Who knows, maybe the importation costs will be less than the multi-state lawsuit costs of closing the Mercury brand.

Maybe I should have mentioned that in my pro-Mercury editorial.

How about those new Mercury debuts and concepts!!!

I just read today that the US variant of the “Verve” concept car will be a 4-door, not a hatch. They will probably deny the US a diesel as well. The the cardinal sin of them all: they are going to redesign the front of the car with the 3-bar chrome grill. Is Ford Motor Company SOOOOO out of touch with reality? Why do US consumers continue to buy the s**t that they are peddling these days? Recycled Mazda platforms, weak engines, huge gas-guzzling SUV’s that are not only boring stylistically, but just plain offensive.

A couple of years ago I saw a photo of a euro-market Mondeo that was mildly restyled with a Mercury grill. It was taken in a product clinic. THAT is the type of things that US consumers should demand. The Fusion/Milan? Yuck. Do a search and look at what the euro market cars that Ford is making and selling. Now look at the US.

I have something to say to Ford, but it is pretty clear that they are not listening. Here goes anyway:

Use Mercury as an outlet for SMALL volume sales of the European market vehicles. They don’t need to be restyled to look like a Mercury, they are already “just right”. Change the badge, and IMPORT them. And remember, the European focus is already a Mazda 3 and Volvo S40, so no crap about them not being designed for crash-standards in the US. Bring in diesels, make them handle JUST LIKE THE Euro cars. I bet that by doing that, the Mercury vehicles would out-sell Volvo in the US, and would spread the development costs even further. The cars are already there, just invest a few bucks in badges…

*disclaimer: I know it costs a lot to re-badge, and I know that it costs more $$ to change over headlights, etc to US standards. It is worth it.

Do a search of inventory for Western Washington and you’ll see what I mean by lack of Grand Marquis. Maybe they are a lot less popular here than your part of the country.

“Don’t let facts get in the way of good entertaining anti-domestic hyperbole”

“Fixing the product portfolio problem takes longer—-you seem to think it can be solved with a snap of the finger.”

Wow, talk about flamebait. Comments like these aren’t worth my time.

I have been consistent in all of my comments to say Ford has a long way to go product wise but recent efforts like the Fusion and Edge have been encouraging.

Mr. Mulally inherited a shit sandwich that he is trying to dig himself out of. I think he is making the right moves to right the ship operationally and focusing on the right things like quality. Fixing the product portfolio problem takes longer—-you seem to think it can be solved with a snap of the finger. I think we can all agree we hope it is solved at a very accelerated pace.

You call that a victory?

Of course 13 recalls over the prior generation would eventually hurt your image a bit with the public. Wouldn’t you say?

Just one correction—-the new Focus is selling Ok (vs. your not selling a “lick” comment)—+3 % above prior year in latest couple of months and 170K+ ttl units (combined old and new focus) for 2007. Again—don’t let facts get in the way of good entertaining anti-domestic hyperbole

The Taurus and Escape gain nothing by being re-grilled as Mercurys, and Ford hasn’t even tried rebadging the latter two (nor should they, particularly in the pony car’s case).

The “sophisticated middle-manager/import-intender” angle didn’t work for Oldsmobile, and after decades of kinda-sorta-trying, it hasn’t worked for Mercury either. I’d be happy to see the brand euthanized quietly, its resources diverted to a C1 Focus and a competitive Explorer. We can still look back fondly upon the Cougar and Marauder–the only desirable products the brand ever had.

ionosphere, I’m puzzled that you’ve found it hard to find a Grand Marquis in stock. I checked the web sites for three L-M dealers in metro OKC, and they reportedly have thirty ’08s on hand (19 at one, 4 at another, 7 at the third store) in what appears to be a good assortment of GS, LS and colors.

For now products like the Focus, Taurus, Taurus X, Town Car… and the entire Mercury lineup aren’t selling a lick. Other than the Mustang I simply don’t see Ford building the types of vehicles that have that ‘Wow!’ effect.

They desperately need those types of products in order to displace all that anti-domestic hyperbole. Their current offerings are mostly in the one star to three star range. I don’t think a single one of their vehicles can be considered a market leader… with the Mustang as the sole exception.

Ten years ago the Escort, Contour SVT, Explorer, Ranger, F150, and Mustang made Ford a market leader. The value was there in spades vis-a-vis the competition. Today that’s just not the case which is why they’re close to half the size they were ten years ago.

You have to wait because Hertz put in a big order for new GM’s right before your buy.

