The End of the Mercury Era

The fourth quarter of 2010 will mark the end of production for the Mercury Division of the Ford Motor Company. To some this will pass without notice or emotion just as the recent ending of Plymouth, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac has already passed but for Mercury customers, a void has opened that cannot be filled.

Founded in 1939 by Edsel Ford, son of Ford founder Henry Ford, Mercury was a “step up” luxury brand with it’s own designs often using Ford parts but styling and performance that appealed to a certain segment of the market. It was combined with Lincoln (Lincoln-Mercury) in 1945 and briefly during the late 50’s was part of the “Edsel-Lincoln-Mercury” division but returned to Lincoln-Mercury in 1960 to present.

The Mercury flathead V8 was a desired engine of the Hot Rod era as 50’s Mercury’s were converted into “Leadsleds” and became some of the first custom cars to roll out of the SoCal custom shops like Barris and Valley Custom. Fran Hernandez, competition director for Mercury, cut his teeth on the dry lakes of California and the Panamerican Highway of Mexico. He made sure Mercury was a proven competitor by successfully entering Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, NASCAR Stock Car Racing, NHRA Drag Racing, East Africa Safari Rally, the Trans AM series and even leasing Daytona Speedway for a 40 day 100,000 mile durability test of the 1964 Mercury Comet’s (video part one and part two).

Mercury customers liked the finer things that the brand had to offer over the standard Ford models. Possibly hoping some day to step up to a Lincoln or maybe trying to fly just below the glitz and yet stand apart from the rest of the Ford crowd. Mercury styling was distinctive and carried some consistent styling cues like tasteful chrome accents and later the disappearing headlamp. Initially using the side profile of the mythical god Mercury, the logo changed to a stylized “M” in the 50’s and gained notoriety as the “Big M” as primary sponsor of “Toast of the town” with Ed Sullivan. Performance models had names like Marauder, Comet, Cyclone, Cougar and Meteor. Luxury models included Marquis, Monterey, Montego, Brougham, Colony Park, and Grand Monarch Ghia. The Capri, Merkur, and Pantera were European models offered in the American showrooms. Remember the famous ad campaign to just remember to look for “the sign of the cat” followed by the unmistakable Cougar growl?

Did the American market need Mercury? Probably not as production numbers dwindled from a high of 580,000 units in 1978 and another production peak in 1993 of 480,000 (Sable, Topaz and Cougar) to fewer than 90,000 units in 2009. Unremarkable re-badge jobs like the Bobcat (Pinto), Mariner (Escape), and Tracer (Escort) did not endure the marque. But the Comet, Marquis and Grand Marquis Wagon, Lynx, Capri and newer Capri convertible, Cougar, and even the current Grand Marquis were just enough up-market and stylish to garner demand in the showroom.

Manufacturing and advertising costs spelled the end as this has been a rumored decision for several years now. I will always have fond Mercury memories as both my wife and my families were “Mercury Families”. Riding in Grandma’s Monterey with the retractable rear window down (Breezeway Window), our 1969 Grand Marquis Wagon with disappearing headlamps and a 429 CID engine (twice across the USA, able to sleep in the area behind the rear seats pre-seat belt law), the cool yellow XR7 Cougar that parked down the street, Dad’s 1978 Zephyr (way cooler then the Fairmont but outdone by the two door Z7 edition), even our 1998 Mountaineer (nicer styling than an Explorer and leather interior, much easier to spot in a parking lot). The favorite Mercury in the family will always be the 1964 Comet Caliente East Africa Safari FIA Rally car.  A car that father in law, Ray Brock, drove in Africa in the spring of 1964 in the “world’s toughest rally” which we have re-created for family enjoyment and touring.

When asked during a recent interview at the Barrett-Jackson event in Orange County, President Steve Davis mused that there will be no immediate reaction to Mercury cars in the collector car world. He did feel that in the long run, values of cars like Mercury’s go up as a result of the termination of production. “There were only so many built and they aren’t building them anymore”, mentioning unremarkable Sables, Topez, etc. to be unlikely candidates for appreciation or even conservation for that matter although well preserved Bobcats are seeing appreciation for niche collectors. Leadsleds, customs, production drag cars (A/FX, B/FX, & B/MP), Cyclone Spoiler special editions needed for production homologation of competition Stock Cars (make mine a Cale Yarborough or Dan Gurney Special), surviving Trans AM Cougars, and Comet convertibles are already well appreciated classic Mercury collectables.

It is a sad day for “Merc” aficionados and I would like to think there is a small glimmer of hope that some understanding Ford guys will give the nod to some future special Mercury tribute production editions. Most of that will be bench-racing and wishful thinking. Mercury customers were always the minority but often the envied for having the extra couple of bucks to step up from Ford products and make a statement by purchasing something different, a little higher performance, and something a little more luxurious. Thank you to all the Mercury designers, dealers, and racers that made our cars a little more special.

 

No One Likes Selling Their Car (Except me)
By Paul Kramer, www.autokennel.com

I love what I do…I really do.  I love helping people sell their cars.  It wasn’t always like that.  I sold my first car nearly 20 years ago and I swore (like many people) I would never do it again. I figured that next time I would trade it in and save myself the hassle…even though I would get less money. However, when “next-time” rolled around, I thought…how hard can it be?  Well, over 500 cars later, it is still hard.  But I love it.

