Thank you for inquiring about the Rondo. As the saying goes, ‘all good things must come to an end.’ But with endings, come new beginnings…

Hi there – could you help spread the word about Houston Cars? I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. Kia Rondo to Exit US Market is a post from: Houston Cars, home of the best darn car reviews around.

With the introduction of the all-new 2011 Explorer, we all knew this was coming. Ford is ending production of the misfit Explorer Sport Trac. Considering how weak Explorer sales have been, and the Sport Trac makes up just a small portion of those… well.. no one is surprised by this announcement. With its odd proportions and oddly short bed, I don’t think this vehicle will be missed by many.

Hi there – could you help spread the word about Houston Cars? I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. Another One Bites the Dust: Explorer Sport Trac Dead is a post from: Houston Cars, home of the best darn car reviews around.

Just like I mentioned a few days ago, Ford has announced the closure of the Mercury brand.  Production of the four remaining Mercury models will end by the fourth quarter of 2010.  With this announcement came notice that Ford will renew focus on it’s core brands – Ford and Lincoln.  Particularly, Ford plans to expand the Lincoln lineup.  Current Lincoln-Mercury dealers must be glad to hear this, because they will see a volume dropoff with the closeure of Mercury.

So the question must be asked: Why did Ford decide to finally pull the trigger and shut down Mercury?

In any business, but especially the car business, it’s always about the sales.  In the case of Mercury, it was a lack of sales, specifically, that led to it’s demise.  Every Mercury model is a rebadged Ford – there is no  unique product.  In fact, there hasn’t been a unique Mercury product for eight years.

Once upon a time, decades ago, Mercury made sense.  Ford was for regular buyers, and Lincoln was an aspirational brand, something people worked for and hoped to own later in life.  Mercury bridged the gap between the two as a premium brand.  They were nicer than Fords, but not as fancy as Lincolns.

That was then. This is now.

However, that was then, and this is now.  Fords get pretty darn fancy these days.  There are on unique features on Mercury products – everything available on a Mercury is available on a Ford.  Lately, lower level Lincolns have even become close to Ford levels – the MKZ and MKX come to mind.  Both of these models share platforms with Fords.  Is there really room for a Mercury in the middle?  Absolutely not, and that’s why  Mercury is dead.

Without a clear focus, or a niche of any kind, Mercury is redundant.  Continuing to spend dollars re-styling Fords, and spending dollars marketing a 3rd brand is wasteful.  By axing Mercury, Ford frees up money to spend on the two brands that matter.  This puts them in a great situation – remember, companies like Honda, Toyota, and Nissan have run with two brands forever.  Their focus is clear, and there’s no distraction.  No one is fighting for marketing dollars.

This move puts Ford in an even better place then GM, which still has two redundant brands in it’s stable.  I’m not saying Ford will start outselling GM overnight… but it’s a fantastic step to becoming a more focused and more profitable carmaker.

Hi there – could you help spread the word about Houston Cars? I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. Why Ford Shut Mercury Down is a post from: Houston Cars, home of the best darn car reviews around.

Mercury has been a failed brand for as long as I can remember.  Every Mercury model is a badge-engineered Ford.  The only changes are light sheetmetal differences, and sometimes slightly different packages and pricing.  There is no longer any illusion of a premium brand – Mercury only exists to help give Lincoln dealerships additional sales volume.

Fifteen Years of Failure

According to a neat little graphic at The Truth About Cars, Mercury sales have fallen for 15 years – drastically.  From roughly 440,000 units in 1995 to under 100,000 in 2009 – each year gets worse and worse for Mercury.  With no new models in sight, it’s hard to see how this trend will reverse course.  Think about it – do you even consider Mercury as a viable option when you’re car shopping?  Didn’t think so.

An anonymous source revealed to Bloomberg that Ford is quietly planning to kill the failed division.  A Ford spokesperson, of course, denied any such plans.  That’s hardly unexpected of course – if they make the announcement too early, Mercury could lose the few customers they have.

Following GM’s Lead

GM made a few rare good choices over the last few years- axing several of their brands from an extremely bloated portfolio.  Ford has been in a much better position from the beginning, with just 3 major brands.  (The niche Jaguar, Land Rover, and Aston Martin have already been sold off.)

However, Mercury serves no purpose.  It has no unique product.  It has no unique persona.  It doesn’t have a mission.  People don’t grow up dreaming of buying a Mercury one day.  Axing the brand will help Ford focus on the two core brands – Ford and Lincoln.  Hopefully with more focus, Lincoln can reverse its own sales slide.

