[BrickTamland]

Earlier this year, a Lincoln-Mercury dealer was consolidated with a Ford dealer here in Toledo. Rouen Lincoln-Mercury was closed and was sold to Brondes Ford Maumee about 1.5 miles down the road. Consolidating the dealers makes Mercury easier to kill. I wish they would have a thriving Mercury, but a much more intensive plan needed to be started about five years ago to ensure a long future. My will to keep Mercury around fades day by day as for too long, the news concerning Mercury was "We are exploring our strategic options." New vehicle info was ambiguous and often limited to the mid-cycle update of the Milan.

With Kuzak saying they are satisfied with Mercury's current level of differentiation, I think such language suggests Ford is not going to invest in Mercury for the long term. It seems they are going to throw a few vehicles at Mercury in a half-hearted attempt to see "where that takes the brand", to put it in PR terms. If the brand continues to decline, then Ford can better justify the decision to close Mercury.