No, this is not some cheesy Queen bit or homage to Freddie Mercury. It’s time to stop and take a moment of silent respect for the latest fallen combatant in the American automotive marketplace. Mercury is now dead.
The very last Mercury automobile, a 2011 Grand Marquis, rolled out of the St. Thomas, Ontario factory earlier this week. It was a good run for the brand—seventy-three years give or take. But who’s counting?
The Grand Marquis also came to the same fate obviously. It was the last Merc model in production. No tears from me on this news however. The tricky G.M. had fooled me too many times on the freeway, late at night, when I was trying to get home after a long workday. Suspiciously similar in appearance to its down-market brother the Crown Victoria and distant cousin the Police Interceptor, the odd Marquis would hinder my progress home. I’d slowly crept up on many of them at two miles an hour over the limit. I’ll not mourn the passing of the ‘Grand’ beast.
It must have not made financial sense for parent company Ford to discontinue the badge-engineered difference between the two car brands. Honestly, how much effort and cost did it really take to design and manufacture those chrome covered plastic emblems and trim pieces. Maybe the absence of internal competition will strengthen the civilian demand for the Crown Vic. External competition still exists. I’ll bet you a warm lunch that Ford is concerned about those Hemi-powered cop cars coming from Dodge.
One question all this raises for me, and for any other automotive enthusiast that was paying attention, is what will happen to the gap left between Ford and Lincoln? It was a space the Mercury filled so well. Who will now compete with Pontiac and Oldsmobile? Oh right, those market spots are now empty in the GM stable. (Buick, it’s time to get nervous.)
Long live Mercury.
Intriguing, although this matter doesn't affect me one bit. I never liked Mercury.
ReplyDeleteIt's always nice to learn something new though.