Edsel’s Mercury Had A Good Run

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By Casey Williams
MyCarData


By all accounts, Edsel Ford, son of cantankerous Henry, was a kind and decent man. His flair for auto design and modern consumer desires contrasted against his father’s dogged determination to give people more black Model Ts. Under Edsel’s direction, Lincolns became stunningly elegant. In 1939, he unveiled the Mercury 8, a medium-priced entry that took basic Ford mechanicals and dressed them with Lincoln Zephyr styling. A sticker of $916 pit it against Buick, Nash, Hudson, and DeSoto.

Seventy-one years later, Mercury faces a tougher world. On June 2, Ford announced it would discontinue Mercury by this fall. Ford is pursuing a line of global vehicles like the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, and Taurus. These cars are upscale, beautiful, and endowed with driving dynamics that were foreign to Americans a generation ago. Lincoln moved slightly down market with the MKX and MKZ, invading Mercury’s space with refined tailoring. Mercury’s demise will open a gap for a Lincoln compact to compete against the Lexus CT200h, Audi A3, and upcoming Mercedes B-Class.

Mercury had a great run. The ’39 Mercury 8 sold 65,884 units in its very first year, proving there was a market for a Ford with more panache. The post-war 1949 models are icons of streetrodders with their sleek bodies, chopped tops, and slammed suspensions. Beautiful Montclairs, powerful Marauders, and generations of Cougars defined Ford’s middle brand. Grand Marquis, Mercury’s longest-running nameplate, was introduced in 1975 and is still a heavyweight of its class. Futuristic Sables defined the ’80s. Mountaineer SUVs, Mariner crossovers, and Milan Hybrid sedans were all great, but never separated far enough from Mother Ford.
Today, Mercury accounts for 0.8% of Ford’s 16% U.S. market share with sales hovering around 90,000 units annually ? fewer than most individual Ford models. Ford moved up in refinement while Lincoln pursued the younger and style-conscious buyers Mercury once attracted. Eliminating Mercury will allow executives to focus all of their energy on global Fords and potentially international Lincolns.

With Mercury and Lincoln, Edsel put Ford solidly on the path of becoming a full-line automaker that is the equal of any. He would have fit right in among the current team at Ford, including his grandson, Chairman Bill Ford, and CEO Alan Mulally. Unlike his father, Edsel had no problem with change when change was required. Mercury served its time, but its time has come. We’ll always have the memories.

Mercury Milan Hybird

Casey Williams, www.car-data.com

Three of my favorite mid-size cars are the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln MKZ that areall based on the excellent Mazda6 architecture. The same platform spawned the Ford Edge and LincolnMKX crossovers. What they lack in brute power and cavernous interiors, they make up for withrefined handling, rock solid body structures, and enduring quality. You sense their Japaneseheritage, no doubt. However, they also possess a certain style that can only come from America. Newfor 2010 are enhanced styling and a class-leading hybrid powertrain that will be shared with theFusion.

Said Derrick Kuzak, Ford V.P. for Global Product Development, ‘With the new Ford Fusion andMercury Milan hybrids, we are now able to offer even better range of travel on battery power at agreater speed, thanks to a more efficient, seamless transition between the battery-powered motorand gasoline-driven engine. These new hybrids will exceed expectations on all fronts ‘ fuelefficiency, comfort, convenience, and drivability.’

The Milan Hybrid is powered by a version of the Ford Escape Hybrid’s 2.5-litre four-cylinderAtkinson cycle engine, continuously variable transmission, and nickel-metal hydride batteries.Regenerative brakes and a more powerful motor allow the Milan Hybrid to drive up to 47 MPH onelectricity alone, limiting gas consumption during city driving. A cool LCD screen next to thespeedometer ‘grows leaves’ or takes them away to creatively show drivers how they are using energy.Driven with soft loafers, range can touch 700 miles while beating the similar-sized Toyota CamryHybrid by 8 MPG in the city and 2 MPG on the highway. Ford just announced that the Milan has beencertified for 41-MPG in city driving. EasyFuel’ capless technology makes it even easier to fill upwhen you finally do have to visit a gas station.

