What can you expect ? make a bunch of boring FWD sedans this is the result.
Im not from the depression era and I wanted a Cougar back in the 90's (RWD) .Must have been that a lot of other s wanted them too because they were all over the place. The Grand marquis is a fine car by the way great for road trips.

 

Too bad! They made some "mainstream" rod and custom classics!

'39-'40 Mercs
'49-'51 Mercs
'54-'56 Mercs
'64-'65 Comet Calients
'67-'68 Cougars

 

TJ, you are too young if you do not list the 39 Merc coupe (first year), 40, 41, 47 and 48. They were a cut above the Fords during those years. The 55 and 56s were on the cutting edge, though the tri 5 Chevys were eating their lunch. The last one I paid any attention to was the 68 Cougar, but when it starting growing in 69, I gave up.

Trees

 

Trees, Oops! You are absolutely right! ....and I am old enough to remember.... but also old enough to forget! :-( (I've been "obscessed" since '58.)

A good friend of mine even had a '40 coupe that I painted violet pearl and flamed for him. It made it into Street Rodder in 2002!

I went back and added them to the list.

 

I guess its not a surprise: for the last couple of decades they've been making the same cars ford has with a few different options and a different badge. No need to run a separate company to offer an option package!

Sad to see them go but times change and I'm glad Ford is not being too stubborn to move forward and try to become competitive again! Good for them, its time we started seeing some progressive moves from American car companies!

K

 

They stopped selling Mercury here in Canada in 1999.

Wikipedia has the details. Interestingly Ford had stated that they had every intention to keep the brand alive.

I worked at one of the very few "Tri-Line" (Ford - Mercury - Lincoln) dealerships in this area.

And get this ... the name of the dealership was "Olds Ford Mercury Lincoln".
Lots of tourists used to come in asking for baseball caps.

 

Mercury has been a trim line of Ford cars for a long time, and Ford knows what they need to do to stay on top.. GM got to big and Chrysler got stupid, but Ford will be around a long time just doing what there doing.. only need 2 brands per manufacture to stay competitive in the market now ( Ford/ Lincoln, Honda/ Acura, Nissan/ Infinity and Toyota/ Lexus )

 

I am not terribly surprised. I don't remember the last time I saw a new Mercury. I thought maybe it had already been done..lol. I'd add the 57-59 models, they were nice looking cars. I had a 64 Merc Cyclone that was probably my all time favorite car of my youth. Ford has never been that top heavy as G.M., I believe they will pull ahead of G.M. in the not too distant future. They have some good looking cars, the new Taurus will be a hit. G.M. seems to be the AMC of the 21 century, just one step ahead of dead. And this from a guy that used to bleed Chevrolet Orange.

 

I guess its not a surprise: for the last couple of decades they've been making the same cars ford has with a few different options and a different badge. No need to run a separate company to offer an option package!

Sad to see them go but times change and I'm glad Ford is not being too stubborn to move forward and try to become competitive again! Good for them, its time we started seeing some progressive moves from American car companies!

K

Sounds like GM since they started making "Cheviacs" and "Oldsrolets" and "Cheuicks". Same dang car, add some bling and different fenders, viola!

At least pre-Cheviac they may have changed the basic structure, but they had a lot more freedom in terms of the engineering (their own engines, special gear ratios, etc.).

I say kill 'em all, and just call it GM for everything.

 

I say kill 'em all, and just call it GM for everything.[/B]

And then they could be number 1 in sales again..for awhile, anyway. Funny! :thumbup:

 

And then they could be number 1 in sales again..for awhile, anyway. Funny! :thumbup:

I'm serious about that. Who wants a Impala that, while it's a well engineered car with a great interior, the outside is unmistakably retro-inspired by the forgettable Chevy Lumina. Oh, I could go on. The really big thing with me and GM is badge engineering, just had to highlight the new Impala, inspired by Lumina. Get your laughs while you can, right?

 

My Dad had a '48 Merc club coupe "work car" when I was a sprout. It had a Fulton visor and spotlight and smelled of pipe tobacco, I loved going with him in it. It was in the top 5 on my wanted list when I was shopping for a project.

 

My Dad had a '48 Merc club coupe "work car" when I was a sprout. It had a Fulton visor and spotlight and smelled of pipe tobacco, I loved going with him in it. It was in the top 5 on my wanted list when I was shopping for a project.

Old cars sure have character. Maybe its why I don't like the new stuff. And I'm only 24! ain:

 

I'm serious about that. Who wants a Impala that, while it's a well engineered car with a great interior, the outside is unmistakably retro-inspired by the forgettable Chevy Lumina. Oh, I could go on. The really big thing with me and GM is badge engineering, just had to highlight the new Impala, inspired by Lumina. Get your laughs while you can, right?

That latest Impala is a ZEEEE-ROOOO.

