I don't know why this didn't occur to me before today, but when the reporter who was discussing the auto manufacturers coming back to Washington - with real proposals this time - mentioned Mercury & Pontiac likely getting the axe, I knew that this time it isn't just an idle rumor.
So, not only have I lost most of my retirement $$, but now my childhood muscle car (GTO) and adult muscle car (Cougar) will never be produced again because the brands are to be permanently terminated.
:punchballs: :(
awww,, comon,,,
its just the news:D that big bail out plain is suppose to fix everything., all 850billion dollars worth.
I have contemplated the same thoughts the past week or so thinking of a time not so far off in the future when some young peep asks me,, "whats a mercury"?
Uggh, that's what I was thinking. I'll be like my dad who loves to talk about the DeSoto which was terminated by Chrysler the year I was born. I don't know about DeSoto's - lol.
Sound familiar? :punchballs:
That's the first I've heard about Mercury...do you have a reference? They're still being referred to as a major part of Ford's plan for the next few years.
GM has announced they'd axe Saab, Saturn and Pontiac, or at least scale back plans for them. Hummer would likely be spun off.
More here: http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081202/AUTO01/812020404/1148
Why the eff GM would kill Pontiac or Saturn and keep the redundant GMC division, I'll never figure out.
Of all 3 automakers, the only one that's really in halfway decent shape is Ford. They have only three major domestic divisions, and just about the right amount of vehicles, with none of them really cannibalizing from another division. It seems that Mulally is doing what he said he'd do: streamline, solidify products, focus on energy consumption and alternative fuels, expand hybrids, and finally bring the company back into profitability. The problem is, it takes time for this stuff to pay off, and just when it was starting to we hit this financial situation. But still, he has stated that with the government's help, Ford can be profitable in 2011. That's only two model years away.
More here: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20081202/FREE/812029992
Mulally has stated that he'd take a $1 yearly salary (a la Steve Jobs at Apple) if it would help. GM's Rick Wagoner immediately joined that sentiment. The difference: Mulally is actually doing something at Ford. I don't feel that a "fixer" should have to sacrifice salary when he or she is getting the job done and keeping the company on track. Then again, they do make more in one year than most of us would make in an entire lifetime...
Its like splatter eric,,
Its the third or fourth time ive heard these words and not from the same news source either.
leme see what was said today..the BIG 3 plans
ford- they will put xxx dollars into renewable energy plans and expand thier green cars,, delete mercury, sell off mazda and jaguar.
GM- layoff people, sell hummer ,,,lol
Chrysler- humm,, well,, they will just be forced to go bankrupt.
thats the news in a nutshell,,,
Remember the last time big gov't got involved with the auto makers,, Chrysler got help several years ago when they got in bad shape. Well, look where it got them.
Also, Ford has already been retooling one facility to make their "green" cars, and GM and Chrysler haven't yet. Plus they're selling their corporate jets. I shudder the thought of Mercury and pontiac falling by the wayside. Studebaker, International harvester, packard, AMC, etc... all have been staples in the history of automobilia, and It actually frightens me these two would join their ranks. Boy, I hope it don't go that far.
I hope this guy's conjecture was wrong. I actually wanted to reach into the radio and strangle the jerk when he described the Mercury division like it was some sort of weight pulling Ford down :flame: I hope he just equated "Mercury" to "Pontiac" in his little pea brain and made the leap without any facts. But the times we are in are historic (bad) and getting worse by the day - it's hard not to imagine "this time, for real!" :(
these times are repetative,, they (the times) have been here before without you!.
It will all come out in the wash.
,,,
Well....either way I'll still have my old barges....I'll only hang onto em even tighter if the Big 3 are ever gone. Still love em way more than ANYthing new...don't really care what happens. Dont need new ones.
If it were to survive until then, if I could be driving the crown vic as a DD in the year 2025 I'd DO IT. That would be awesome. Everyone at my job in their silent floaty spaceships or whatever the hell it is....and me in a 1987 Crown Vic. That would be sick.
Yeah. I was pretty bummed when the Krauts axed Plymouth. I've got two 69 road runners, and no one knows what a Plymouth is.....much less "The Car with the Beep Beep Horn"
you've got two friggin road runners???????
wow!!!
if companies like ford pulled their head out of their arse and stopped doing this seperate market bullshacka, then they might come out ahead. they have cars sold here, canada, mexico (actually i think all south america), then they have cars sold....everywhere else.
thats two farkin lines they dont need. make it all one line, let everybody get the same cars. that right there cuts production costs.
stop dillydallying around playing circle-jerk on the diesel's and just bring that fiesta over here as it is over there. EVERYONE i know would take that car over any other new car right now. and i know....a LOT of people....
that right there would be a good start. then of course there is always more they can do, like sell the corprate jets (which they've already started doing....why the fark do they need them anyway, coach airfare aint that expensive...), murder half the executives (seriously, they dont do a thing except talk. i wanna hear talk..i'll flip on the radio...) and more.
-562
I just heard a guy at the local deli talking about this last night. I still haven't seen or heard any "official" word on it yet. The last info I got at work, straight from Ford, was that Mercury is a big part of their restructuring plan. Mercury will be the line with the most fuel efficient cars. Mercury will have the Hybrid Mariner, Hybrid Milan, and possibly more. I worked at the #1 new car volume Lincoln-Mercury dealership in my area... and 12 of us were just laid off in the past month. Pretty sad when you are still #1 while the year to date amount of cars sold in 2008 (up to November) is exactly half of what was sold in all of 2007. I can remember rumors of Mercury being dropped for the past 20 years or so. There are a lot of rumblings going on that there will be no more Lincoln-Mercury dealerships, just Ford-Lincoln-Mercury stores, which may be closer to the truth. I know Holman in NJ recently moved their big Ford store to the same location as their main Lincoln-Mercury store, so that it is now a Ford-Lincoln-Mercury store. I also heard that they "had" to sell their other Lincoln-Mercury store to the Chapman organization and it will be another Ford-Lincoln-Mercury store (but I don't know that for sure, just what I heard from someone on the inside). It makes sense for Ford to have all three brands under one roof. There were plenty of times that I had customers that could not afford a new Mercury, but they could have gotten a Ford Focus if my store had the Ford line. The problem with having them under one roof is that it basically puts the "little" dealers out of business. Most Lincoln-Mercury stores won't be able to get the Ford line because a bigger organization has that line in their territory. So, the little guys will end up going out of business, or being bought up by the big guys.
Ford has already stated that they don't even need the money. They just want access to it in case they do later. I don't think Mercury is going anywhere. Pontiac is a different story, but still, I think they'll hold on to it. Selling Saab and Hummer would make a lot more sense, since these two brands don't have the kind of brand equity that Pontiac has.
what happened to quality, and not quantity?
"Quality is job 1"
Thats GTOs the new ones are okay but probelm is Holden across the sea gets more power and little bit better looking body kit. I hope Pontiac goes except the new G8 is a nice ride.
And for mercury the 99 cougar was the last thing that made that was a hit with kids and the new MKZ and MKS are f***ing nice but we all are not loaded with ca$h. Mercury maybe could stay to if they made a little bit cheaper cars or took some money offf the price tags.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/gm-to-streamline-brands-sell-saab-shrink-pontiac-close-or-sell-saturn.html
No, Pontiac isn't going anywhere, but Saturn is. I like this outlook for Pontiac (Niche brand, dedicated to bargain performance). It's what they've been marketed as since the 60's, and what they should have been all along.
*edit*
Hahahah! I just noticed Carmen has been rocking that blog for a few hours now. Bringing the Saturn story to all. Right on man.:rollin:
The minute GM started cross platforming into Saturn, they were doomed.
Remember when they were actually a different car?
Yep. And up until August I had three. One of each engine option for 69. But now I'm down to two, and a 68 Dart 2 door Sedan, and a 72 Duster 360, and an '02 Ram, and an '05 Mustang GT
and of course the 88 TC:D
That's good news - I hoped the reporter was talking out his ass.
:toilet:
GM for one can't afford to delete a brand. It cost too much. They'd sell if they can.
I predicted that by June Pontiac/GMC/Saturn/SAAB and Hummer would be gone and that Camaro won't be produced.
My prediction for Ford is......Mercury stays.
Chrysler???
Chinese parent company in the future IMHO.....
I say the camaro and G8 and saturn sky and hummer stay because thats all i see any market for.
Good call. :cheers: I hadn't thought of that possibility. They have been getting close with a few Chinese companies already. The Hornet was supposed to be a Chinese built Dodge, but was recently axed.
That would be nice, but the market is actually saying the opposite right now. I don't see it changing much in the future, either.
You noticed my venting on LLN, eh? :D
See my posts in the link Oldraven supplied. I go off in detail about that mistake...
The big problem with GM (or Ford) selling any of their brands off is that it would just result in another competitor in an already overcrowded arena. GM does not need a Chinese company selling Chinese-built Hummers, Saturns or Buicks competing with them. Selling any brands off would only give the Chinese the one thing they are currently lacking to get their foot in the door: Brand recognition. When China finally does start selling here they will eventually go from a cheap, absolutely atrocious people-only-buy-em-cuz-they-can't-afford-anything-else curiosity to a mainstream brand (It took Hyundai about 20 years). Giving them a recognizable brand name would only give them a head start.
I'll be willing to bet that the new Camaro and the G8 will stay..
The Camaro only because of this whole retro-car thing going on..and the G8, because, well...if I had the cash, I'd have one now.
Looks-wise...to me it's the most decent looking car on the market, and the fact that it's a 4 door, AND an LS1 under the hood...it's fresh, it resembles a Pontiac, but's not a cookie cutter Pontiac, like the last few new models have been.
Everyone I know who's seen one wants it, lol.
The H2 and Saturn, I couldn't say either way, but I personally don't care much for H2's. I think GM had their heads up their own asses when they came up with the H2.
Why copy the (arguably) world's most capable 4x4 (again, arguably) and copy it using some of the Silverado trucks' running gear etc, and aim it right for wealthy people OR the so-called soccer moms?
Most people who own one have never driven off a paved surface with it anyway, I'd bet.
Im sorry to hear about the job loss, I have been laid off 3 times in 22 years of working.,,10 of those were active duty military so that doesnt count.