Ford: Mercury meets the end of the production line

1967 Mercury Cougar. Photo / Supplied

Ford's 70-year-old Mercury brand is history, forced mostly by flagging sales to join other defunct Detroit names such as Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Saturn in the automotive dustbin.

The United States carmaker said it would end production later this year. Sales of its once up-market nameplate now account for just 0.8 per cent of Ford's 16 per cent share in the US.

Mercury's customer profile, pricing and margins are now almost identical to Ford's.

In contrast, the Ford brand's share has improved 2.2 per cent this year as a result of new products and "improved quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart design and value".

As a result, the company will throw more resources into the Ford brand and expand its luxury brand Lincoln with seven all-new or upgraded models over the next four years, including its first-ever small car.

The aim is for Lincoln to be on an equal footing with Cadillac and Lexus. At the end of March this year, Lincoln held a 6.3 per cent share of the luxury US market, up from 4.5 per cent in 2005.

Ford plans for Lincoln to offer advanced design and showcase its latest engineering achievements, including adaptive computer-controlled suspension, electronic push-button gear selectors, active noise control, fully-retractable glass roofs and driver-connect technology.

Lincoln will also receive new powertrains, part of Ford's plan for Lincoln to emerge as "the most fuel-efficient luxury line-up on the market".

More than 1700 North American dealerships will now begin to wind down their Mercury operations, although most are combined with both Ford and Lincoln franchises.

Mercury was established in 1938 and its first model, the Mercury 8 - complete with a 70kW V8 engine - went into production that same year.

It retailed for US$916 and Ford sold more than 65,000 of them in its first year. The height of Mercury's success came in 1953, when it held a 5 per cent share of the US market.