[PhilosopherStone1000]

Mercuries are just Fords with a different emblem and higher price tag. It’s been the case since the early 70s.

[GonzoGOP]

Mercuries are just Fords with a different emblem and higher price tag. It’s been the case since the early 70s.

And that is the problem. As Ford improved their quality the difference between a Ford and a Mercury became null. Why pay a premium price for something that isn't all that different. Lexus - Toyota proves that you can have a premium brand. But you need to have a big quality difference between the mid level and premium brand.

[prisoner6]

Kinda like it used to be Plymouth = Dodge = Chrysler.

You could buy a Chrysler, but it still smelled like a Plymouth.

prisoner6

[longtermmemmory]

actually Mercury had the extras of lincoln into a ford. For the most part they seemed to get good ratings. However, like most of Detroit they had some huge screw ups like when they redid cougar into a poorly wired compact.

They must have used the same woman who killed oldsmobile to run mercury.

[I cannot think of a name]

“Mercuries are just Fords with a different emblem and higher price tag.”

And the real villain behind all this?

Robert McNamara

He was one of the “whiz kids” brought in by Henry Ford II. McNamara decided that having all these different brands actually be different cars was “inefficient.” He could do the same thing by just putting different trim and decals on the same car.

After this tremendous success, he was made Secretary of Defense. Here he decided that we didn't need all these different aircraft and could do everything with just one (the F-111). His style of micromanagement was also largely responsible for the huge success of the VietNam war.

[hecht]

Very true. I used to wonder, what was the point? I once asked a dealer why not import European Fords(Mercur) instead of repackaged Fords.They did do that with one model(XR4) in the 80’sk