For years there has been speculation that Ford may eventually kill off Mercury due to weak sales. The current Mercury lineup is aging and there seems to be little new projects in the works. Could this mean that Ford is finally letting Mercury die a slow death?
Mercury launched restyled versions of the Mariner and Montego (now called the Sable) for 2008. After that the only thing in the works is a restyle of the Milan sedan and a possible hybrid version.
Ford insists that there is room for Mercury in its current lineup, although the automaker has been focusing more attention on Lincoln.
Industry experts expect the brand to die within the near future. According to investment banker Sheldon Sandler Mercury is a “franchise on life support.” Jeff Schuster of J.D. Power and Associates told Automotive News that the brand could go the way the way of Oldsmobile within four years (cancellation).
After the problems and lawsuits that GM faced with the cancellation of Oldsmobile, experts have speculated that Ford would resist killing Mercury. If Ford does kill off Mercury the automaker could leverage its Lincoln brand to reduce the negative feedback, since Mercury and Lincoln are sold at the same dealers.
Full Story: Motor Authority
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