Let us all bow our heads and say a prayer for the dearly departed Mercury brand...
What? You didn't know Mercury was still around?
2009 wasn't a kind year to the automotive industry to put it in the nicest terms possible. Not only did sales plummet faster than Lindsay Lohans career, famed (and not so famed) brands Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer saw their days come to and end. Even Saab almost succumbed to the axe. Let us not forget that the entire General Motors and Chrysler corporations as a whole almost went bankrupt. Now, Mercury is following in the footsteps of Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer.
What Went Wrong?
This topic could go on for a while as to what was wrong, but Mercury is an easier puzzle to solve. While Pontiac and Saturn were relatively successful selling hundreds of thousands of vehicles each year, Mercury had seen its sales dwindle since 2000 to less than 25% of the 2000 total by 2009. Mercury had not had a dedicated, unique product since 2002. Remember the Mercury Cougar featuring the highly touted "New Edge" design? That was it. The Mercury Villager could fall into this catagory with the Cougar, but it was only a rebadged Nissan Quest until the Quest went futuristic in 2003. All Mercury products were slightly more upscale versions of their Ford counterparts featuring more chrome and a higher price tag...that was it.
Badge Engineering
Mercury fell into the pitfalls of badge engineering. Take a car, slap a different grill on it, tweak the tail-lights and head-lights, put a different badge and some more chrome on it and VIOLA'...you have a new car. This is what almost killed General Motors as a whole. Remeber the last generation Chevy TrailBlazer? You could get that same vehicle as an Oldsmobile Bravada, Buick Rainier, Isuzu Ascender, Saab 9-7, and GMC Envoy. Same SUV, different grill and badge. However, would you ever believe that Volkswagen uses this tactic as well? Did you know that the much loved Audi TT is simply a Volkswagen Golf? Volkswagen takes the time and effort to differentiate their platforms enough to make sure the consumer doesn't realize it's getting 31 flavors of the same vanilla.
What Ross Would Have Done
There is no doubt that Ford could have benefitted and made a profit from the Mercury brand given the right inputs. After the demise of the Pontiac and Saturn brands, there is a void for a sporty, affordable, American brand. Dodge may possibly be able to fill that niche', but in the Chrysler restructuring process Dodge may have to play the role of Ford and Chevy...the Toyota and Honda alternative. With some marketing changes focused on a younger audience, affordable, and sporty products (Mercury version of a the European Ford Focus hatchback, Ford Kuga, or Ford S-Max), Mercury could have been positioned to be a more grown-up version of a Scion-fighter. Mercury could have been the "conquest" brand getting younger Americans in American vehicles vs. Scions and Honda Civics. I think, considering most didn't know the brand even existed anymore, a face-lift and make-over would have been successful and relatively simple.
However, all of this fodder is in vein. I'm sure you are all going to run out and buy a Mercury Milan (what's that?) now while you can. I think my grandmother could get a great deal on a Grand Marquis...
