» Site Navigation |
|
|
|
» Recent Threads |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Welcome to MercuryForums.com: The #1 Mercury Forum |
Welcome to MercuryForums.com - a website and live community dedicated to everything and anything regarding Mercury cars and SUVs. Thank you for stopping by! Please take a moment to register and setup a free account in order to take full advantage of all the features available.
Mercury Forum - Our Mercury forum with thousands of discussion topics.
Mercury Forum Active Topics - Topics that are currently being discussed in the forums.
|
 Report: Mercury dealers want larger settlement payout |
|
Aug 11, 2010 - 7:52 AM - by Mercury Forum
|
Filed under: Ford, Mercury
Mercury is two months away from execution, leaving the brand's 1,700 dealers in a pretty tough spot. Essentially, they've got three choices: Agree to Ford's terms and walk away, negotiate and walk away, or pick a legal fight with The Blue Oval. Automotive News reports that about 1,000 dealers still haven't signed FoMoCo's compensation agreement and some of those dealers reportedly stand to lose millions of dollars in the deal.
Dealer lawyers claim that compensation has ranged from between $100,000 and $800,000, depending on a number of factors, including the dealer's dependence on Mercury sales and the average amount of vehicles sold over a three year period. A princely sum, sure, but it won't help some of the dealers who count on Mercury for 50 percent of sales or more. AN reports that Ford acknowledges that some dealers are in markets that cannot support a Lincoln-only store, but the company claims to be working with dealers to get them to sell Fords or sell the remaining Lincoln store to an existing Ford dealer.
Ford will stop producing Mercury-branded vehicles in early October, and while some dealers are picking up as many vehicles as possible, others have stopped ordering vehicles altogether. And until they sell out of their Mercury stock, Ford won't cut dealers a compensation check.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req. | Image: AP Photo/David Zalubowski]Report: Mercury dealers want larger settlement payout originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
More...
|
0 Replies | 10 Views
|
|
Mercury Messenger Concept up on the block at RM Auctions |
|
Aug 03, 2010 - 10:51 AM - by Mercury Forum
|
Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Auctions, Mercury
 2003 Mercury Messenger Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery
"Mercury is a brand sending a message that modern design will lead its rejuvenation. Mercury is returning to its roots as a design leader introducing the Messenger concept, a distinctive and energetic high-performance two-seat sports coupe." So said Ford's former interplanetary brand when it introduced the Mercury Messenger at the 2003 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Needless to say, that hoped-for rejuvenation never actually panned out.
As much as we'd like to say that Ford spent a few hundred million giving Mercury a much-needed halo car instead of shuttering the brand entirely, it didn't happen and the reality is that the eight generation of the Mercury Cougar went on to be the last non-Ford-based automobile ever to roll off the showroom floor. Sad, no?
Perhaps all is not lost, however. According to Automotive Traveler, the 2003 Mercury Messenger Concept is about to go under the gavel at the RM Auction during the festivities at Pebble Beach on August 13 and 14. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Because the car was nothing more than a styling exercise, there's no drivetrain in the Messenger... but we'd like to think that some willing participant will find a way to make it all go down the road with a brand spankin' new 5.0-liter V8 underhood.
Gallery: 2003 Mercury Messenger Concept
    
[Source: Automotive Traveler via Hooniverse]Mercury Messenger Concept up on the block at RM Auctions originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | ... [Read More]
|
|
0 Replies | 5 Views
|
|
Ouch! Killing Mercury said to cost Ford $500 million |
|
Jul 24, 2010 - 3:39 PM - by Mercury Forum
|
Filed under: Ford, Mercury
In life, Mercury was an under-funded brand mainly composed of waterfall grilles stapled to bone-stock Ford models. In death, however, Mercury apparently gets to see some of the money it always dreamed of having when it was alive. According to Automotive News, Ford CFO Lewis Booth claims that shutting down Mercury before the end of this year will cost the Oval roughly $500 million overall. Booth says Ford already took a $247 million charge in the first half of 2010 to cover the neglected marque's mercy killing.
The lion's share of the money being spent will go toward buying out 700 of the 1,700 Mercury dealers across the United States. Back in June, we told you about a package that Ford was presenting to dealers who sign a termination agreement. The reported buyout totaled as much as $200,000 per dealership. (Actual dollar amounts for individual dealers were based on the number of vehicles they sold over a three-year period; more cars moved meant more FoMoCo cash received.)
Would a half-billion invested in updated Mercury product instead of a cash-lined casket have made a difference? Mercury's sales numbers (or lack thereof) suggest that few car shoppers would have even noticed. Ditching Mercury to concentrate on bread-and-butter Ford has seemed like a no-brainer for years. More importantly, Lincoln, which hasn't exactly lit up the monthly By the Numbers reports of late, should only benefit from the much-needed infusion of resources that were previously being wasted keeping Mercury afloat.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]Ouch! Killing Mercury said to cost Ford $500 million originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
More...
|
|
0 Replies | 5 Views
|
|
Mercury production to cease in late September? |
|
Jul 12, 2010 - 11:42 AM - by Mercury Forum
|
Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Mercury, Rumormill
[IMG]file:///Users/frankfilipponio/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG]
If Automotive News is correct - and they usually are - it looks like Mercury won't make it to Thanksgiving this year. Heck, they won't even make it through Halloween according to a new report. AN is saying that three dealers have come with forward with news of the automaker's plans. What they're saying is that the 71-year-old brand will start winding down production at the end of September. The ancient Grand Marquis gets the axe on Sept. 30, the Mountaineer on Oct. 1, the Milan on Oct. 2, and the Mariner on Oct. 3.
Since announcing the closure of the Mercury division on June 2, Ford hasn't given any firm dates on when any action would be taken. Dealers did submit their final factory orders last month and those orders will be filled and delivered to dealerships in about 30 days. After that, it's all dealer trades if a particular establishment needs more cars or SUVs. All 1,712 Mercury dealerships carry at least one other brand, so it doesn't necessarily mean that they will close, but some are certainly going to get out of the game. We'll be sure to hasten any message we get from Ford to you as more news becomes available.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]Mercury production to cease in late September? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
More...
|
|
0 Replies | 5 Views
|
|
|
» September 2010 |
| S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
30
| 1 | 2 |
|
Mercury Forums