Mercury Milan Hybrid
Ford Mercury was created by Edsel Ford in 1939 as an entry-luxury brand positioned between Ford and Lincoln. In more recent times, Fords have moved upmarket, Lincolns have moved downmarket, and Mercury found itself squeezed from both above and below. Ford floated several possible plans for Mercury; one idea was to revamp the brand to focus on women buyers, while another had Mercury selling small luxury cars. Axing the brand was always an option, although such drastic action reportedly met with strong objection from the Ford family (which still owns about 5% of the company). Meanwhile, Mercury soldiered on with a lineup of half-hearted rebadged Fords, and market share shrank to less than 1%. Last June, Ford made the official announcement: 2010 was to be the last year for Mercury. Technically, the brand did last into 2011 -- snowstorms delayed parts shipments to Ford's St. Thomas, Ontario, plant, and as a result the last Mercury (a 2010 Grand Marquis) rolled off the assembly line on January 4th, 2011.
