The writing's on the wall for Ford's pseudo luxury brand Mercury, which is now tipped to face extinction within the next couple of years. Flagging sales and no major new products in the pipeline mean Ford execs are likely to close the book on Mercury for good, and it could happen as early as 2012. Both industry experts and Mercury's own dealers are predicting the brand won't be around much longer. In fact, a recent survey of 125 dealers found that nearly four out of every five dealers were concerned that Ford is planning to dump Mercury.Sales for Mercury last year totaled 180,848 units in the U.S., less than eight vehicles a month per franchise and the lowest total for the label since 1960. Remember, Chrysler killed the Plymouth brand because its sales dropped to 246,000 units per year and GM said goodbye to Oldsmobile when its annual tally dropped to 289,000 vehicles. So where does that leave Mercury? According to one expert, it leaves Mercury on life support. Of course, we've heard similar reports before, and yet Ford brass continue to pledge support for Mercury with their words. Too bad they refuse to do so with decent products.
[Source: Automotive News - Subs. Req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
DriverG @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:39PM
Lincoln only sold about 120,000 cars in 2006 and that's with a reasonably distinctive product line - how is that nameplate any more viable than Mercury? For that matter, why is a resurgent Cadillac that is only going to sell about 200,000 units this year any safer? Sure, they make a few more bucks per car than Olds or Plymouth did - but those are hardly big-time sales numbers
L.A.G. @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:54PM
Luxury nameplates don't have to move as much volume as mainstream nameplates, nor are they expected to.
bw @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:56PM
Yea, Lincoln sells considerably less, and yet they are safe from the axe?
far jr @ Sep 3rd 2007 9:24PM
Isuzu, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Land Rover, Volvo, Jaguar, Audi, Saab, VW, Hummer, Acura, Lincoln, Subaru, and many other makes would also be on the chopping block in the American market if "US sales" was the only indication of success or death of a marque. Many brands support dealerships in the US while only moving 200,000 +/-.
The number of dealerships, and the fact that there is little to differentiate a Ford from a Mercury. There-in lies your problem.
Good Bye Mercury! Godspeed.
blogged to death @ Sep 4th 2007 12:12AM
Don't confuse brands that are meant for high volume, low margins (Mercury) versus luxury brands that are meant to provide lower volume, higher margins (Lincoln / Cadillac, etc.). If Mercury was something unique (such as Pre GM Saab or Subaru) and sold with higher margins then they can survive.
But from since I've known Mercury (since the 80's) it's just a knock a rebadged Ford with the same quality woes and pitiful depreciation.
Gary @ Sep 4th 2007 8:47AM
This is not to mention the fact that - as far as I know - there are no "Mercury" dealers, only Lincoln/Mercury dealers. Seeing as how the Mercury side of the showroom is responsible for 50% more sales than the Lincoln side, those MK-whatevers are going to have to make some siginificant strides in sales in order to convince the dealers to give up their volume leaders. Given that the rumor says it'll be five years before Mercury gets the plug pulled, this is probably what Ford is hoping for - but we'll see how that works out for them.
LCN @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:52PM
Ford should just rebadge their European cars as Mercurys and bring them here (with any changes necessary to pass US safety standards)
John @ Sep 4th 2007 12:27AM
Re-badging European or Aussie Fords as Mercurys doesn't do anything for Ford's globalization plans. Fords that warrant a global role should be Fords everywhere, and where they are sold only in one country, then they should have a local brand (like Mercury), and if they can't cut it on their own, then dump them, and the brand.
500 @ Sep 3rd 2007 8:46PM
Yes, lack of product is a major part of the problem, but Ford's marketing for the Mercury division has been a disaster. Whoever made the decision a few years ago to aim Mercury exclusively at single women should be fired. Sure, they may have noticed that 60% of their buyers were women, but as any car guy can tell you, you can sell a guy's car to a woman, but you can't sell a chick car to a man. Overnight, they turned off 40% of their buyers.
That kind of strategy may work with razors, but not with cars.
ebm14 @ Sep 4th 2007 12:28PM
I agree. Just take a look at the UK line up and the stuff from down under. It would be great idea to sell what they already have and save on R & D.
Also, I like the Mercury Mariner so much better than the Escape.
Nick Dasko @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:58PM
How about the fact that Mercury has been dead in Canada since 1999. The only Mercury that Canadians could buy for almost a decade has been thr Grand Marquis.
Barney @ Sep 3rd 2007 9:36PM
I can recall the Mercury pickups (of which the Americans never had) but were sold by your local Ford & Mercury dealer.
Tool @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:10PM
180,000 units = 1 pt market share.
It's probably a good idea to get rid of Mercury, but Ford better have a plan in place so that it doesn't lose those customers, too.
