brand from Canada years ago, so it doesn't surprise me
            I didn't notice until I went to the States last summer and saw NEW ones driving around, kind of made me go hey! - we don't have new Merc's in Canada anymore!
            Good riddance, even as a young child I thought it was goofy to have multiple brands of the EXACT SAME cars. Same with GMC/Chevy, Dodge/Chrysler, etc.
            Q9450 + TRUE, G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2, GTX 560, ASUS X48, 1TB WD Black, Windows 7 64-bit, LG M2762D-PM 27" + 17" LG 1752TX, Corsair HX620, Antec P182, Logitech G5 (Blue)
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            • #7
              Originally posted by Mehen View Post
              even as a young child I thought it was goofy to have multiple brands of the EXACT SAME cars. Same with GMC/Chevy, Dodge/Chrysler, etc.

              Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.



              PS, I found this by Googleing "youtube moichandizing"
              Chuck
              秋音的爸爸

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              • #8
                Merchandising strategy or not, I still think its goofy.
                Q9450 + TRUE, G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2, GTX 560, ASUS X48, 1TB WD Black, Windows 7 64-bit, LG M2762D-PM 27" + 17" LG 1752TX, Corsair HX620, Antec P182, Logitech G5 (Blue)
                Laptop: MSI Wind - Black

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                • #9
                  Back in the day, Mercury had unique offerings.
                  The Cougars of the 60s/early 70s (though based on the Mustang chassis, had unique bodies).
                  The German made Capris of the 70s and Merkur XR4Ti of the 80s.
                  The (once again) German Capris of the 90s.

                  Mercury was to FoMoCo what Pontiac (who also had some unique models) was to GM, or Plymouth (again, with some uniques) was to Chrysler.

                  Yes, they all shared many body styles, with just some trim changes...but they all had something different to offer. It's sad to see another old school name fade away...
                  Core2 Duo E7500 2.93, Asus P5Q Pro Turbo, 4gig 1066 DDR2, 1gig Asus ENGTS250, SB X-Fi Gamer ,WD Caviar Black 1tb, Plextor PX-880SA, Dual Samsung 2494s

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                  • #10
                    Even Pontiacs wern't really made by Pontiac, they were rebadges Vaxhauls and Holdens, sheesh!

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