One thing that might help is if you guys kept cars in stock. I have on order a 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis and was told I’ll have to wait 8-12 weeks. I called Ford and they told me all their cars take that long. I don’t know how it is with other manufacturers, but Mercury is lucky that I want this car so much and am willing to wait. Virtually every dealer in my part of the state has zero Grand Marquis in stock. In fact, when I went to my Seattle dealer, they had none in stock and I had to wait a few weeks to even testdrive one. Guess I was lucky, as it took them 3 months just to get that one model.

We bought a Ford product manufactured virtually unchanged for two decades. We reasoned Ford had would have discovered and corrected the design flaws in that time, and the assembly line people must know where the parts belong. Wrong, it was an awful bag of bolts! The dealer and FoMoCo treated us like complete shit when we tried to get warranty repairs.

We are happy as hell with our Japanese cars and won’t ever buy another domestic car, particularly a Ford product. Worse, there are tens of millions more like us.

A prime example of anti-domestic hyperbole. Lets keep a little realism on the comments. The Ford North American line-up may be boring (eg Taurus) in places and lacking (eg.a V8 rear drive sedan)—but atrocious—come on—that is Chrysler-land.

On the contrary, the Ford line-up today is competitive and reliable—-but when you have been peddling less than stellar product for so long—being merely competitive does not cut it. The Fusion and Edge are a step in the right direction—-the Flex is promising—and the new F150 should be solid. More is needed however—and quickly. The next Fusion (‘09) has got to be a compelling proposition right out of the gate.

So far I have not seen any comments from an actual Dealer; Thus, as a fleet and leasing manager at a Lincoln Mercury franchise in Houston, Texas I would respond with the following:

This dealership makes a good profit year in and year out. One of the strong points about the Lincoln Mercury Franchise is that it is not limited to just the high end, middle end or the low end as all other manufacture franchises are. This is the only franchise that covers all. In other words, my customers range from the low end (blue collar) of the corporation all the way up thru middle management to the top, i.e., Ceo, Pres. etc.. No other auto franchise can offer this. The reason is simple we have both Lincoln and Mercury products.

Further, if you look at, as an example, the Mercury Milan vs it’s ford counterpart; the Milan is a much better looking vehicle both inside and out. The same would apply to the Mercury Mainer as compared to the ford escape. Also, the whole idea of letting a customer move up in status from the low end to the middle and even all the way to the top concept works. I have over the years watched families/customers of mine begin at the Mercury level, example the Mariner then into the Mountaineer and in some rare cases all the way up to the best luxury SUV every made, the Lincoln Navigator. Many CEOs, individuals and families once they found the dealership/individual that they trust tend to bring all of their family members, employees to that one trusted individual/dealership. Again, the Lincoln Mercury franchise is the only one that can do that.

What has happened recently is that Ford had finally awoke from the deep Detroit sleep syndrome and learned from the foreign auto makers that they can no longer keep the same model for 5-7 year and must change every 2-4 years with new, exciting high tech. products. A great example of that change is the Lexus and everything else killer the Lincoln MKX. I have had the manager of a Lexus store whose parents always leased the Lexus smaller SUV, insist that he take them to me to lease the MKX. There opinion was that it looks better both inside and out has more power and more high tech. features than anything else in its class. Thus, they are now in a loaded 2008 Lincoln MKX with SYNC and a not so happy Lexus Sales Manager. The Lincoln MKS that will be released this summer, has more high tech. features than anything else out there and is an absolute treat to one eyes both inside and out.

This dealership must keep the Mercury as it has changed and now the covers the low and mid ranges for us with new and exciting products. It is not a matter of how many models are in the Mercury line as some of you have indicated; but rather, how well what is in the line fits the consumers desires and wants at that low to middle range. Thus, when a customer can not qualify for a Lincoln I can send him/her home in a Mercury Product and still keep the business here at the same dealership. All one has to do is look at the advertising dollars that Ford is spending on the Mercury line, i.e., the Milan and the Mariner vs their counter parts at Ford. Yes they are selling very well thank you and we all love the young female spokesperson in the adds.

What might make sense is to remove the Mercury name plate from the dual Ford/Mercury Dealers and have them sell only Fords. If managed and marketed properly the Lincoln Mercury Line(s) will balance each other and still let Ford Motor Company have the only franchise that covers all ranges of potential customers. What might make sense is to eliminate the Ford franchises and have just Lincoln/Ford Dealerships and upgrade the ford products to the Mercury level. However, knowing what I know about the Fords Dealer network and it’s inherent strength that will probably never happen. We are having are hard enough time now keeping the Lincoln LT Truck will all the wet eye crying from the Ford dealers that we are hurting there sales. The bottom line reality is that a Lincoln Customer does not want a ford king ranch or a H.D. ford truck they want the prestige and luxury of the Lincoln nameplate.