Larry @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:47PM
I am quoting a post I saw here months ago "Lincoln is now MERCURY, and that leaves Merc even more superfluous than ever." What a shame.... what a shame what has happened to FOMOCO!
Joshua @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:48PM
New Cougar plz, kthxbye.
SPG @ Sep 3rd 2007 7:20PM
For over ten years now industry experts and car fans have been saying that Mercury should be a modern day Saturn.
Take some of the good Euro Fords as Saturn does with Euro GM's and rebadge them.
We all know the Contouor (SVT Contour rocked) and Mystique did not work and maybe that's why Ford is not doing this.
I really want to see some Euro Ford's over here and it's an excellent way to revive Mercury which used to mean at least a little somthing.
geo.stewart @ Sep 3rd 2007 8:55PM
I have said the same thing and firmly believe this is a better path for Ford than killing off an established nameplate.
Ford has always been against Chevy. Lincoln vs Cadillac. Mercury has kind of been fumbled around as the nice Ford.
GM has been smart and listened to the wails for Euro-product here and is using the Saturn network with its terrific dealer experience reputation. Ford should use Mercury to bring over the kinetic design. The big arguement that Euro Ford costs more can be answered by branding as Mercury. Want a little better than the US Ford Focus, how about the Mercury Tracer (Euro Focus)?
Ford is still iving in the past, thinking of geographies as niches instead of geography as global, allowing for niche vehicles in multiple geographies.
goat @ Sep 3rd 2007 9:50PM
They could also bring in some of the Aussie Fords as Mercurys. Fairlane LTD, Falcon, Territory. And, while I'm no fan of hybrids, whatever happened to the Meta One?
Jeff R. @ Sep 3rd 2007 7:33PM
A "bold move" by Ford Motor Co. would be the elimination of Mercury. Lots of money can be saved, FoMoCo.'s other brands can hopefully be improved too as a result. Given its sales have dropped so sharply (180,000+/- sales are pretty pathetic for a non-luxury label) and the brand has no unique products, why is Ford even bothering to keep the brand?
mk @ Sep 3rd 2007 8:12PM
with all due respect, I think that the opposite is true.
A bold move would be to re-envigorate Mercury. Canning it might cut some slight costs, but won't do a single thing to re-juvenate FOMOCO as a whole. Cutting bait isn't the same as actually catching fish.
The name still has some market awareness, but the products are not much of a big deal. If any brand were situated to come back from the outfeild, it is Mercury.
Ford is Ford. People have an expectation of what a Ford is, like they do with Chevy. Americana mainstream, value priced normal cars.
Lincoln is going to have room to move back up market, after being pushed down-market by PAG, as Ford liqudates it, although I don't know why FoMoCo didn't allow Jaguar and Lincoln co-exist with their different design flavors, art-deco american for Lincoln, and classic european traditional and revival for Jaguar.
But Mercury is being ignored, and that is a shame. It always seemed before to be an individualistic and alternative version of Ford's lineup, more than just a name that starts with M, and a slightly different badge.
I think that took a dive with the advent of the Mercury Sable, which was a good car, but so was a Taurus. The killer was that the Sable wasn;t notably different. A keen eye can see some slight details different in the various generations, but they hardly had a real, tangible differentiation.
The Cougar was a different Mustang. Significantly different. The first '70s Capri was a german car, that is still a used car purchase in europe. The Fox capri was a Mustang, with just enough of a difference to make people feel like they were driving something that didn't look exactly like a mustang, but things started getting too "badge engineered." The cougar also was a less aerodynamic thunderbird. again, too close for real differentiation.
Through the Sable, now the Mounaineer, and Mariner, and even the Milan... Fords with grill badges. FAR TOO CLOSE to fords.
Mercury also imported the XR4Ti, which was the Ford of Europe Sierra platform-mate. That was an interesting car for the time it was sold, and was unlike other fords. but with the name Merkur, people didn't know what to make of it, and with the name XR4Ti, people didn't really want to find out, which is too bad.
Bringing the Euro Ford Mondeo, Focus, S-max, and others, maybe even the Aussie Falcon, they could have a unique, and sought after lineup, selling Global fords in the domestic market, all without diluting FORD brand image, or Lincoln's american luxury idiom, that also needs invigoration.
People say that the euro Focus is too expensive for the US. OK, so sell the Euro version as a mercury, at the appropriate price point above the US Ford version.
The new mondeo the same way, and the aussie Falcon.
Differentiation for Mercury, no dilution of Ford, and Lincoln is free to move up-market.
AND FoMoCo sells more units of good cars that are not available here otherwise.
Ford sells more cars, gets to a better position.
If FoMoCo cans Mercury, they don't sell any more units, we still don't get the premium products that entusiasts see, want, and can't get.
Which makes more sense, for both consumers, and for business? Are you listening, FoMoCo?