Mark Fields, the new president of Ford America, has
recently reviewed Ford’s portfolio and judged the Mercury division worthy of seeing another sunrise. The
Detroit News reports
that Mercury still brings in more money for Ford than what would be saved if it were phased out. Despite the executive
pardon, Ford realizes that the Mercury brand needs to evolve and move out from under Ford’s shadow. Currently the brand
does not have a single unique vehicle, every one of its models sharing a platform and most of its sheetmetal with a
corresponding Ford product. The article does speculate that if Ford decides to drop the Freestyle crossover from its
lineup, a unique Mercury model could emerge based on the Meta
One concept. However, despite the criticism that Mercury only offers rebadged Fords, the brand seems to be
surviving on clever marketing that reaches out to women
and young people.
Mercury survives the judgment of Mark Fields
Mark Fields, the new president of Ford America, has recently reviewed Ford’s portfolio and judged the Mercury division worthy of seeing another sunrise. The Detroit News reports that Mercury still brings in more money for Ford than what would be saved if it were phased out. Despite the executive pardon, Ford realizes that the Mercury brand needs to evolve and move out from under Ford’s shadow. Currently the brand does not have a single unique vehicle, every one of its models sharing a platform and most of its sheetmetal with a corresponding Ford product. The article does speculate that if Ford decides to drop the Freestyle crossover from its lineup, a unique Mercury model could emerge based on the Meta One concept. However, despite the criticism that Mercury only offers rebadged Fords, the brand seems to be surviving on clever marketing that reaches out to women and young people.