Mercury also installed some advanced technology inside the car. Sync’, developed with Microsoft,allows passengers to voice-activate the navigation and audio systems. Bluetooth connectivity letsthem make hands free calls from via their cell phone. Blind spot sensors alert drivers when cars orpedestrians are present while a backing camera reveals objects behind the vehicle. All of thesefeatures add up to a mid-size entry-luxury car that gives owners a technological edge underneathand behind a beautiful skin.

The Milan was already a good-looking car with its satin silver waterfall grille, Europeanprofile, trapezoidal taillamps, and handsome alloy wheels. For 2010, front clips were freshenedwith a larger and bolder chrome grille, chrome chin spoiler, and small round foglamps. The car alsogets new wheels, spoiler, and taillamps, but most of the body shell remains unchanged ‘ for thegood. The total look comes off as ‘working girl elegant’.

Interiors were updated with new-age Ford buttons and dials, available touch-screen controls forthe navigation/climate/audio systems, thicker steering wheel, and digital dashboard with largecenter analog speedometer. Details like the seats and gear selector were enhanced with Frenchstitching to emulate the Milan’s upscale cousins at Lincoln. Hybrid models have a cool energymonitor function in the touch screen that shows what is being burned and replenished in real time.

I’ve driven Mercury Milans many times over the past several years and in all trim levels. Theyare always quiet and comfortable on the highway. The base 175-horsepower 2.5-litre four-cylinderengine is powerful enough for most people, but speed demons will want to step up to the240-horsepower 3.0-litre V6. Hybrids are expected to bridge the gap in power while turning in SmartForTwo fuel economy.

What I like best about the Milan Hybrid is how stealthily it moves about. From all appearances,it is a stylish mid-luxury sedan with a Japanese soul. However, from its class-leadinghybrid-driven fuel economy to hands-free communications and navigation, as well as an LCD dashboard, it is as advanced as any car close to its price. Some people want a Prius to prove theirgreenness, but many others prefer the benefits wrapped in traditional attire. For those, the MilanHybrid promises to be an excellent choice.

Mercury Mariner Hybrid

Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman, www.car-data.com

We were intrigued during a visit to New York City by the large number of Ford Escape Hybridtaxis plying the streets of Manhattan.

Makes sense when you figure hybrids are at their best in slow stop and go traffic. The gasengine remains at rest much of the time. And a small SUV that will comfortably hold as manypassengers and as much luggage as a big Crown Vic while deriving as much as 10 more miles to thegallon is a smart move.

The window sticker markup over a standard gas engine vehicle is easily made up over the hundredsof thousands of miles cabbies drive their cars.

But you don’t have to be a New York cab driver to benefit from a small hybrid sport utility.Hybrid SUVs are family-friendly as well.

The Escape Hybrid is entering its fifth model year and it ‘ and its twin the Mercury Mariner ‘have been blessed with continual upgrades and improvements.

A restyled exterior and an upgraded interior came for the 2008 model year, and for 2009 thehybrid twins get more power while at the same time yielding slightly better gas mileage.

We spent a pleasant week in a 2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, intrigued by the increased horsepower’ now with a total output of 177 horses compared to 155 for 2008 ‘ especially when merging withheavy freeway traffic.

Of course, testing the limits of the available power is not the way to get the best gas mileage.We admit to a heavy foot. Fast starts are in our DNA. Quick takeoffs at the traffic light,especially on a 55-mph highway, are standard operating procedure. We don’t like to get nipped bythe guy next to us even if we are driving the most underpowered

sub- compact on the market.

That puts into perspective the 29 miles-to-the-gallon average we derived over 250 miles. Whenyou consider the way we drive, that’s surprisingly close to the Mariner’s posted fuel economy of 31highway/

34 city.

If you are in the market for a small crossover SUV, especially if your goal is to save at thepump, then you won’t do better than the Mariner or its siblings, the Ford Escape or Mazda Tributehybrids.

For the 2008 model year, the Mariner was restyled inside and out, the interior was made quieterand a full-range of safety features were added as standard equipment.

