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Will Mercury soon be joining Plymouth and Oldsmobile? - READ ONLY

308 messages,  Last post on Feb 26, 2011 at 6:29 AM

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What is this discussion about? Mercury Milan, Mercury Montego, Mercury Mariner Hybrid

Messages Page 27 of 31

#259 of 308 Reports of Mercury's Death Greatly Exaggerated by ronsmith38

Jul 24, 2008 (2:03 pm)

according to news from Ford Motor Co. today.

#260 of 308 Re: Reports of Mercury's Death Greatly Exaggerated [ronsmith38] by gregg_vw

Jul 24, 2008 (2:12 pm)

Replying to: ronsmith38 (Jul 24, 2008 2:03 pm)
And I for one am very happy to hear I was wrong about this. Always liked Mercurys..up until the last few years.

#261 of 308 So... now what? by bruce6

Jul 24, 2008 (10:09 pm)

Let us hope the decision to keep Mercury comes with an intent to make it's products at least somewhat unique. Platform-sharing is fine. Identical cars with different grilles and taillights is not.

#262 of 308 Re: So... now what? [bruce6] by savetheland

Jul 26, 2008 (3:39 pm)

Replying to: bruce6 (Jul 24, 2008 10:09 pm)
According to Kuzak:
 
"Mercury and Lincoln will complement each other. Lincoln will start with midsized sedans and move up from there...Mercury brings a younger, more female customer than the Ford brand.We're focusing (Mercury) very much on small, fuel-efficient products."
 
Ford hopes that Mercury will continue to attract these younger premium car buyers who will then move up to Lincolns as they get older and their families get larger.
 
Going forward, he said, Mercury will continue to offer improved versions of its Mariner crossover, Milan mid-sized sedan and a new as yet unnamed compact. That car will go into production in 2010 and will share a common platform with the new Ford Focus that will also enter production that year. In addition, Mercury will offer hybrid versions of the Mariner and -- starting at the end of this year -- the Milan.
 
Kuzak made no mention of the full-sized Mercury Sable, which no longer appears to be part of the brands future lineup. Instead, he said, Lincoln will pick up where Mercury leaves off, giving Lincoln-Mercury dealers a full product lineup.
 
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080726/AUTO01/807260344/1148-

#263 of 308 Re: So... now what? [savetheland] by georgecavalier

Jul 27, 2008 (5:35 am)

Replying to: savetheland (Jul 26, 2008 3:39 pm)
I have heard basically the same thing. Here on Inside Line, they said that Mercury will be adding a new small car. I think that is a great idea. With the way gas prices are, people from all walks of life are looking at smaller cars. Not everyone is going to want bare-bones econoboxes so a premium small car is a good thing. I wish GM would get that through their heads and bring over the small Buicks that are selling very well in China. Anyway, for Mercury to pull this off, they will need to make a vehicle that is unique from a Ford. What they don't need is a Tracer that is very much the same as a Focus with a different grille and tail lights.

#264 of 308 Re: So... now what? [georgecavalier] by jeyhoe

Jul 27, 2008 (7:14 am)

Replying to: georgecavalier (Jul 27, 2008 5:35 am)
Yeah, and what they dont need is to eliminate 50% of their market right out of the box by aiming Mercury at females. Just how stupid is that?

#265 of 308 Re: So... now what? [jeyhoe] by gregg_vw

Jul 28, 2008 (5:45 am)

Replying to: jeyhoe (Jul 27, 2008 7:14 am)
Pretty stupid. That focus the last few years has done nothing but cost them sales.

#266 of 308 Re: So... now what? [jeyhoe] by xrunner2

Jul 28, 2008 (7:32 am)

Replying to: jeyhoe (Jul 27, 2008 7:14 am)
Yeah, and what they dont need is to eliminate 50% of their market right out of the box by aiming Mercury at females. Just how stupid is that?
 
They used to run the commercial of a woman driving her male office colleague to a business meeting and meeting their female boss.
 
They also need some commercials showing a tall guy late 20's/30's with about 5-day beard stubble, in jeans and getting into Mercury with his actress-like female companion and he driving to "in" place.

#267 of 308 Having good old Mercury around... by wtd44

Aug 30, 2008 (9:18 am)

Having a local Mercury dealer keeps me happy with Ford products. I can use the Mercury place for any and all warranty work and other repairs and service I may not want to do myself. Otherwise, I'd have to use the local Ford dealer, and that is very unappealing to me. The broader point is that Lincoln Mercury dealers provide the benefits of "competition" with Ford dealers, thus favoring the customer.

#268 of 308 Re: Mercury... [gregg_vw] by hpmctorque

Jan 18, 2010 (7:46 am)

Replying to: gregg_vw (Jul 09, 2008 9:41 am)
Excellent summary on the history of Mercury's brand differentiation. I agree with everything you said.
 
I imagine that Ford is quietly studying whether to invest more in Mercury to reinvigorate it, or to close the brand. So, in the future, you'll either see more aspirational and youthful Mercurys, in the spirit of the '49-mid '50s, and the Cougar, or no Mercurys. I don't know which it will be. Does Ford really need a middle brand? Arguably, it doesn't, if Ford models top out at entry luxury, and Lincoln begins there. On the other hand, it wouldn't be difficult to make a case for a middle brand, so long as it's differentiated from Ford and Lincoln. I have confidence that Alan Mulally will make the right call on Mercury. He's obviously acting deliberately, rather than hastily.
 
I think there's room for expansion of the Mustang line, plus a market for a RWD Lincoln 3-Series competitor, once Ford's financial condition improves.

Messages Page 27 of 31

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