Ford To Close Mercury Division

Ford Motor Company has announced that this will be the last year of production for their Mercury line.

Mercury's demise follows a string of famous American nameplates that have been dropped over the last year, including General Motors Co.'s Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer. Ford plans to focus on the design and marketing of its more upscale Lincoln brand — including offering a compact Lincoln sedan — to replace sales that dealers will lose from the closure of the Mercury line. Mercury and Lincoln vehicles are often sold side by side in auto showrooms. There are no standalone Mercury dealers in the U.S., and Ford doesn't expect the closure of the brand to result in any job cuts at the automaker.

Mercury had dwindled to 5% of Ford's total sales.