MERCURY
Founded in 1939 by Edsel Ford as its own line, Mercury was positioned between Ford and Lincoln and going head-to-head against Chrysler, Buick and Oldsmobile who also held the same positions within their respective companies as mid-line cars. By 1945 the stand-alone line was swallowed into the Lincoln Division in hopes it would be thought of as a “Little Lincoln” and the division was re-named the Lincoln-Mercury Division.
Mercury, like the defunct Edsel, was built from scratch but the 1950’s were some of the most popular and successful years for Mercury. These were the years when they would stretch, lengthen and lower platforms to achieve their desired looks and appeal. During the 1960’s and 70’s, the model line began to distance itself from Lincoln in hopes of gaining identity even though it also shared many component parts from the Ford Division that were noticeable. Its hard to build a Mercury Cougar without the public seeing it as either a “gussied-up” Mustang or T-Bird in the later years. How about when they looked at a Grand Marquis and saw a lot of Crown Victoria. In the 80’s mercury had the same issues with their Tracer model which was a Ford Escort in reality and their Mercury Villager Minivan which, indeed, was a Nissan Quest in disguise.
Mercury sales hit two highs. In 1978 their sales reached a peak of 580,000 and in 1993 when they reached a level of 480,000. Since those times Mercury sales have slid as the product line has met with steep “price-point” competition, product elimination and product duplication with sister Division Ford. As recently as 2006, Alan Mulally (Ford Motor Company CEO) indicated that the Mercury brand was being examined for possible elimination. With all competition and reduced market share, and four+ years after Mr. Mulally indicated the possibility of closure, the Mercury brand finally ceased operation in late 2010 but will be supported by Ford Motor Company for parts and service for a long time.
|
