Mercury is gone?

[audtatious]

Kinda sad, but it makes sense. I can't remember the last item there was a Mercury without a Ford equivalent.

Wasn't this one it?

Pretty much. My wife had a 2002 model. It was a far cry from what it used to be:

[OriginalWheelman]

Kinda sad, but it makes sense. I can't remember the last item there was a Mercury without a Ford equivalent.

Wasn't this one it?

In Euro spec that's the Ford Puma.

[IBCoupe]

European one is prettier.

[MinisterofDOOM]

In Euro spec that's the Ford Puma.

Actually, it's not. In Euro-spec, it's a Ford Cougar.


The Puma is unrelated to the Cougar, which is Mondeo-derived.

They both make my eyes bleed.

[Mr1der]

Ford's tarded.

I'd use Mercury to go head to head with Buick and Chrysler.

I wanna see Lincoln stop being such a damn joke and start putting Cadillac in their sights.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Ford's tarded.

I'd use Mercury to go head to head with Buick and Chrysler.

They don't need Mercury to go after Buick. That's what Lincoln is doing.

I wanna see Lincoln stop being such a damn joke and start putting Cadillac in their sights.

Exactly.

[Bubba1]

Really? What was discussed?

Not sure, but I suspect it had to do with the rapid expulsion of toxic gases...

[Mr1der]

yeah, exactly. Lincoln is such damn shell of it's former self.

the LS was the last car they put out worthy of wearing the badge.

Ford needs a couple new rwd global platforms...at least they're working on one for the 2014 Mustang.

[zacmil]

Actually, it's not. In Euro-spec, it's a Ford Cougar.


The Puma is unrelated to the Cougar, which is Mondeo-derived.

They both make my eyes bleed.

I thought that the Euro-spec Cougar was just a Mondeo coupe? Oh well...

They are actually pretty fun little cars for what they are. My first car was a Contour and I must say, it could really be surprising. Of course, I can only vouch for the V6 models. The 4cylinder always seemed a little weak to me.

[IBCoupe]

The 4cylinder always seemed a little weak to me.

They always do.

[audtatious]

I thought that the Euro-spec Cougar was just a Mondeo coupe? Oh well...

They are actually pretty fun little cars for what they are. My first car was a Contour and I must say, it could really be surprising. Of course, I can only vouch for the V6 models. The 4cylinder always seemed a little weak to me.

V6 was pretty weak as well with only 170hp.

[93coupe]

Oh man, I'm going to miss.. um, only the Marauder.

So you're gonna miss a Grand Marquis with blacked chrome and bucket seats???

I'm not going to miss Mercury, and I've owned 3 over the years.
IMHO the last interesting Merc's were '67 Cougar and '71 Capri (made in Germany)

Yes. I thought it was a very good looking car. I'd take one for sure.

[Bubba1]

yeah, exactly. Lincoln is such damn shell of it's former self.

the LS was the last car they put out worthy of wearing the badge.

Ford needs a couple new rwd global platforms...at least they're working on one for the 2014 Mustang.

Unfortunately for the LS, Ford spend little developing it after its introduction. Instead they sqaundered a lot more doing an ugly facelift on the gas guzzling Lincoln Navigator just when the industry tanked. It should come as little surprise that Lincoln is not doing that well.

[Jesda]

I felt a loss when Oldsmobile went away, and a tinge of sadness when Plymouth disappeared after learning about the great plans they had for it. Was so upset about Saab, I bought one... and then it came back from the dead.


But Mercury... no. Nothing. My friend has a nice Mystique. I have some fond teenage memories involving a Villager. That's it.

[Bubba1]

Yes. I thought it was a very good looking car. I'd take one for sure.

You can have it.... The Marauder was a sheep in wolf's clothing, which is why Ford had trouble selling them.

[IBCoupe]

Was so upset about Saab, I bought one... and then it came back from the dead.

Wait, Zombie Saab? Did the Koeniggsegg thing go through?

[Bubba1]

Was so upset about Saab, I bought one... and then it came back from the dead.

Wait, Zombie Saab? Did the Koeniggsegg thing go through?

No, that deal died. Dutch specialty car maker Spyker bought Saab.

[IBCoupe]

Oh, right! I forgot about the Spyker thing. New Saab, plz?

[Jesda]

Spyker and a bunch of mideast and russian oil/drug barons got some cash together. Production resumed a little over a month ago.

[sentrastace]

Oh man, I'm going to miss.. um, only the Marauder.

+1
never really liked mercurys. useless.