We will get to all that in a minute, but first the big news for 2009 is a new 2.5-liter4-cylinder engine. The non-hybrid gas engine model is now outfitted with a 171-horsepower 2.5-literengine mated to a six- speed automatic. That’s a big improvement from the previous 2.3-liter enginedeveloping 153 horsepower mated to a four-speed automatic.

The hybrid gets the same treatment getting a version of the 2.5-liter mated to a continuouslyvariable transmission. Ford says the electric motor and the gas engine together develop 177 useablehorsepower.

That takes the hybrid out of the leisurely performance category and elevates it to definitelyacceptable.

Let’s not take our eye off the prize ‘ you are considering a hybrid purchase to save dollars atthe pump, not to outrun your neighbor’s Mustang. But we agree it’s hard to live day-to-day withoutmodern freeway performance.

Well, we say the Mariner has had the goods. With 22 less useable horsepower in 2008, it wasmeasured at an acceptable 0-to-60 in 10.1 seconds. Our seat-of-the-pants test using a handheldstopwatch showed us the 2009 Mariner can accomplish the feat in around 9.5 seconds.

Case closed.

And here’s the kicker ‘ the 2009 model actually gets one more mile to the gallon in highwaydriving now rated at 31 mpg.

The Mariner drives as small as you would expect it would; stretching out a compact 175 incheswith a 103-inch wheelbase. While the turning circle is a longish 39 feet, the small Mercury isstill maneuverable in the mall parking lot.

Rear seating is comfortable for two people who will find very adequate legroom and ample headroom. And rear storage measures 29 cubic feet, very generous for a small SUV. With the second rowfolded, maximum cargo capacity on a flat surface is a decent 62 cubic feet.

The 2009 Mariner for the most part has a pleasing upscale, carryover interior. Stylists hadcreated a more Lincoln-like cockpit in their

2008 updating. Satin-aluminum and chrome accent the center stack and console. Chrome- ringedgauges, redesigned for 2008, are attractive.

We did not have the leather seat option, but we can report the cloth fabric is excellent.

The Mariner offers an impressive array of standard safety equipment including canopy side aircurtains, side-impact air bags, ABS, tire pressure monitor system, and Ford’s AdvanceTrac anti-skidsystem.

Factor in the Mariner’s top crash ratings from the National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Mercury has astrong selling point.

The Mariner has earned a top five stars from NHTSA for both front and rear-seat passengers inside-impact crash tests when equipped with the now-standard curtain airbags and the second highestrating from IIHS in offset frontal impact tests.

If we’ve sold you on the Mariner hybrid, hold your horses. We recommend that you get yourcalculator out and crunch the following numbers.

The base price of a front-wheel drive hybrid is about $30,000. The base price of a standard FWD4-cylinder Mariner is about $23,000. So we are looking at a $7,000 difference. The 4-cylinder’s gasmileage is rated at 20 mpg city and 28 mpg highway.

The government has done the math for us. Based on 15,000 miles a year at $3 a gallon thestandard 4-cylinder will use $1,957 in fuel, the hybrid fuel cost is $1,408. That’s a savings of$549 a year. At that rate, it would take nearly 13 years to recover the purchase price. At $2.00per gallon it takes longer; at $4.00 a gallon you make it up quicker. Our guess is that over thelong haul prices will be going up.

In either case you shouldn’t chose a hybrid just for the sake of saving fuel. There are betterand more altruistic reasons for making the decision of buying a hybrid.

Both models come similarly equipped. And there’s an income tax credit for the Mariner that needsto be figured into the equation. Check the IRS Web site for up-to-date information. It will helpoff-set some of the pain.

Our test car came with the $1,995 navigation option, which also included a very good 320-wattsound system and satellite radio. That brought the bottom line to $32,470.

The 2009 Mariner is a good small SUV choice whether in standard 4- cylinder gas engine guise oras a hybrid. If you want to drive green, we recommend the hybrid. You will pay more at the outset,but you will enjoy fewer visits to the gas pumps. And your neighbors will think more highly of you.