Bloomberg (June 2)
2010/ 06/ 03 by jd in Global News
Another one bites the dust. By yearend, Ford will end its Mercury brand. Sales of the 77-year old brand peaked in 1978 at 579,498, but fell to 92,299 in 2009. Mercury joins other departed Detroit brands including Pontiac, Saturn, Oldsmobile and Plymouth. Going forward, Ford will focus on its namesake Ford brand and high-end Lincoln brand. The only U.S. automaker not to accept money from the government’s TARP program, Ford earned $2.7 billion in 2009 and expects to be solidly profitable in 2010.