Junkyard Find: 2011 Mercury Mariner, Last Gasp of the Mercury Brand Edition

Ever since I found one of the very last Oldsmobiles in a Denver car graveyard, I’ve been keeping my junkyard eye open for other final-year-of-marque Detroit machinery. We’ve got the 1998 Eagle, the 2001 Plymouth, and the 2010 Pontiac, and now it’s time for one of the very last vehicles to wear the Mercury badge: this 2011 Mariner Premier.

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Piston Slap: A Tribute to the Mariner's Idle Escape?

TTAC Commentator sundvl76 writes:

Sajeev,

Your post of 2 Mar 2011 was a great explanation regarding the cause of the “T” joint oil leak I’ve been experiencing. No one on any of the normal Ford sites has been able to pinpoint the problem, so I thank you for the information. (I’d discovered the source, but didn’t know the cause/fix until your post.) TTAC is now on my Favorites list!

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Vellum Venom Vignette: Lincoln Mariner (Hecho En Mexico)

Francisco writes:

Dear Sajeev,

Regular reader here. To the matter at hand:

On a recent visit to Mexico, this Mariner was in front of me begging for a bad cellphone pic. Don’t get me wrong, after-market badge-upgraded cars are pretty common there, but this already badge-engineered Ford Explorer (Mercury Mariner – SM) badge-engineered once more to a “Lincoln Mariner 4wd V6” was too ironic to let go. Please note the extra Lincoln badge thrown in for good measure on the dealer license plate cover. Make no mistake, it is a Lincoln.

I assumed that this would bring a smile and a chuckle to an ardent Ford guy like yourself. Hope you enjoy it and keep up the good work!

Best regards from Sweden,
Francisco

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  • SCE to AUX "...it’s unclear how Ford plans to reach profitability with cheaper vehicles, as it’s slowed investments in new factories and other related areas"Exactly. They need to show us their Gigafactories that will support the high-demand affordable EV volume.
  • 1995 SC I have a "Hooptie" EV. Affordable would be a step up.
  • Buickman if they name it "Recall" there will already be Brand Awareness!
  • 1995 SC I wish they'd give us a non turbo version of this motor in a more basic package. Inline Sixes in trucks = Good. Turbos that give me gobs of power that I don't need, extra complexity and swill fuel = Bad.What I need is an LV1 (4.3 LT based V6) in a Colorado.
  • 1995 SC I wish them the best. Based on the cluster that is Ford Motor Company at the moment and past efforts by others at this I am not optimistic. I wish they would focus on straigtening out the Myriad of issues with their core products first.