Mercury Retrograde: Alan Mulally Stands By His Brand

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

For all the praise and positive comparisons he earns, Ford’s Alan Mulally still refuses to man up and acknowledge that at least one of his firm’s brands is as meaningful to the American consumer as Kaiser or Cord. And it’s not like Mulally can just ignore the brand’s slide into ignominy: after all, people notice when you never introduce new products for a brand that was wholly comprised of cheap rebadges in the first place. Well, Inside Line noticed, and they cornered Mulally at the Washington Auto Show to get his take on the brand with no purpose.

“The plan right now is (to develop) Ford, Lincoln and Mercury,” Mulally answered.

He said Ford is working to more effectively position Mercury with smaller vehicles that occupy the void between the mainstream Ford brand and Lincoln, which directly targets the luxury-premium market. “That’s our plan — to continuously improve the Mercury and Lincoln brands,” Mulally said.

But after a little more discussion, Mulally felt compelled to reiterate: “That’s the plan right now.”

Could Mulally be more tentative? Mercury will continue to exist so that Lincoln can focus on rebadging larger vehicles? And this after Lincoln’s latest concept was the compact Concept C? It’s impossible to deny that Alan Mulally has done a lot of good at Ford, but his inability to take Ford’s luxury brands seriously is a major black mark on his tenure that analysts can only ignore for so long.

The “Mercury treatment” (i.e. throw the monthly output of a small chrome factory at an up-optioned Ford) will play especially poorly with Ford’s new global Focus and Fiestas, and will serve only to futher cement Mercury’s status as an unfunny joke played at the expense of the American consumer. Not to mention Mullaly’s well-intentioned desire to add more premium appeal to Ford-brand offerings. The sooner Mulally realizes that Mercury’s main competition is the JC Whitney catalog, the better.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • BklynPete BklynPete on Jan 27, 2010

    Niedermeyer, you're really over the top on this one. Jeez, I think TTAC may have run out of Ford-related stuff to bitch about. Is site traffic down so much that you have to manufacture false outrage over Ford not killing Mercury fast enough for you? It's OK, I understand how it is...and I'll take the bait. Why? Because I think you're great. Every now and then, though, you need to be taken out to the woodshed. Trash-talk and taunts about Mulally not manning up are fine for the NBA, a great story for the press and online addicts like us, but not so good for Ford stock price. Saying that Mulally's "inability to take Ford’s luxury brands seriously is a major black mark on his tenure that analysts can only ignore for so long" is ridiculous. What is he supposed to do, answer with the equivalent of Bob Lutz's idiotic "damaged brands" statement about Buick and Pontiac? Ford will kill Mercury when it will cause the least pain. That could be after 2012 when the Panther platform dies, when the mainstream products are replaced, and the L-M franchises that haven't closed are merged or sold into Ford dealers. That's when Lincoln will officially become what it already is -- more like Buick than Cadillac, positioned as a near-luxury brand for under $50K sedans and CUVs, with maybe a stylish traffic-builder or two, and sold alongside Fords. The Ford brand is and should be Dearborn's top priority now. Ford shouldn't try to take on too much at once. I have a feeling that President Obama would now agree with that. Forget about Lincolns that take on Lexus and the German luxo brands. Ford's PAG fiasco should have taught them it's nothing but a fool's game and ego stroke. Or, maybe I'm completely wrong and the only reason Mercury lives is because Mulally has a crush on Jill Wagner.

  • Steve Biro Steve Biro on Jan 27, 2010

    "It’s impossible to deny that Alan Mulally has done a lot of good at Ford, but his inability to take Ford’s luxury brands seriously is a major black mark on his tenure that analysts can only ignore for so long." Good Lord, Edward... Ford is barely back in the black and you're giving us this? First, Mercury may or may not be headed to the Island of Misfit Toys - but no one on this Web site knows. And anyone insisting Mercury is clearly on its way out is merely engaging in conventional groupthink. To me, Mercury is clearly a placeholder right now - a brand that costs almost nothing to keep going and would cost a lot to close. Once Mulally has Ford solidly in the money, he can turn to Mercury. I agree with Sajeev - there can be a strong role for the brand to play in the future and I expect more-unique product in the future, even if it's all based on common platforms with Ford. And, as for the analysts, they already have a crush on Alan Mulally. If he delivers a profitable quarter on Thursday, it'll be true love. If he turns a profit for the year, as is rumored, they'll be calling the minister and reserving the church hall. As far as they are concerned, Alan can keep Mercury as long as he wants if the company keeps making money. You accuse Mulally of being tentative about his plans for Mercury. But, if you've been listening, you'll notice that's the way he talks about EVERYTHING. Clearly, he's not showing his hand to us or anyone else. Talk is cheap. Just ask Bob Lutz. And, for the record, while I generally have preferred the styling of the Ford versions of vehicles shared with Mercury over the years... there have been some home-run victories for Mercury in my humble opinion. These include but are not limited to the 1949-52 Mercury sedans and coupes vs. equivalent Fords, the 1967 Cougar (despite how good the Mustang also looked that year), the European-built Capris offered in the early-to-mid 1970s (no equivalent Ford sold in this country as the Capri was actually a European Ford) and both the current and previous incarnations of the Milan vs. the Fusion. The Fusion is a nice-looking sedan, but the Milan looks just a bit more sophisticated and European to my eyes.

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