BREAKING: Ford Calls "Brand And Product Strategy" Press Conference, Mercury Axing Confirmed

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

The Detroit News is reporting that Ford has called a press conference on “brand and product strategy” for later today. It is widely believed that The Blue Oval will use the conference to announce the wind-down of its Mercury brand. Fresh updates as they occur...

UPDATE: The WSJ [sub] confirms that Ford’s board made the decision to axe Mercury. According to their sources, Ford “hopes to merge many of those dealers with existing Ford dealerships or shut them.”

UPDATE: Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports from the press conference, quoting Ford’s Mark Fields as saying

Given our improving financial situation, it really allows us to absorb the short-term cost of discontinuing Mercury… We’re very proud of Mercury’s history, but we’re now looking forward.

CNN Money confirms that the death of Mercury will mean more vehicles for Lincoln, as it paraphrases Ford’s Derrick Kuzack as saying:


Over the next several years, Lincoln will get seven all-new or drastically changed vehicles

Edward Niedermeyer
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  • Ern35 Ern35 on Jun 03, 2010

    My first car was a 1954 Mercury---but trimmed in Canada with a different grill and some distinctive markings and sold as a Monarch---2-door, maroon and white, V8 and automatic with a neat-sounding exhaust, bought it used privately and had it for a little over 4 years. Heck, I was 21 and felt that I was 'king of the road'---Fitted with the traditional white-wall tires and that massive bumper, it was a sharp-looking car. Fond memories all!

  • DweezilSFV DweezilSFV on Jun 03, 2010

    This is sad but not unexpected.The first car I fell in love with, first one I ever waxed and learned how to drive on was my parent's 66 Mercury Montclair 4 door sedan. Beautiful blue green with an aqua interior. First car I bought on my own when I went to college was a 66 Mercury Comet Caliente 2 door hardtop with an avocado green Earl Scheib paint job and a "Honk If You Love Jesus" sticker on the back bumper. $200 from my Mother's cousin in Woodland Hills. I was a fan of Mercury for years,it was like a childhood friend, but it disappeared as a brand under a pile of Bobcats, Monarchs, Zephyrs, Marquis and Villagers. And a cynical corporate disregard for the concept of actually offering more for the extra money paid besides a a different grille pattern and a red reflector strip between the tail lights. You got things like better upholstery, a quieter ride, a longer wheelbase, more standard equipment, a larger standard engine, a marque specific dashboard, different styling. Things that made a Mercury different in character than a Ford as well. Chrysler did a better job of differentiating the Avenger/Sebring this last time out than Ford has done with any two cars sold by both Ford and Mercury over the past 20 years. In 1969, Ford spent $250,000,000 to re-tool and almost relaunch a Mercury that was less like a Ford and more like a Lincoln. That was the same amount spent in the 50s to launch Edsel. Then they spent the next 40 years running away from the concept. Really, the only times Ford actually expended the effort with Mercury in a serious fashion was in 49-52,57-60,65-71. It's been a long slow death for what used to be my favorite brand. What a waste of brand equity, time, effort and capital. The definition of a corporate circle jerk.

    • Jpcavanaugh Jpcavanaugh on Jun 03, 2010

      @Really, the only times Ford actually expended the effort with Mercury in a serious fashion was in 49-52,57-60,65-71. And 49-51 was an accident. Ford's planned 49 lineup was well along when some fresh blood came in and decided that the planned 49Ford was too big and heavy to be a Ford. So, the 49 Ford that we know was the result of a last-minute crash program. The originally planned Ford became Mercury, the original Mercury became the Lincoln, and the original Lincoln became the Lincoln Cosmopolitan. Look at how closely the 49 Merc resembled the 49 regular Lincoln, and you will see the Ford/Mercury twinning that had been the plan.

  • Jpcavanaugh Jpcavanaugh on Jun 03, 2010

    I will miss Mercury. When I was 11 or 12, a family friend had a black 68 Montclair fastback 2 door. I loved that car. Every time I got in for a ride, I felt like Steve McGarrett on Hawaii Five-O. One of my best high school friends had a blue 68 Cougar that was a really good looking car until the northern Indiana salt got to it. My only Mercury was an 86 Fox-body Marquis wagon, and I liked that car a lot. The 3.8 V6 with the 3 speed C-5 was a really pleasant drivetrain, much moreso than the 5.0 with the AOD that was in the 85 Vic that replaced the Marq. But of course, my little wagon was just a Ford LTD with classier looking instruments.

  • BklynPete BklynPete on Jun 03, 2010

    My Dad had an '84 Marquis Brougham with that 3.8 V-6/C-5 combo. It was a nice car, well-built, reliable but bland. He replaced it with a Maxima five years later simply because it was a more exciting, better performing, more fun car to drive and he could still get $4 or $5K on the trade-in. He agreed that Mercury was nothing but a gussied-up Ford LTD, but my mother -- mainly a Buick loyalist - felt strongly that if he wasn't going to buy another Buick for his own car, he shouldn't "downgrade" to a Ford. She always associated Ford with when they were poor and drove clapped-out clunkers. My Dad was a smart man and paid the extra $500 or $1000 to maintain domestic bliss. My mother, may she rest in peace, defined the market for mid-level American brands like Mercury, Olds, Pontiac, Buick, Chrysler, etc. Something nicer than Chevy/Ford/Plymouth, but not as flashy or expensive as Cadillac or Lincoln. While it's a little sad that old people's products die with them, it's also quite normal. That's a reality that only Forbes' Jerry Flint conveniently ignores.

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