[Mr1der]

[krimsonviper]

I honestly thought the planet slipped into the sun or something. It does have a highly elliptical orbit, after all. I think it's on borrowed time anyway.

I'm with stupid!

[MinisterofDOOM]

I thought that the Euro-spec Cougar was just a Mondeo coupe? Oh well...

Both Cougars are Mondeo coupes. It's the Puma that isn't. The Puma's much smaller, based on the Fiesta, and has no V6 option (not really needing one due to its tininess).

Yes. I thought it was a very good looking car. I'd take one for sure.

Great looking, fantastic sounding, torquey, and cheap to buy and own. Unfortunately the 4.6 balances its huge modability and power potential with the most horrendous modern-V8 fuel economy you can possibly find. I'm not one to make a big deal about fuel economy in musclecars, but the modular V8's is so bad compared to similar (and even higher) powered contemporary offerings that it's hard not to count it as a strike. I looked at Marauders before settling on the LS, but the less-than-agile chassis and poor fuel economy meant it was never really a serious option. I'd love to own one...I'd just want something more practical as well.

I thought that the Euro-spec Cougar was just a Mondeo coupe? Oh well...

They are actually pretty fun little cars for what they are. My first car was a Contour and I must say, it could really be surprising. Of course, I can only vouch for the V6 models. The 4cylinder always seemed a little weak to me.

V6 was pretty weak as well with only 170hp.

In Ford's defense, I'd rather have a 170hp V6 than a 170hp I4, simply because the 6 will be smoother and offer better low-end power. Which, I assume, is part of what Ford was going for.

Unfortunately for the LS, Ford spend little developing it after its introduction. Instead they sqaundered a lot more doing an ugly facelift on the gas guzzling Lincoln Navigator just when the industry tanked. It should come as little surprise that Lincoln is not doing that well.

Ford bungled it bigtime, like Nissan with the Q and M. You can't just build a car and expect it to sell. There were some genuinely neat LS ads, but only immediately after its introduction. Ford forgot about it, so of course the public did, too. And when Ford got their stuff together and resolved the minor and major issues and gave the car a facelift 4 years into its run, they didn't bother to let anyone know. No new advertising, no strong marketing.

Look at what Cadillac did with their Rock and Roll campaign with the introduction of the CTS. To this day, that ad campaign is one of the most memorable in history. Cadillac made sure the world knew they were redefining their image through actual product. I actually think the LS is a better car than the first-gen CTS. If Lincoln had managed to convince the rest of the nation's carbuying population, they might have ended up in a very different place to the one they're in now. And by that I mean they might be selling something more interesting than AWD Tauruses.

The LS was hardly Lincoln's only failing, though. They really sucked at marketing altogether until they hit this new Buick phase and started covering bad songs no one liked in the first place. Never any marketing for the Blackwood. None for the Mark LT. None after the first year of the LS. But now that they're selling cars I haven't an ounce of interest in, there are suddenly Lincoln ads on TV and the radio every 5 seconds.

Note to Lincoln:
You need good product backed by good advertising. One or the other alone won't bring home the bread.

I guess the lack of popularity is a good thing, though. Lower prices for me when I buy. In a few years, when I replace the LS, it'll either be with a G8 GXP or a Mark LT. So hopefully everyone else continues to forget about the chromed-up F150.

[Bubba1]

[Great looking, fantastic sounding, torquey, and cheap to buy and own. Unfortunately the 4.6 balances its huge modability and power potential with the most horrendous modern-V8 fuel economy you can possibly find. I'm not one to make a big deal about fuel economy in musclecars, but the modular V8's is so bad compared to similar (and even higher) powered contemporary offerings that it's hard not to count it as a strike. I looked at Marauders before settling on the LS, but the less-than-agile chassis and poor fuel economy meant it was never really a serious option. I'd love to own one...I'd just want something more practical as well.

.

They were really not that torquey. I drove one plus owned 3 GMarq's. The 4.6 engine was unimpressive, though a bit smoother than the 5.0 when cold. It had 300 hp, but was mated to a heavy, softly sprung car with numb steering. It handled marginally better than a stock GMarq but that's not saying very much. It was comfortable for a highway trip, cavernous trunk, but it only looked like a muscle car.
FoMoCo went cheap making it, and charged too much for them. I never could understood their appeal beyond their looks.

[audtatious]

Yes. I thought it was a very good looking car. I'd take one for sure.

You can have it.... The Marauder was a sheep in wolf's clothing, which is why Ford had trouble selling them.

Same with the Impala SS.....detuned lower level vette motor = lame