Ford reportedly to shut down Mercury

The Mercury brand, rumored to be on the verge of death several times over the past decade, would be shut down under a plan being prepared for Ford Motor Co.'s board of directors, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

Citing two executives who have knowledge of the plan but asked not to be identified, the news service said the plan would be submitted to Ford's board in July. How quickly Mercury would be shut down depends how quickly the automaker can convince Lincoln Mercury dealers to close or merge with a Ford-brand dealership, the report said.

The Mercury brand was launched in 1939, the creation of Edsel Ford. Mercury's best sales year was 1978, with sales of 579,498. Sales in 2009 totaled 99,299 in one of the worst sales years for the industry in the past two decades.

The current Mercury lineup includes the Milan sedan, a version of the Ford Fusion; the Mariner SUV, a version of the Ford Escape; the Mountaineer SUV, a version of the Ford Explorer, and the Grand Marquis sedan. The Grand Marquis is set to be dropped next year when Ford stops building the rear-drive platform it shares with the Ford Crown Victoria and the Lincoln Town Car. Ford also is to introduce a new Explorer SUV later this year but has not engineered a Mercury version.

That would leave the Milan sedan and the Mariner SUV--likely not enough sales to support a separate brand.

"Our plans regarding Mercury have not changed,” said Mark Truby, a Ford spokesman. “Like any good business, we constantly assess our business portfolio. If things change, we will let you know.”

The report said shutting down Mercury has the support of Ford chairman Bill Ford and other members of the founding family.

If shut down, Mercury would be added to the group that includes Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer as U.S. car brands that have been cut in the past decade.

By Dale Jewett