getting rid of mercury and leaving only ford and lincoln would be a good start, instead of duplicating mediocre cars more than its needed

Ford seems to be taking the right steps in becoming more competitive in the market place. Ford needs to tap into Mazda more for small car development and Volvo for larger platforms. The Ford Fusion (stretched Mazda6 platform) has been a huge hit for Ford (both in sales/quality). The Focus continues to sell well (the update should help ). The Mustang, Edge, and F150 has sold well. The Ranger needs a redo. The Ford "Taurus" is solid but bland. Of all the car companies that Ford purchased in the 90', Volvo is the best bet for Ford to make solid platforms. (Ford was wise to sell Aston Martin, Jaguar etc)

Have you ever been to a Mercury dealer??

Sales people at Mercury are way more professional than the one over at Ford. I am speaking from experience here since our Medcury dealer is also attached to a Jaguar and Land Rover.

Mercury maybe the same duplicate car of Ford but the service is much better.

I am willing to pay for professional straight talking people then the low cest pool of Ford Sales Staff and Management.....

Ford is the company that has run Volvo into the ground. Thanks to Ford the resale value and reliability have become almost nil. As a current and longtime Volvo customer, the steady decline in quality will ensure that Volvo will continue to hemorrage customers.

Andrew, the sales people are subjective to every dealership. I can understand the possibility of this happening, but it's hasty to come to a conclusion like that.

Longdxcommuter: there is going to be a complete redesign of the Ranger coming soon (within the next 2 years from what I've heard). Check it out on Google.

Ford and the other American makers need to use some of the methods the Asian makers use in packaging their cars. Reduce the number of options and group items in packages. This makes it easier for the consumer and offers more value. It also is a benefit for the automaker and simplifies things.

that's how it started anyway:
'T' and its available in black

One model: the Ford Confusion

I agree with zzz that they need to drop Mercury. Adopt a strategy similar to Nissan, Toyota, or Honda. Have your Ford cars for the mass population and have an upscale division the likes of Acura/Lexus/Infinity. Those are the only choices consumers need. Why have all three: Mercury, Lincoln, and Volvo? Just pick one, focus on their models as your lux or near-lux manufacturer, and make the choices simpler.

I agree with D: and ZZZ. Have a model for mass population and luxury edition for people with more money to burn. But don't forget the "eco green lifestyle" crowd. They should push more efficient fossil fuel burner or eco friendly alternative engines. And they can push this in mass or luxury brand for the cars too if they want to.

There is one thing about old school japanese life style I like. It's called minimalist. It simplifies other peoples life with less option to think about and concentrate more on theother things than what options I should get on my next car. A lot of the new technology should be a standard now that it's almost 2010.

umm...last i checked, toyota had 3 divisions too (scion, toyota, and lexus)
you can't include volvo or mazda as ford brands like mercury and lincoln, becuase ford has pretty much left them to their own development and just borrowed stuff from them (fusion - mazda 6, focus - mazda 3/volvo s40 prev gen, five hundred/taurus - volvo s80), and not pushed stuff onto them.

i love my 2007 mercury mariner and probably would have gotten something else if my only choice was the escape. i thought the previous gen mariners looked way better than the escapes, inside and out. also, my mariner actually was less than a similarly equipped escape because of the way the packages are set up. I also have to agree that the quality of mercury dealers is better than ford. I have dealt with both in PA, FL, MI and OH and the linc-merc dealers are consistantly better.

Alan Mulally's a pretty smart guy. He was instrumental in the design of some of Boeing Commercial Aviations best selling aircraft. It could be argued he changed Boeing's fate when they were doing bad in sales in the late 90s.

As for a simplified line up, its probably the smartest way to go. Ford needs to integrate the Mercury division into the mainstream Ford lineup, since all Mercurys are Fords with more amenities. The current Ford Fusion has a standard and sports edition. Ford should make the Mercury Milan into the Luxury version of the Ford with all those luxury items. I'm picturing in my head a Ford Fusion MX or something like that. By integrating Mercury luxury into Ford you give the Ford brand name a boost. You also reduce marketing costs.

If Ford were to offer whats in a Mercury at near Ford level pricing, it could really boost Ford sales and allow it a distinct advantage when competing with Imports.

Ford needs to dump all that weight.