Hi there – could you help spread the word about Houston Cars? I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. Mercury could be shut down is a post from: Houston Cars, home of the best darn car reviews around.

The Lexus SC when from being a very stylish sporty / luxury coupe to an extremely expensive, oddly shapen hardtop convertible.  Sales were never really all that great, and Lexus has decided to pull the plug.

The only reason this news is even remotely sad, is that it drains the single ounce of excitement from Lexus’ lineup.  Now their most exciting car is…..

um….

I guess the LS is going to get the nod.  Not because it’s exciting, mind you, because it’s a snoozefest.  A perfectly engineered, amazingly luxurious snoozefest, of course.  But then again, that’s exactly what Lexus buyers are looking for.  Not every brand can be exciting, after all.

Edit: It seems I’ve made an obvious, glaring error.  In my haste to lament the SC dying off, I forgot about the badass Lexus IS-F, which is alive and well.  With a 416 HP 5.0 liter V8 under the hood, I’d say that qualifies as exciting, to say the least.  Thanks to commenter Mike for pointing out my gaffe.

Hi there – could you help spread the word about Houston Cars? I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. Lexus SC Bites the Dust is a post from: Houston Cars, home of the best darn car reviews around.

When it was made public that Kia was introducing an all-new body on frame SUV in 2009, I called them crazy.  Well, sales haven’t exactly been hot, or even lukewarm.  Kia will not be making a 2010 Borrego – which all but promises that the Borrego is toast.

Lots of vehicles arent’ renewed after a single cycle of a few years.  But a single model year?  I don’t remember ever seeing an automaker pull the plug so fast.  That’s just a lot of R&D costs to turn your back on so fast.

On the other hand, let’s face it – people aren’t going to start buying the Borrego in droves.  It’s best to pull off the band-aid quickly, deal with the pain, and move on.  Lesson learned.

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So long, farewell, goodbye. Ford will stop production of the once-fairly-popular Explorer Sport Trac in 2010, after 10 years in production. Essentially a Ranger Crew Cab, no one quite knows why Ford named the Explorer Sport Trac the way they did.

These days, there aren’t a lot of buyers for this type of truck. Very outdated and not particularly competitive. Would-be buyers will probably just head over to Nissan or Toyota and buy a nice mid-size crew cab truck. And they’ll be much happier for doing so.

Hi there – could you help spread the word about Houston Cars? I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. Ford Explorer Sport Trac to cease production is a post from: Houston Cars, home of the best darn car reviews around.

Good game, Malibu Hybrid.  In stark contrast to the excellent new Malibu, the Malibu Hybrid was a poorly conceived, poorly performing, and overpriced car.  Managing a feeble 2 MPG more than the vanilla Malibu, and costing several thousand dollars more, this vehicle never made sense.

I have never recommended this car to anyone – and now I won’t have to tell people to avoid it.  Thankfully GM ( or perhaps it was The Great Obama ) decided to axe this awful vehicle.

Hi there – could you help spread the word about Houston Cars? I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. Chevy Malibu Hybrid Ends Production is a post from: Houston Cars, home of the best darn car reviews around.

After going from the Sable, to the Mercury Montego, and back to the Sable, with all the costs and trouble involved, Ford is finally going to axe the Sable once and for all.  The official announcement is reportedly going to come this Thursday. 

Ford recently re-made the 2010 Taurus ( and if looks are any indicator, it should be a smash hit ) – but they didn’t do anything with the Sable.  Probably for the best – the Sable is just a Taurus re-badge, after all.  Why go through all the trouble of a re-skin, and split marketing money between the two competing models? 

Ford made a good call, axing a redundant model.  This move will only save Ford money and strengthen the Taurus’ position in the full-size family car segment.  No one will miss the Sable – they will simply by a Taurus instead.

Hi there – could you help spread the word about Houston Cars? I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. Mercury Sable Bites the Dust is a post from: Houston Cars, home of the best darn car reviews around.

The latest vehicle to get the axe is the Luxo-Corvette , sorry I mean Cadillac XLR.  A luxury, wildly styled car based on the excellent Corvette hardware – what’s not to like?  Nothing, really.  The XLR ( and especially the XLR-V ) was an excellent vehicle.  Unfortunately, it’s apparently not a profitable vehicle.  And with GM in the position that it’s in, profitability is all that really matters.

So long, XLR – we won’t forget you.

Hi there – could you help spread the word about Houston Cars? I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. Cadillac XLR – It’s been nice knowing you is a post from: Houston Cars, home of the best darn car reviews around.