Mercury is Dead. Long live Mercury.

Actually, it really is just pretty much dead. Ford announced that their third brand, which really has been little more than a trim level since the Cougar parted ways (which was too bad in its own right really - nice little sports coupe that was).

Mercury will always be remembered for... well... for... erm. In my mind? The Sable:





mmm round blobby boringness... how could we ever forget you?

Honestly, it always just reminds me of the worst of the 90's - when every Japanese/American sedan was some round blobby boring thing with a pathetic 4, optional weak v6, shitty automatic, bland interior, sloppy handling, and indistinguishable looks. At least in the 80's cars were really shitty. Really shitty at least has character (even if its the kind of character which makes you want to scream) - the mid-90's were the peak of boring.

And really, thats all I remember about Mercury. Except that I always liked the Cougar.. the fun, small, sporty tossable little sports coupe with a great stickshift and a real contender against the Acura RSX and Toyota Celica...

(sidenote - would you believe the car above is from 1998? Fergodssake - thats not that long ago. The thing is a relic of the 80's)

Err.. I mean I liked the last one:


Since that one faded away half a decade ago - Mercury has been little more than a trim level. Unlike Pontiac (or even Saturn for that matter) which had a little bit of character, Mercury never did, at least in my lifetime.

However, Mercury will live on, in our hearts, our minds, at the bottom end of the used car market. And because it is a freaking planet.