Ford makes a mistake and is happy about it.

Ford has just announced the fall of the axe on its Mercury brand. The board of directors rejoiced and happily congratulated each other on one wise decision over champagne. While most dealers in US are happy, quite a few are not.
While the brand was killed now it has been dead since a long time. Mercury was axed in Canada way back in 1999. So why would you ask is this a big mistake at Ford? I will try to put up some analysis and explain why.

Toyota is the mainstream brand for the Japanese giant. Additionally they have a Luxury marque under the name Lexus which has been giving the real luxury marques sleepless nights. Toyota Motor Corp. also has a third brand named Scion in the US which was founded in 2002.

General Motors recently survived bankruptcy last year and has made a respectable comeback to day. Their main strategy was to shed the numerous brands they bought aimlessly over the years and focus on four core brands. Chevrolet is the mainstream brand which sells vehicles to the mass. Cadillac as many know is the luxury marque which stands out on the road even against the likes of BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz. The third Brand is Buick. Buick is to GM similar to what Mercury is to Ford. Fortunately GM had better luck with Buick which has turned out to be a major comeback vehicles for the company. The fourth is the truck division of GMC.

Chrysler's helm is held by the Fiat Head Sergio Marchionne. The Canadian is a smart entrepreneur and he has been quick to Divide Dodge and Ram into difference brands. Thus Chrysler now has the mainstream Chrysler brand, the young Dodge, the truck and off roading division of Jeep and newly formed truck division named RAM.

Ford on the other hand has been quick to divest from Some major brands including Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. So from a personal viewpoint I see it as a great opportunity lost. While those at Ford see Mercury as a brand with a .8 percent market share, I see it as a huge opportunity for a recognized brand gone to waste due to negligence. Especially when a superb example of Buick is in front of our eyes. Wouldnt it be the right time to kick start Mercury when People have begin to start buying into Buick? Ford has definitely made a mistake selling Volvo and Mazda the reasons and results of which have been given by many at Wall Street.

While the smaller makes to the like of Honda and Nissan are finding it tough to fight the battle with two brands, its a surprise why Ford is walking the same route.  Rebuilding the Mercury brands will help push Lincoln in the higher price range (Lincoln is having trouble selling at higher price points)and give Ford a platform to fight the major players heads on.

Now is the time to rebuild Mercury as the Young, experimental, entry level luxury brands that dares to experiment.

Here are some of the half hearted efforts that ford took with Mercury before finally killing it alongwith the latest Buick counterparts.

Mercury Mariner

Buick Enclave

Mercury Milan

Buick Regal

Mercury Grand Marquis

Buick Lacrosse