Selling cars (especially Porsches) is an art.  It’s all about removing your emotion from the sale and making room for the new owner’s enthusiasm. I think this is why consignment appeals to me. It is sharing someone’s passion and passing it on, like passing a torch during the Olympics. [Mom’s comments “Wow! Really?” you can delete this]

There are several major components to properly marketing a Porsche.  First, it is understanding what you have and how it fits into the marketplace.  Next, you need the right pictures and description as well as effective ad placement. Finally, you must answer buyers’ questions and eliminate their fears.  However, the most critical component to selling a Porsche is pricing. It doesn’t matter how good you are at the other elements, if your car is priced too high it will most likely not sell. This is the one area that is the most difficult to discuss with enthusiasts who bring me their cars to sell.  It’s like selling your baby.  We become attached to these cars and tend to see past their flaws and shortcomings. This is why it is so tough telling the owners what their car is worth.  Most car salespeople fear this conversation and tend to buckle and tell the owner whatever they want to hear. In the end, that never works out.  The dealership ends up frustrated that they can’t sell the car and, even worse, the owner becomes disappointed.

Over the years I have come to realize that pricing these cars is much harder than it looks.   I am going to walk you through the maze of determining your Porsche’s value by using an example.  Let’s say you have a 2000 Porsche 996/911 Tiptronic Coupe with 30,000 miles for sale and you are going to go online to figure out what your car is worth before either listing it for sale or trading it in.

People who might be in the market for a 996…(especially the early models) are going to be primarily price focused.  The reason for this is that the 2002-2005 996 cars have a 3.6L engine instead of the 3.4L, different and unique front fascia (avoiding the confusion with a Boxster) and fewer issues concerning the rear main seal engine failure problem. So, knowing all this, you have to look at all the cars in the market from 1999-2001. They are all basically the same with the only difference being that the 2001 had far fewer issues than the earlier models. The first place you might go to is Kelly Blue Book but, KBB doesn't actually sell cars. It simply looks at averages. Similar to selling a house, you have to look at the comps in the market. In fact, for every month you have your car listed at the wrong price, you can see anywhere from $250-$500 value drop just due to it being out there and buyers feeling like you might become desperate.  I promise you that the vultures will start circling.  Unfortunately, most people waste time and money because they don’t know how to look for comps.  Also, options, color, and after market upgrades will effect the price. Typically, an unpopular color (i.e. yellow, red, tan, gold or variations of these) could reduce the value by up to 10%.  In many cases, a tiptronic transmission can reduce the value from 5-10% as well. Lastly, custom wheels and similar touches are very personal and may not be liked by future owners. All of these elements play a roll in your car’s value.

Let’s start with a popular place that most sellers look at for comps - Auto Trader.  When you do a search on this site, you need to look at the entire country for 1999-2001, with under 45k miles (should be at least 20k miles more than your car), and sort from least expensive to most. Most people make their search too narrow by looking at only their year and in their area.  The search results will first show you cars for sale called “Premier” listings. These are mostly ads from large dealers. Once you get past these, you will find "Featured" listings.  These ads are closer to what the market will typically pay.

People online are very savvy buyers and are motivated by price.  Outside of vintage models, the primary reason people look to buy a used late model Porsche is to save money.

Most Porsche sellers think the old philosophy of price high and you can come down holds true.  Unfortunately, with the internet, that has all changed. The key for these cars is simply "value."  You have to put yourself in the buyers’ shoes to realize their choices and why they would decide to buy your car. Pretend that you are looking for your own car. So, ask yourself, if you were buying a 996 and were interested in a 1999-2001 because of the incredible value (really the only reason to consider these years), how much would you be willing to spend?

When you do the proper search, you will find most of the cars listed are in the mid-low $20k range.  In fact, if you find 5 similar Porsches to yours that are lower in price, you are probably priced too high.  Yes, you will see several priced very high but those cars sit on the market for a long time. An old dealership owner/friend of mine once said, “if no one calls [on your car], either you haven’t paid your phone bill or the price is too high.” I know that your car is special and perfect but when you start looking out there, most (not all) Porsches for sale are well cared for and show the owner’s pride.


The first mistake you might make is to decide that your car is special and price it closer to $30k instead of $25k. Several things might happen.  First, when people do searches, they sometimes put a ceiling dollar level to their search and it always ends in a zero or five.  That is why you would price your car at $24,990 versus $25,000. Second, you have to consider competing models. If you were looking to buy a late model Porsche in the $30k range, your choices would be even better. Porsche 996 C4S cars with 50k miles are selling in the mid-$30k’s. 2005 997 Carreras with similar mileage are also in the mid-$30ks. You can even find 2001 996 Twin Turbos with 50k miles in the high 30’s.  So, why would someone want to buy your 2000 Porsche for $30k when there are these other great choices available for not much more?


Ebay is another great tool.  Perform a similar search to that of Autotrader with one slight addition. There is a button by the search results that says, “completed listings.” This reveals all the closed auctions.  The key here is that you can see what sold and what didn’t and how high the bidding got.  This will further help confirm what the proper price for your Porsche should be.

In this market, I have found that usually, if you do everything right, your car should sell rather quickly.  My average has been less than 45 days and within 5% of asking price.  Usually, the first offer tends to be the best. You will get lots of annoying calls, crazy offers, fraudulent emails and time-wasting requests. If you remain patient, the right buyers will present themselves.  They are almost always the easiest to work with.

Contributing Writer Paul Kramer www.autokennel.com