The quality problems were rife. Water leak issues, shoddy assembly quality in Flat Rock, crappy expensive tie rod ends and alternators, terrible paint wear. The resale value of the Cougar dwarfs comparable vehicles of that time like the Integra, Celica and Eclipse because Ford simply didn’t improve the model or protect their customers. We can argue that the Mercury brand probably played a minor role in the lack of popularity for that model. But the quality really just wasn’t there. Once the new Japanese models came out, the Cougar was outmatched.

Mercury circa 2008 does not have a slither of the cache of Lincoln and Volvo. Period and end of story. Calling Mercury a premium brand these days is like calling Chrysler a premium brand. It kinda is… if there’s literally nothing else out there. So why bother?

Ford is already having a terrible time gaining any traction in the marketplace. Do they have even one market leader anywhere in the car segment? Nope, not unless you count the Mustang which pretty much epitomizes everything that Mercury’s are not (distinctive, rich in history, worthwhile.)

Does Ford really need another version of the Taurus, Crown Victoria and Explorer that is virtually equal in price? Eeehhhh… not unless you can tell me exactly what Mercury can actually bring to the table PROFIT wise. I just don’t think they do.

The marketplace has changed now to the point where a brand like Mercury doesn’t compete well. The clone game is an old one and Ford should refocus on making one competitive vehicle that can truly match up with the world’s best.

The North American Ford lineup is simply atrocious and will remain so for at least the next couple of years. Mercury is just a boat anchor of a brand at this point. It should be thrown overboard and unceremoniously dumped with little to no R&D until Ford can start building A world-class car. Cloning mediocrity has never been a winning formula in the car business. Just ask GM or British Leyland!

I would, but I have my original hips. You’ll have to elaborate.

Mercury traditionally has been the brand for middle aged professionals; in fact Mercury was advertised for decades as “The Man’s Car”. It was the car you bought when you reached a point of respectibility in life, both personal and professional. Lincolns were too showy, and Fords were too youngster and blue collar.

Steve McGarrett was the stereotypical Mercury buyer up until the last 10 years or so, which is one reason he always drove a Mercury Marquis on his show.

The marketing to women is a complete disaster – the majority of men will not buy a car that is viewed as a “chick” car.

I still say an traditional, simple, large American car done right would not only sell, but differentiate Mercury. Of course, this will not happen since Ford pretty much has disdain for their traditional customer.

Oh well, just more lost sales to Toyota and Honda.

In the past week, at the Detroit Auto Show Ford has unveiled a Ford Explorer concept vehicle that is supposed to be a preview of what the actual Explorer will look like in a couple of years. They’re turning it into a crossover based on the Taurus chassis and it looks like it will replace both the current “body-on-frame” Explorer AND the Taurus X.

The way Ford has been doing things, I would expect them to come out with a Lincoln version instead of a Mercury, but an updated Mercury Mountaineer crossover version of the concept would be attractive.

I think AM intends to push Ford slightly upmarket with One Ford using the superior products of the type offered in Europe. Under this strategy, there is no room for Mercury. Whereas, with Plymouth, Chrysler just dropped it without really an idea of how to get those buyers either into Chrysler products or over to Dodge showrooms.

According to a Ford press release, Mercury sold 109029 cars (not SUVs), of which 50644 (46%) were the GM. Once the Panther dies after 2009, 30% Mercury’s total volume will just go away. The fact that Mercury got neither a Freestyle/Taurus, Edge/MKX or Flex/MKT variant in the hottest segment on the market is all you need to know. Ford doesn’t need to officially kill Mercury because its happening anyway.

That’s because Chrysler was still being run by idiots. That’s at the heart of this matter.

* They still don’t have a subcompact model, and won’t have one until their hook-up with Nissan bears badge-engineered fruit.

* The Neon languished with poor safety scores and a cheap interior until it’s death. It’s replacement, the Caliber, still doesn’t have a sedan body style, despite it being the best selling style in America.

* The Sebring and Stratus/Avenger were blown away by the competition, and their replacement is so bad, they’re redoing it again.

* They were slow to the crossover market, especially with the Dodge brand, and the Pacifica went from being too expensive to too cheap and is dead after one generation.

To just say that killing useless brands doesn’t work is right until you get people that can actually run the show.