Ford Puts Mercury Down, Now What?

Granting the wish of so many industry analysts and armchair CEOs everywhere, Ford has finally pulled the plug on its long ago forgotten Mercury brand. The decision comes a relatively short while after dumping Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo all to foreign buyers, all part of Mulally’s grand plan to save the heart of the empire, Ford. Having peaked in 1978 with well over half a million units sold, Mercury today accounts for a reported 0.8% of Ford’s overall sales..definitely a drop in the bucket…and will build it’s last car at some point in the 4th quarter of this year.

Its not that anybody had any ill will towards the brand, it was simply a case of.. put up or shut up! Either give Mercury the product it needs to be a successful, stand alone brand or… shut it down. While Mercury has always consisted of better finished Fords, the last decade or so has been especially blatant in this regard. Sure the Mariner is a little nicer than the Escape, but a whole other brand and marketing machine for what Toyota or Honda would absolutely treat as a trim level is a sure way to lose money.

If a brand can’t have at least a couple thoroughly differentiated, unique even, models all to itself, then there’s usually not much sense in keeping the brand around. Given the economic climate in general, and Ford’s situation specifically of the last few years, it should be easy to understand that they simply didn’t have the resources to do anything with Mercury.

But now that Mercury is definitely about to become part of the past, what do Mercury owners do now in the present. There are plenty of them out there, and Mercury will continue to sell cars for the rest of the year. What about ownership issues like maintenance, repairs, and (gasp!) accidents? The short answer is.. what issues?

Servicing these cars should present very few problems, if any. Auto makers are required by law to manufacture parts for the duration of a vehicle’s warranty, and dealers will continue to service these cars for years to come. Besides the showroom, a dealer’s service bays are expected to (and do) bring in plenty of profit.

Once your Mercury’s warranty has expired, parts should still be readily available for years to come. They are after all mostly Ford vehicles anyway, some bodywork and trim pieces are the only things that might be a concern after a few years. Third party suppliers need to make a living too, and several hundred thousand vehicles on the road will ensure they can make a profit on the parts they will continue to make. As for service, any out of warranty vehicle doesn’t belong in a dealer’s service bay, find a good independent mechanic. Overall, owning a newly orphaned Mercury for 5-10 years shouldn’t be a problem.