The company line is really to say nothing at this time and I’d say that’s pretty coy considering all of the jobs (factory, design, marketing, dealerships and more) that rely on the Mercury nameplate. If Mercury is going the way of the Edsel then you have to wonder where Lincoln fits into Ford’s future? Mercury is down to a few re-badged Ford’s and Lincoln isn’t exactly tearing the cover off the ball at this point in time.
From AutoNews.com:
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. plans to kill the 71-year-old Mercury brand slowly by starving it of product, two sources tell Automotive News.
Ford leaders plan to propose eliminating Mercury to the board of directors in July. They believe Ford no longer can justify the cost of supporting Mercury in light of the brand’s declining volume, the sources say.
The company has been laying the groundwork for eliminating Mercury for years.
Decades ago, Lincoln dealers were encouraged to add Mercury franchises to give them the volume they needed to survive. In recent years, Ford has pushed consolidation of those dealerships into Ford-Lincoln-Mercury stores. Those dealers now derive their volume from Ford brand sales.
Read the full article here.
