Mercury Sable dies along with Taurus X
Next month Ford is expected to unveil the all new 2010 Ford Taurus at the Detroit Auto Show, but don't expect the large sedan to be accompanied by a new Mercury Sable. Ford spokesman Mark Schirmer told Automotive News that the spacious sedan will take a dirt nap in April, one month after the Taurus X drives off into the sunset. The Sable never did make inroads with customers despite of its unoffensive sheet metal, smooth ride, and spotless safety ratings, and sales are down 20% for the year through November. Schirmer stated that part of the reason for the Sable's departure was that Ford was readying itself for lower industry volume levels, which makes multiple nameplates more difficult to justify. Dealers will need to order their last Sables by March 6th, and production comes to a halt on April 30. In a letter to dealers, Ford stated that it was discontinuing the Sable to "have a laser sharp focus on delivering the products that consumers want the most." Fair enough.
We never quite understood why the Sable performed as poorly as it did. The Sable was no standard bearer, mind you, but even the Grand Marquis regularly kicked the Sable's arse on the sales charts. And it's been around since Jimmy Carter was president.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Chubaka 9:10AM (12/05/2008)
Hmmm, Mercury cars have never really appealed to me for some reason. Maybe because most of them look like rip-offs of other cars. That bothers me for some reason.
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Flashpoint 10:11AM (12/05/2008)
Mercury deserved to die because they haven't produced anything worthwhile since the Cougar XR-7.
Mercury has basically been a lower level Lincoln. Now that people have been polarized to either buy Ford or buy Lincoln, Mercury doesn't do anything differently than the prior two at a competitive price.
Taurus X was a stupid idea too. ITS CALLED A FREESTYLE.
carcomptoy 9:12AM (12/05/2008)
Well they are rip-offs--just badgineered Fords, really.
Hopefully, Mercury does become a source for Euro-Fords, and that'll bring some interest to the brand.
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Alex Keyes 9:57AM (12/05/2008)
No, hopefully Mercury dies as a brand, and Ford starts selling cars it sells in Europe.
A 2-brand strategy seems to work well. So along with Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infiniti, Honda/Acura, we should have Chevrolet/Cadillac (Buick in China only), Ford/Lincoln and Dodge/Chrysler.
dkw 10:03AM (12/05/2008)
@ Alex Keyes
1) saying that a 2-brand strategy seems to work well is a comment I find very superficial. There is much more going on there besides how many brands each automaker markets.
2) how's that 2-brand strategy working for Toyota/Lexus/Scion?
Alex Keyes 10:46AM (12/05/2008)
@dkw
To answer your question, Scion has not been doing well at all. See, e.g., http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/04/scion-sales-are-down-brands-image-is-in-flux .
Don't be so smug. A 2-brand strategy observation is anything but superficial. Pot/kettle?
Torrent 10:58AM (12/05/2008)
What will happen to Jill Wagner?
FFS 3:40PM (12/05/2008)
They could kill scion easily cause theyre just rebadged cars of other markets, however they got a lot of money from that idea...
Gregg 9:19AM (12/05/2008)
The Sable did as poorly as it did because the Sable has always sold just a small portion of Taurus sales (fewer dealers, less well known, Mercury is a badge-engineered brand only). And Taurus/500 sales have been in the toilet since day one, due to it frumpy styling. Ford gambled too cautious on this one and lost. It is also a good illustration that as much as people bitch about this or that grill design, it is the overall car that people look at, and no grill was gonna fix this pig.
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Jim in Tampa 9:28AM (12/05/2008)
The Sable and Taurus may have been ugly, but they sure are comfortable cars.
DJ 9:28AM (12/05/2008)
If they had not recently unveiled the 2010 Mercury Milan, I would have assumed this to be the immediate death of Mercury as a brand. Afterall, how many vehicles will Mercury have to sell now? The Milan, a reworked Ford Fusion; the Grand Marquis, older than the folks that buy them; the Mariner, a reworked Escape; and the Mountaineer, based on the Explorer which dies next summer. Given the auto industry depression and Ford's need to consolidate to save money, I believe Mercury is gone by December 31st, 2011.
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Nightcrawler 11:43AM (12/05/2008)
"...the Grand Marquis, older than the folks that buy them"
Uh, no. Have you ever taken a look at who are the ones buying them? You'd have to go back to the Model A to get vehicle older than they are.
Eddie 9:29AM (12/05/2008)
Grandpas everywhere will be saddened by this. I guess they'll have to buy a Buick instead.
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Wayne 9:46AM (12/05/2008)
So true. My first car was a hand-me-down Mercury Sable from... my Grandpa. He currently is sporting the '03 Sable now.
DKB_SATX 10:01AM (12/05/2008)
Yup... the only person I know with ANY Mercury vehicle is my 88-year-old great Aunt Ethel who drives a late-'90s Sable.
Avinash machado 10:24AM (12/05/2008)
But Jill Wagner is not a granny.
Shipey 10:41AM (12/05/2008)
If Jill Wagner is a granny, she's the first GILF.
k.w.a 10:54AM (12/05/2008)
They still have a long line of Grand Marquis' to choose from. they can even save money and buy one from ten years ago...still runs smooth and looks exactly like the 'new' one!
Nightcrawler 11:55AM (12/05/2008)
My son drives a Mercury, and he's only 20. But it's an old '87 Grand Marquis that he literally inherited from a Grandpa, so I guess that still proves your point.
He claims all his college friends think it's cool though.
donniebyers 9:44AM (12/05/2008)
The car was nothing more than a Ford Taurus with a different grille.
Ford has always relied on this strategy to its own detriment. No real differentiation between model lines.
Other carmakers do it too, but American companies take it to a rediculous degree...
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