Category: News (Page 34 of 87)

End of the line: Ford to retire Mercury brand

It’s official. Ford will retire Mercury in late 2010! Mercury has been around for 71 years but now Ford will concentrate on trying to bring Lincoln back to where it should have been years ago. Is this the right move? Ford really had no choice but to kill Mercury and put resources into the Ford brand for one obvious reason. Ford’s are no equipped with some of the latest and greatest technologies available in cars today. With that being said Mercury didn’t have anything to offer that warranted a higher sticker than a Ford brand car or truck. In some ways it’s a testament to how far Ford has come in recent years so Lincoln better get cracking and really blow away expectations or it will be next! Let’s hope that Ford will put the muscle behind Lincoln this time around because the clock is ticking!

From the Detroit News:

Dearborn — Ford Motor Co. today confirmed that it is killing its mid-market Mercury brand to focus its resources on its luxury Lincoln marque.

“We are very proud of its history, but we are now looking forward,” said Ford Americas President Mark Fields, who promised that the nation’s 1,712 dealers would be fairly compensated for the loss of their Mercury franchises.

He said the company would work with them to make sure their remaining Ford and Lincoln franchises make up for the lost sales. “We absolutely remain committed to working with our dealers.”

Read the full article here.

Check out the Lamborghini Cnossus

There’s concept cars and there’s “concept cars”. The Lamborghini Cnossus is so in your face you might feel like it might even be getting ready to lay a big kiss on you! Check out the front end of this piece of art from design students at Italy’s Scuola Politecnica di Design studio and you’ll walk away knowing something new and fresh came together.

The lines are incredible as it’s apparent many design cues originated from the spectacular Lamborghini Countach. Very nice!

From Motorcrave.com:

On our Tuesday tour of Mediterranean area design, we move eastward from Spain to Italy where this Lamborghini Cnossus concept was born. A thesis collaboration between two Scuola Politecnica di Design students: Russian student Victor Filipchenko and Portuguese student Nelson Simoes, the Cnossus is named after a city on Crete. The designers took some inspiration from the Lamborghini Countach and made a Lambo all their own.

Check out the full article here.

Financial Strategies Can Make Your Life Easier

Many people shudder at the thought of being considered miserly. Frugality and its appearances are something to be avoided by people who want to project an image of success. Coupon cutting and sale watching has its place for many people, but there are reasonable ways to save money without going overboard or letting it rule your life.

Refinancing can be the biggest thing one can do to not only save money but increase the amount of money available monthly. Without changing any other aspect of your budget, income, or spending habits, you can make your monthly finances feel more relaxed and give you some breathing space. Many people know about refinancing their mortgage, which can be fantastic if interest rates are lower. You will save a lot of money on your interest and will most likely feel those savings directly and right away. With the extra money, you can invest it and make interest on difference or you can get ahead in other areas you may need to catch up in, like credit card bills. Refinancing can also be done in conjunction with home equity loans, so if you have outstanding debt that has much higher interest rates than your newly refinanced rate, you can pay it off and free up a lot of cash that has been going towards other monthly payments.

While many people are aware of refinancing on homes, not as many people are aware that there is a whole world of auto refinance waiting to be utilized. If you fell on hard times and purchased your car in a hurry for a less than desirable interest rate, you can refinance your car and save a bundle. If you do that and pay the same amount monthly that you had been paying at the higher rate, you will pay off your car faster. Smart money management will get you ahead of the game.

Does Mercury have a future?

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.

2011 Nissan Leaf gearing up for launch

The beat of the electric car goes on with the 2011 Nissan Leaf gearing up for launch. According to CEO Carlos Ghosn 2010 production is already sold out! With a suggested cost of $25,000 after U.S. federal and state incentives for clean car purchases the Nissan Leaf finds itself in the sweet spot of many U.S. and overseas car buyers.

From the Detroit News:

Nissan Motor Co. has collected nearly 20,000 pre-orders for an all-electric Leaf car that it plans to start selling in the United States and Japan in December.

“The production for 2010 is already sold out,” said Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Nissan and its French partner and shareholder Renault SA.

Nissan has gathered 13,000 pre-orders from prospective American buyers who paid a $100 refundable deposit, and 6,000 pre-orders in Japan, Ghosn said. The automaker will start taking firm orders in August.

Read the full article here.

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