[ChrisPlatt]

Lincoln won't go away. Too much of a market for luxury cars.

With the exception of the Town Cars so popular with limo services here I see very few Lincolns on the road.
Their other models look like BMW wannabes with an identity crisis.

My guess is that Lincoln too will soon follow Mercury into brand history.
I suppose the Mercury and/or Lincoln names could survive as standalone upmarket models in the Ford lineup.

Chris

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Last edited by ChrisPlatt; 06-03-2010 at 06:10 PM.

[Steve Beswick]

Today, Ford announced the demise of Mercury. It's not really a surprise, since the marque had already withered away. Still, a bit sad - my family owned several Mercurys over the years, including a 6-banger Comet convertable (with a 4-Spd of all things; still couldn't get out of its own way), and I traded my first Mustang (a '65) for the then new '67 Cougar (a slightly longer version of the Mustang, with very different sheet metal).

Here's a previously posted photo in tribute to the Mercury.

Jer

My fathers first four cars:
65 Mustang, new
68 Cougar, new
62 Continental, From the in-laws, in ~1971? and...

... a dark metallic brown 76 Pinto wagon with the roof rack and the fake wood on the side! What a car!

Seriously though, it was a good solid car that was very good to my family well into the mid '90s. It wasn't a lot of fun for my brother to drive in high school though.

Apparently the Cougar was a bit more "fun" to own -
My father special ordered it. He picked it up from the rooftop lot at the local dealership. It wasn't until he was driving down the ramp that he discovered the brakes didn't work! A month later the outside drivers door handle fell off in my fathers hand, and the sequential taillights were a nonstop thorn in my dads side the entire time he owned the car.

The Mustang was a very solid car, but it was traded in for the Pinto. My family doesn't bring up the Continental any more, because if we do my mom spends the next week punishing my dad for selling "Bertha".

My 3rd car was a 66 Mustang. I had that car for 6 years, and it was the most reliable car I've ever owned.

Lincoln won't go away. Too much of a market for luxury cars.

So far, in the past few years, we've lost....

Plymouth

Oldsmobile

Pontiac

and now

Mercury.

Sign of the times and the changing market landscape.


I just wonder how long it will be before GM drops Buick?

Buick sells cars that are unique to the brand, and they are one of the GM divisions that actually turns a regular profit. They are not going anywhere.

Mercury has been dead in Canada for more than a decade now, though the Marauder and the Grand Marquis were sold as standalone products through Ford dealers for a while. They have had some interesting products in the past, but I can't see the brand being missed much considering their lack of unique vehicles. Wasn't the Cougar (discontinued ~8 years ago) the most recent product that didn't have a Ford twin?

What's a Marauder?

GMC used to be stronger trucks meant for work. The Chevrolet trucks were more for light use and daily driver quality trucks. The GMC's would have a stronger suspension and drivetrain, bigger brakes, and stiffer sway bars.

As of the last 20yrs, there's not much difference between the Chevy truck and the GMC truck. Just a badge and a grill. They are essentially the same thing with a different price tag.

One detail I found surprising in the current generation half ton trucks - the fenders are shaped different. It's a subtle difference, but it is definitely there.

[geauxpez]

in 1989, My first car was a 62 comet "custom" (4-door) with a tiny inline 6 and a 2 speed automatic. S-L-O-W.

Companies have to change as consumers change. Big luxury cars used to be what "old folks" bought after retirement. Who retires to a rocking chair any more? My grandma drives a Civic. I see older folks here in Scions and Elements. Mercury just doesn't equate to trendy and modern...at least not here.

[Steinback]

@Steve Beswick - The Marauder was a sportier Mercury built off the same platform as the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis. They had a mix of police interceptor and mustang hardware from the Ford parts bin that made them somewhat more powerful than a regular Crown Vic or Marquis. Production only ran for 2003-2004 and the average driver would probably mistake the car for a blacked out police interceptor.

Conceptually the Marauder was similiar to the mid '90s Impala SS.

I would have preferred to see the Panther platform updated with the current Mustang drivetrain choices and a manual transmission option (possibly even a station wagon) but unfortunately the platform is being retired instead.

[Sailor]

. . . . . . . . . My 3rd car was a 66 Mustang. I had that car for 6 years, and it was the most reliable car I've ever owned. . . . . . .

I loved my '65 Mustang (I was 17 and practically slept in the car) and '67 Cougar, both ordered new with 289-4V engines and 4-spd transmissions; both cars were quite reliable for the era. Since (like many others at the time) I was afflicted with Sloan syndrome, I traded the Cougar for a '69 Mustang Mach I - it was hairy looking and fast, but never really satisfying; the car had become too heavy and clumsy, and my example had a very shoddy build.

Jer

@Steve Beswick - The Marauder was a sportier Mercury built off the same platform as the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis. They had a mix of police interceptor and mustang hardware from the Ford parts bin that made them somewhat more powerful than a regular Crown Vic or Marquis. Production only ran for 2003-2004 and the average driver would probably mistake the car for a blacked out police interceptor.

Conceptually the Marauder was similiar to the mid '90s Impala SS.

I would have preferred to see the Panther platform updated with the current Mustang drivetrain choices and a manual transmission option (possibly even a station wagon) but unfortunately the platform is being retired instead.

The original Marauder (and "real" Marauder to guys my age) was a performance version of the big Merc in the mid sixties. The car had the same "fast-back" roofline that was used in the Mercs and Fords raced in NASCAR. If my memory serves, it came with the most powerful version of the 390 mill but could be ordered with a 4-spd manual tranny and a 406 or Ford's limited build, NASCAR-based 427.

Jer