<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/carbuying/" rel="tag">Car Buying</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/ford/" rel="tag">Ford</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/mercury/" rel="tag">Mercury</a></p><a href="http://wardsauto.com/home/mercury_memory_canada_100604/"><img vspace="4" hspace="0" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/06/ford-mercury-sign-getty-630.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://autoblog.com/make/ford/">Ford</a> provided a serious jolt to its brands last week when it announced that <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/mercury/">Mercury</a> was taking a <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/02/ford-kills-mercury-to-expand-lincoln/">permanent catnap</a> in the Fall of 2010. Even though Mercury has been a shell of a brand for decades, the news came as a bit of a shock - a shock that Canadian Ford dealers felt way back in 1999, when Mercury sales were far healthier than they are today.<br />
<br />
As <em>Ward's Automotive</em> points out, the Blue Oval decided to cut off Mercury in Canada before the turn of the century, and over 100 dealers promptly filed a class-action lawsuit. Ford settled the suit for $48 million, and 80 retail outlets took their portion of the money and closed their doors for good. The remaining dealerships partnered with existing Ford stores. <br />
<br />
The situation could be a bit different this time around, as Ford is providing what it calls a "<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/04/ford-offering-dealers-up-to-200k-to-stop-selling-mercury/">fair and reasonable</a>" compensation package for its dealers. Ford claims that it intends to expand the Lincoln lineup to help make up for lost volume.<br />
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[Source: <a href="http://wardsauto.com/home/mercury_memory_canada_100604/">Ward's Automotive</a> | Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/07/how-will-ford-and-lincoln-dealers-manage-without-mercury-ask-ca/">How will Ford and Lincoln dealers manage without Mercury? Ask Canada.</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://wardsauto.com/home/mercury_memory_canada_100604/>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/07/how-will-ford-and-lincoln-dealers-manage-without-mercury-ask-ca/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19504630/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/07/how-will-ford-and-lincoln-dealers-manage-without-mercury-ask-ca/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
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<br />
<a href="http://autoblog.com/make/ford/">Ford</a> provided a serious jolt to its brands last week when it announced that <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/mercury/">Mercury</a> was taking a <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/02/ford-kills-mercury-to-expand-lincoln/">permanent catnap</a> in the Fall of 2010. Even though Mercury has been a shell of a brand for decades, the news came as a bit of a shock - a shock that Canadian Ford dealers felt way back in 1999, when Mercury sales were far healthier than they are today.<br />
<br />
As <em>Ward's Automotive</em> points out, the Blue Oval decided to cut off Mercury in Canada before the turn of the century, and over 100 dealers promptly filed a class-action lawsuit. Ford settled the suit for $48 million, and 80 retail outlets took their portion of the money and closed their doors for good. The remaining dealerships partnered with existing Ford stores. <br />
<br />
The situation could be a bit different this time around, as Ford is providing what it calls a "<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/04/ford-offering-dealers-up-to-200k-to-stop-selling-mercury/">fair and reasonable</a>" compensation package for its dealers. Ford claims that it intends to expand the Lincoln lineup to help make up for lost volume.<br />
<br />
[Source: <a href="http://wardsauto.com/home/mercury_memory_canada_100604/">Ward's Automotive</a> | Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/07/how-will-ford-and-lincoln-dealers-manage-without-mercury-ask-ca/">How will Ford and Lincoln dealers manage without Mercury? Ask Canada.</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://wardsauto.com/home/mercury_memory_canada_100604/>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/07/how-will-ford-and-lincoln-dealers-manage-without-mercury-ask-ca/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19504630/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/07/how-will-ford-and-lincoln-dealers-manage-without-mercury-ask-ca/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
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