Brian

 

Good Memories

Old cars sure have character. Maybe its why I don't like the new stuff. And I'm only 24! ain:

Ya'll are bringing back good memories. When I was a kid, my uncle was a Merc nut. He had about 5 of the older tanks '48-'51's? They were in Grandma's backyard. Usually one was driveable. I used to play in them, couldn't see over the dash and my feet didn't reach the floor. But they were cool. My Aunt had about a '51. She was about 5 ft. tall, 100#, had to sit on a couple of pillows with a Bible in between to see where she was going. One time she took the wrong ramp and went the wrong way over the Mississippi River bridge in New Orleans. When cars started slamming brakes and blowing horns, she turned that big SOB around on the bridge, took her about 15 stabs back and forth to get it turned around causing quite an uproar. Haa, olnolan :thumbup:

 

My Wife recently got into a wreck in her Yukon (luckily she wasnt' hurt)-we went to pick it up last Friday at the Body Shop, and when we pulled in, here sits a a beautiful '65 comet Cyclone (Pro-streeted)-408, 9", low-done right. I asked if I could admire it, and the owner of the Body Shop said, "let me show you what else I have"-OMG, he took me out back and in three Sheds he had things that are hard to explain-a '53 Ford business coupe, also Pro-streeted, with a Blown, 800 h.p. 429, a 66 Fairlane with a 427 side-oiler, a 66 Galaxie with a 427 and 2/4's, a 55 Effie with a 514 in it, and numerous others-in his Shop he was putting a Jon Kaase Boss '9 (Boss 429) in a 56 Mercury, and he had Marie Osmond's '55 T-Bird in there that he was restoring for Marie-I have been driving by this place for Years and didn't realize all of the hidden gems-it was awesome- :thumbup:

 

That latest Impala is a ZEEEE-ROOOO.

Brian

Well, its usable as a disposable daily driver . Its not worthy of the name Impala though. Sad...

My Wife recently got into a wreck in her Yukon (luckily she wasnt' hurt)-we went to pick it up last Friday at the Body Shop, and when we pulled in, here sits a a beautiful '65 comet Cyclone (Pro-streeted)-408, 9", low-done right. I asked if I could admire it, and the owner of the Body Shop said, "let me show you what else I have"-OMG, he took me out back and in three Sheds he had things that are hard to explain-a '53 Ford business coupe, also Pro-streeted, with a Blown, 800 h.p. 429, a 66 Fairlane with a 427 side-oiler, a 66 Galaxie with a 427 and 2/4's, a 55 Effie with a 514 in it, and numerous others-in his Shop he was putting a Jon Kaase Boss '9 (Boss 429) in a 56 Mercury, and he had Marie Osmond's '55 T-Bird in there that he was restoring for Marie-I have been driving by this place for Years and didn't realize all of the hidden gems-it was awesome- :thumbup:

:thumbup: this place is beyond words. Even for someone who's not a ford nut. :thumbup:

 

double posting is bad.

 

Well, its usable as a disposable daily driver . Its not worthy of the name Impala though. Sad...

I have to say, the Malibu, it is a darn nice car! We get them all the time at work and they are really a darn nice car.

Brian

 

My neighbor has a malibu, if he could burn it and get out from under it without getting caught, he would. Steering box (IIRC, steering problems) recall, had it in 3 times before it was done right, rotors that lasted 6,000 miles, A.C. pump, A.C. controls- twice, a 27,000 dollar sh** box. He's had a few more issues with it that I can't recall, his wife was so upset she talked him into buying her a Hyundai and he took the Chevy, sold his 99 S10 with 26,000 miles for 2 grand to his daughter. He also has a 2006 GTO with 1200 miles, says it will be his last G.M. product.

 

My neighbor has a malibu, if he could burn it and get out from under it without getting caught, he would. Steering box (IIRC, steering problems) recall, had it in 3 times before it was done right, rotors that lasted 6,000 miles, A.C. pump, A.C. controls- twice, a 27,000 dollar sh** box. He's had a few more issues with it that I can't recall, his wife was so upset she talked him into buying her a Hyundai and he took the Chevy, sold his 99 S10 with 26,000 miles for 2 grand to his daughter. He also has a 2006 GTO with 1200 miles, says it will be his last G.M. product.

Odd... my mom has a Saturn Aura (same thing if it's 2007+) and no problems to speak of. If it's a 2004-2006 malibu (when they built the wagon-ish 'maxx') they were kind of bastardized. A mix of parts from the rental spec 90s Malibu and a few newer parts put together just to unload inventory I think. That's never a good idea. Seems when they do that an automaker ends up with crap. ain:

 

Ah Marie Osmond, when I was a kid I thought she was kind of a joke but she sure has aged well. I'm not laughin' now! :thumbup:

Odd... my mom has a Saturn Aura (same thing if it's 2007+) and no problems to speak of. If it's a 2004-2006 malibu (when they built the wagon-ish 'maxx') they were kind of bastardized. A mix of parts from the rental spec 90s Malibu and a few newer parts put together just to unload inventory I think. That's never a good idea. Seems when they do that an automaker ends up with crap. ain:

Interesting comments on the Malibu, I had heard bad things about the 2003 and older but we've had a 2004 Malibu for 3 years now, bought it as a low mile 1 owner and we love it! Coming up on 100K and have had ZERO problems. We have replaced tires and done normal maintenance and that is it.

 

Thread Drift or what??? LOL

The thread drift here is remarkable.

It started out being about Mercury, went to Marie, and then Malibu.

Perhaps this topic should have been titled "Things that start with 'M' "?

Hahahaha.

 

The thread drift here is remarkable.


Hahahaha.

But why think about cars when you can visualize Marie!! :thumbup:

 

The thread drift here is remarkable.

It started out being about Mercury, went to Marie, and then Malibu.

Perhaps this topic should have been titled "Things that start with 'M' "?

Hahahaha.

It was inevitable, we didn't talk about newer Mercs that much when they were still around and as we get older our attention span gets shorter. Now... back to Marie.. :mwink: