Founded by Edsel Ford in 1939, the Mercury brand celebrated its best year in 1978, and then soldiered on for another 32 years despite steadily falling sales.
1978 Mercury Bobcats with funny car
When the Ford Motor Company announced on June 2, 2010 that the Mercury division would be closed down at the end of the year, industry watchers were in no way surprised. In the Motor City in those days, brands were dropping like flies as the automakers scratched off the undersellers (Plymouth, Oldsmosbile, and Pontiac, to name a few) to focus their precious development and marketing dollars on their core products. Yes, fans were bitter about the deaths of their favorite makes. But to be honest, we can’t say Ford didn’t give Mercury a fair shot, as the brand had scored its best sales year more than three decades earlier.
1978 Mercury Zephyr Sedan
Even in 1978, Mercury’s peak season in history, the problem was evident. The subcompact Bobcat was a virtual clone of the Pinto, while the mid-sized Monarch and Zephyr were equally difficult to distinguish from their Ford Granada and Futura counterparts. The full-sized Marquis/Grand Marquis (lead photo) had sufficient style and comfort features to stand apart, but it sold in far smaller numbers than the similar Ford LTD.
Like a number of makes in the Detroit Three, Mercury was trapped in a Catch-22. With the expectation of relatively low sales volume in return, it was increasingly difficult for Ford to justify exclusive product development—and it showed in the model lineup. Mercury was becoming largely an execise in badge engineering. In her 2010 New York Times story reporting on the division’s cancellation, top automotive writer Michelene Maynard described Mercury as the “me, too division.”
There was one star in the ’78 Mercury line: the Cougar XR-7 (above and below). As the top-of-the-line Cougar it featured a unique roofline and rear fascia, and it was loaded with the full complement of prestige items. Mid-sized personal-luxury coupes were the hot ticket in the late ’70s, and the XR-7 was the right car at the right time. The swanky two-door rang up more than 166,000 sales, which amounted to 29 percent of the division’s total volume that year—579,000 cars, Mercury’s best year ever. From there, sales fell steadily downward. By the end, the annual volume at Mercury had slipped under 100,000 units, and it was time to turn out the lights.
in most every case….When you clone or do badge engineering….the produc loses the indendity it was created for in the first place….Mercury, Oldsmobile, Pontiac…when they had different bodystyles…and dash…interior ..customers will not pay more than for the model that was copyied….
I was employed at Northgate Lincoln Mercury in Tampa during the 78 model year. It was a memorable experience. We sold many many vehicles that year. Being situated directly across from a Ford dealership allowed us to differentiate between the two. The Versailles was so controversial but actually a fine car. People where willing and did pay more for a Mercury. Our service dept helped also as we picked up cars for service. I was giving the first V8 powered Zephyr as a demo. I only had it for a few months but had to pay for a new right rear tire. Great memories after all this time.
My thought was always that there were no Mercury marque loyalists, there were people who were loyal to a particular Mercury dealer.
The writer correctly noted the Mercury Monarch was almost indistinguishable from the Ford Granada, but it was worse than just that. Midway through the 1977 model year, Lincoln introduced its Versailles. While it had notable mechanical upgrades, the engine, transmission, sheet metal, dash panel and just about everything else the customer could see was identical. The result was predictable. The Monarch, especially its interiors, was downgraded to make room for the far more expensive Versailles, with which it shared showroom floors. So, the 1978 through 1980 Mercury Monarchs offered less that the contemporary Ford Granadas. Then came the 1979 and the downsized Marquis. Where previous full-sized Mercurys were usually based on the full-sized Fords, 1979 was the first time the big Mercs ever shared their wheelbase and sheet metal with the big Fords. The writing was on the wall and the only surprise is that the Mercury nameplate lasted as long as it did.