<p>Filed under: <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><img hspace="0" height="420" width="630" vspace="4" border="1" align="top" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/07/mercury-emblem.jpg" alt="Mercury" /><br />
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In life, <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/mercury/">Mercury</a> was an under-funded brand mainly composed of waterfall grilles stapled to bone-stock <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/ford/">Ford</a> models. In death, however, Mercury apparently gets to see some of the money it always dreamed of having when it was alive. According to <em>Automotive News,</em> Ford CFO Lewis Booth claims that shutting down Mercury before the end of this year will cost the Oval roughly $500 million overall. Booth says Ford already took a $247 million charge in the first half of 2010 to cover the neglected marque's mercy killing. <br />
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The lion's share of the money being spent will go toward buying out 700 of the 1,700 Mercury dealers across the United States. Back in June, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/04/ford-offering-dealers-up-to-200k-to-stop-selling-mercury/">we told you</a> about a package that Ford was presenting to dealers who sign a termination agreement. The reported buyout totaled as much as $200,000 per dealership. (Actual dollar amounts for individual dealers were based on the number of vehicles they sold over a three-year period; more cars moved meant more FoMoCo cash received.)<br />
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Would a half-billion invested in updated Mercury product instead of a cash-lined casket have made a difference? Mercury's sales numbers (or lack thereof) suggest that few car shoppers would have even noticed. Ditching Mercury to concentrate on bread-and-butter Ford has seemed like a no-brainer for years. More importantly, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/Lincoln/">Lincoln</a>, which hasn't exactly lit up the monthly <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/ByTheNumbers/">By the Numbers</a> reports of late, should only benefit from the much-needed infusion of resources that were previously being wasted keeping Mercury afloat. <br />
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[Source: <a href="http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100723/OEM/100729928/1255">Automotive News</a> - sub. req.]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/24/ouch-killing-mercury-said-to-cost-ford-500-million/">Ouch! Killing Mercury said to cost Ford $500 million</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:33:00 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://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100723/OEM/100729928/1255>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/24/ouch-killing-mercury-said-to-cost-ford-500-million/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19566917/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/24/ouch-killing-mercury-said-to-cost-ford-500-million/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
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In life, <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/mercury/">Mercury</a> was an under-funded brand mainly composed of waterfall grilles stapled to bone-stock <a href="http://autoblog.com/make/ford/">Ford</a> models. In death, however, Mercury apparently gets to see some of the money it always dreamed of having when it was alive. According to <em>Automotive News,</em> Ford CFO Lewis Booth claims that shutting down Mercury before the end of this year will cost the Oval roughly $500 million overall. Booth says Ford already took a $247 million charge in the first half of 2010 to cover the neglected marque's mercy killing. <br />
<br />
The lion's share of the money being spent will go toward buying out 700 of the 1,700 Mercury dealers across the United States. Back in June, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/04/ford-offering-dealers-up-to-200k-to-stop-selling-mercury/">we told you</a> about a package that Ford was presenting to dealers who sign a termination agreement. The reported buyout totaled as much as $200,000 per dealership. (Actual dollar amounts for individual dealers were based on the number of vehicles they sold over a three-year period; more cars moved meant more FoMoCo cash received.)<br />
<br />
Would a half-billion invested in updated Mercury product instead of a cash-lined casket have made a difference? Mercury's sales numbers (or lack thereof) suggest that few car shoppers would have even noticed. Ditching Mercury to concentrate on bread-and-butter Ford has seemed like a no-brainer for years. More importantly, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/Lincoln/">Lincoln</a>, which hasn't exactly lit up the monthly <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/tag/ByTheNumbers/">By the Numbers</a> reports of late, should only benefit from the much-needed infusion of resources that were previously being wasted keeping Mercury afloat. <br />
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[Source: <a href="http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100723/OEM/100729928/1255">Automotive News</a> - sub. req.]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/24/ouch-killing-mercury-said-to-cost-ford-500-million/">Ouch! Killing Mercury said to cost Ford $500 million</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:33:00 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://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100723/OEM/100729928/1255>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/24/ouch-killing-mercury-said-to-cost-ford-500-million/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19566917/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/24/ouch-killing-mercury-said-to-cost-ford-500-million/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
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