[Midnight Flyer]

Was shocked to have just learned that Ford Motor Company is discontinuing the Mercury line of vehicles and will instead focus on Ford and Lincoln cars and trucks. I've owned several Mercury cars and have had real good luck with them. They ride excellent and very little trouble mechanically. Comments anyone?

[RebelDarlin]

Mercury was the mid-price point line between Ford and Lincoln, that market is all but gone.

[Mr. Ford95]

What Reb said, it wasn't selling anymore. People were either buying Ford or stepping on up to the Lincoln brand and skipping Mercury. They had no choice but to kill it off. Truthfully though, for the price of what Ford's are running now as the cheap choice between it and Lincoln, I'd go buy a Mercedes, nicer car for the same price as a Ford or Lincoln.

[Windwalker]

The auto makers are actually ALL in trouble. Every one of them is over-priced.

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by Windwalker

The auto makers are actually ALL in trouble. Every one of them is over-priced.

Until they get their labor costs under control they will continue to have problems. As you stated, they area all over priced. I bought a new Cadillac in 1979 for $15,500. That would barely buy a compact today, if at all. I am sure a comparable Cadillac today would be at least $50,000+. I would not pay that much for a car. Some years ago, if you worked for one of the big three automakers (Ford, GM or Chrysler) you were expected to drive an American car. In fact, they wanted you to drive a car that was made where you worked. If you worked for Ford then you were expected to buy a Ford. The same with GM or Chrysler. I seem to remember that there were even signs that stated that parking was for American made cars only. If you pass one of their plants today you are as likely to see a Japanese or German brand as an American. Of course, many of those cars are made here and a lot of our cars are made abroad these days.

[Windwalker]

Originally Posted by GMAN

Until they get their labor costs under control they will continue to have problems. As you stated, they area all over priced. I bought a new Cadillac in 1979 for $15,500. That would barely buy a compact today, if at all. I am sure a comparable Cadillac today would be at least $50,000+. I would not pay that much for a car.

Back in '79, cars were still, pretty much, BASIC. You could still do your own tune-up and change your own oil. You didn't have a computer telling the engine what to do. If you found yourself on the side of the road, it was generally a mechanical failure. Today, you can have one of a dozen sensors go out, and even though you have no mechanical problem, you're dead on the side of the road. The more they put into a car, the more problems we have with them, and the greater the expense we have as well. Today, do not let your engine get over-heated. Along with what it may cost you in the engine, you'll have to replace the radiator as well. The plastic cracks, where the brass never did.

[GMAN]

Unfortunately, it is no longer easy to work on your own car. I don't think all the electronics are that good, anyway. One reason the manufacturers started to put all the electronics in cars was fuel efficiency. We had some cars back in the 1960's and 1970's that got good fuel economy before all the electronics were used. They design these cars today where you pretty much need to take it back to the dealer for service. I think that we were much better off before they started putting all the electronics in our cars.

By the way, I had a 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis that I really liked. It is the only Mercury that I ever owned. I bought it at auction for half of what it was worth wholesale. At the time, people were not buying big cars and the dealer just wanted to get rid of it. The car was like new inside and out. I can see why Ford would want to discontinue Mercury. The Grand Marquis was basically a Ford LTD. The Mercury did have a little more plush interior than Ford at the time.

[Mr. Ford95]

Originally Posted by GMAN

Until they get their labor costs under control they will continue to have problems.

That statement right there is one of the biggest issue's with the price tag. The UAW has all 3 US makers by the gonads. Until the union is told where to shove it the price of new vehicles will continue to be way too high. That's just part of the equation though, the other side is the value of the dollar with inflation. Look at used vehicles, unless it has more than 100K on it, the price is still outrageous. The value of the dollar isn't what it used to be in '79. You will never ever see prices that low again for a good Caddy. Take away inflation and the price comes down $5-10K, take away the union workers and it comes down ever more.

[freebirdrfd]

I think that the unions are killing America :smokin:

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by Mr. Ford95

That statement right there is one of the biggest issue's with the price tag. The UAW has all 3 US makers by the gonads. Until the union is told where to shove it the price of new vehicles will continue to be way too high. That's just part of the equation though, the other side is the value of the dollar with inflation. Look at used vehicles, unless it has more than 100K on it, the price is still outrageous. The value of the dollar isn't what it used to be in '79. You will never ever see prices that low again for a good Caddy. Take away inflation and the price comes down $5-10K, take away the union workers and it comes down ever more.

I think these unions will hold out until they destroy these companies, just as they did with the U.S. steel industry. High labor costs are one factor which fuels inflation. During the late 70's and into the early 80's, we had inflation and interest rates that exceeded 21%. That is one reason housing costs are so high today. Real estate prices went through the roof. High interest rates drove many RV and car dealers out of business. In fact, it helped to close the dealer whom I purchased my Cadillac from about a year or two after I bought the car. That dealer had been around forever.

I paid $175 for my first car. I got a lot of good use out of it. Many people whom I knew at the time bought cars from $100 to about $500 or so. It is hard to believe today that we could have gotten a good car for that price. A new Cadillac or similar luxury car cost about $5,000 to $7,000 at the most. You could buy a new Ford or Chevrolet for somewhere in the $3-4,000 range. A new Volkswagen Beetle could be purchased for about $1,200. It was no frills, but it got you around. I think our standard of living was better and we certainly had a better attitude toward one another. You could even purchase a nice new home for about $10-15,000.

Union workers don't seem to understand or care about the impact their high wages have on our standard of living. When unions go on strike it takes money out of the company and the economy. When they come back to work for unrealistic benefits and wages then the company must raise prices to compensate. That makes them somewhat less competitive in the marketplace. That is one reason the Japanese automakers have eaten their lunch and gained such a large market share. The quality of the products U.S. automakers were putting out in the late 70's and early 80's had declined considerably as prices escalated. Americans started to look more closely at foreign cars that were more stylish, got better fuel economy and priced lower than their U.S. counterparts.

Markets continually change. Unless companies adapt they fail. Price is one reason these automakers are failing. They are no longer able to be competitive with the market. You can place some blame on the devaluation of the U.S. dollar, but the Euro and other currencies are also losing value. These companies are going to have to become lean and competitive if they expect to survive. When I grew up most Americans would buy American cars. It was rare for an American to buy a foreign made car. Much of what goes into a U.S. car is made abroad. Some of the so called foreign made autos have more of their parts made in the U.S. than the big three.