Thursday, June 3, 2010

Mercury Brand Dies; My Love Lives On

Ford has announced that's it will discontinue production of the Mercury brand.
Yeah, I know that Ford has had its share of problems.
But I'm still not happy about this. Not one bit.
I hated it when they killed off the Sable model. And I hate this even more.
I've been driving American cars for a long time. And I'm proud to count four Mercurys in my family right now.
Of course, I don't plan to drastically alter my buying patterns. So, I suppose I'll have to switch to Ford since a Lincoln is probably beyond my means.
That's what I liked about Mercury -- it was somewhere in between.
But Ford is still a good, solid, safe, reliable car produced by an innovative company.
To be honest I've never been able to understand the appeal of Japanese and other foreign cars -- even those which carry a "made in America" label.
American brand cars are certainly competitively priced and more often than not an American car has more interior room than its comparable Japanese model.
Though I'm hardly an expert, I do not notice a huge difference in the way the vehicles ride. And to me Japanese cars in particular are uninspired when it comes to styling. There doesn't seem to be anything distinctive about them. They seem to lack panache.
And here's the real stickler: the apparent snob appeal of certain foreign cars. What does it say about a person who is so insecure that he or she needs to be defined by a beefy Lexus or a boxy Camry or a strange, little, overpriced Mini Cooper?
I look at some of these people and I want to say: "Get over it. It's only a car!"
Not to suggest that cars can't be sexy. But if that's what you want, what's wrong with a new Ford Mustang? They're better looking than ever and pack lots of vrooom.
But most of us are happy with a trusty family sedan, minivan or SUV.
Which brings me back to my Mercurys. They're still good cars.
And Ford will still stand behind my reliable, sporty, spiffy Mercury Milan.

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