RIP PONTIAC

Cougar


Mark VII


This said, I'd still love to have either of these.

 

I see what you are saying, but that Lincoln is boxier and appears bigger. (That's what she said).

 

A buddy of mine had one of these monsters, a '63 Parisienne. Same colour as this except it had a black rag top.

 

Again, Mercury's real only reason for existing was to be able to expand Ford's dealer network without cannibalizing itself.

Most Mercurys were rebadged Fords, but Ford needed a line to pair with Lincoln so it could have more dealers without competing directly with a "Ford" dealership.

However, Ford's dealer network isn't quite as detailed as GM's was pre-bankruptcy, and there are a lot of Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealers who sell all 3 brands, so that won't be a huge adjustment. Where you'll see issues are in major metros where there are Ford dealers and L/M dealers close together.

 

Mercurys just being warmed-over Fords might end up saving the brand. Ford gets additional sales with very little cost (apparently a lot of Mercury buyers are people who wouldn't consider Fords even though they're practically identical). Also, if Mercury goes away it takes away more than half the sales of Lincoln Mercury dealers (Mercury has outsold Lincoln in recent years); stand-alone Lincoln dealers might not be able to make it.

 

Um, forget what I said.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100602/CARNEWS/100609962

 

Cadillac's been kicking Lincoln's ass with both feet for the better part of 10 years and they're just now realizing that strengthing their luxury brand might be a good idea.

 

I read that article the other day. This graf stood out to me:
"Memorable Mercurys include the stately Grand Marquis, the muscle-bound Cougar of the '60s and the Topaz. More recently, the Milan and the Mariner and their hybrid counterparts have won acclaim."

I've heard quite a bit of praise recently for the Fusion Hybrid, but not the Milan. And I must have missed the acclaim for the Mariner, aside from Jill Wagner saying it's good.
Funnier was the "stately Grand Marquis" being considered memorable. Remind me again what makes the car memorable?
But the best part was the Topaz (aka Ford Tempo's twin) being called memorable. Autoweek, WTF?

 

It was memorable for me. I drove a Topaz for years and the back seat saw quite a bit of action. 8)