While Ford‘s decision to cut the Mercury brand from its lineup makes good business sense, the long term benefits come with a more immediate down side. In an increasingly competitive market, by eliminating the Mercury brand Ford is also potentially eliminating 92,299 sales.

Ford continues to work its marketing magic, directing focus away from the fact that its shutting-down the Mercury brand and putting the spotlight on a bright future for Lincoln. The Blue Oval has announced that by the end of this year production of Mercury models will cease, helping Ford reduce costs while and put more cash and engineering expertise into the Lincoln brand. For years Mercury has struggled, sitting half-way between the established “common-man” Ford brand and the quasi-luxury Lincoln brand. And with Lincoln still struggling to establish itself as a true luxury automaker, Mercury fell considerably short in this respect.

“Profitably growing Lincoln in North America is an important part of our One Ford plan,” said Alan Mulally, Ford president and CEO. “Our Ford brand is gaining momentum and winning customers around the world. Now, we are going to use the same laser focus to further strengthen Lincoln and deliver even more products luxury customers really want and value.”

As for the future of Lincoln, Ford has given a rather thorough look at just what to expect. First is the introduction of a new compact model, possibly inspired by the C Concept (above), but also likely based on the all-new Focus platform. Lincoln also aims to put the focus on fuel economy by offering EcoBoost engines in every model – including the next-generation Navigator full-size SUV.

In addition, Ford has announced it is developing new “Lincoln-exclusive” powertrains including an all-new V6 engine as well as new fuel-efficient transmissions (dual-clutch? 8-speed?).

Ford will look to build Lincoln into the most fuel efficient luxury brand, competing mostly with Cadillac and Lexus, delivering what it calls “fuel economy leadership” with each new model.

Official release after the jump:

Mercury, we hardly knew ye – as anything more than a place where re-badged Ford products could linger in obscurity, serving their purpose as rental cars and female-marketed A-to-B transportation. After 71 years, this model is no longer sustainable, and Automotive News reports that today, Mercury will be sent to the great garage in the sky, next to Saturn, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Plymouth.

Mercury‘s glory days are long over, with the brand lacking anything exciting or unique since the muscle car era. With the Grand Marquis scheduled to die alongside its customer base, and every other Mercury product available right next door at the Ford showroom, the storied brand is set to be euthanized by its parent company, Ford Motor Co., according to a report by Bloomberg News Service.

Zero Hedge, a blog more concerned with the imminent destruction of our economy than the demise of the internal combustion engine, recently obtained word that the U.S. Tresury is going to be auctioning off some serious machinery made in the U.S., Italy, France and England.

Without wheels. When somebody says that, it usually means they haven’t got a car. For yours truly last week, it meant literally that. A trip to Detroit in a brand new Lincoln MKT press loaner was the highlight of a rather miserable seven days.

The 2011 Ford Mustang V6 makes as much power as the 2005-2009 V8 version did, proving that six-cylinder technology is no longer for the runts of the Mustang litter. Add a couple turbochargers and direct-injection, and you get Ford’s wonderful EcoBoost motor, which has all the power you could ever want from a big V8, while getting better fuel economy.

Ford customers seem to agree, and an internal study shows that buyers are very satisfied with the performance of the EcoBoost engine. While the survey was probably not the most scientific, real-world experience with a Taurus SHO was enough to prove that the technology is sound, and the rumored four-cylinder Ecoboost should be a treat.

Press Release After The Jump

[Source: Autoblog]

This author has loved hip-hop music since the tender age of 3, when Digital Underground’s “ The Humpty Dance” caught my attention. I didn’t really understand the lyric “I once got busy in a Burger King bathroom” but it had a fat bassline and a character from a nursery rhyme, and that was enough for me.

In the same way that rock and roll groups mythologized American muscle in the 1960’s, rappers have taken to lionizing the automobile in all its forms, whether it’s an East Coast rapper like Jay-Z rapping about Maybachs or Jaguars, or Snoop Dogg cruising through Long Beach, California in one of his famous 1964 Impalas.

Recently, the Southern United States has had a stranglehold on the hip-hop scene, and their love of American muscle has seen a resurgence of interest in rear-drive American cars. For those with money, a new Dodge Charger or a classic muscle car is the must have ride. But not everyone can afford a new car, and so ordinary folk turn to cars like the Chevrolet Caprice, Mercury Grand Marquis or 1980’s G-Body General Motors cars and customize them with cartoonish 24inch rims and custom lift kits.

As with any fashion-driven culture, huge chrome rims are now out of style, and the new trend is “ swangas“, the street term of wire wheels from a 1983 or 1984 Cadillac. Since the wheels were made for a rear-drive offset, they tend to poke out on many of the front-drive vehicles that are affordable to young people, like Oldsmobile 98s, Cadillac Devilles or Buick Park Avenues. While automotive purists may scoff, the “poke” aesthetic is a signature look of the “swanga” movement.

Houston rap group “Block Boyz Click” released a video, imaginatively titled “Ridin Swangas”, and the song is a decent, if amateurish attempt to capture the slowed-down, soulful styles of fellow Houstonians UGK, the video is chock full of truly ghetto American iron that should have been consigned to the junkyard long ago. Aside from the aforementioned cars, sharp eyes will also spot a Chrysler LHS, Buick LeSabre and Pontiac Bonneville.

The artistic merits of the song may be a matter of opinion, but we happened to enjoy the use of some under-appreciated Rick Wagoner-era General Motors machinery, rather than having the (rented) supercar du jour being driven at a snails pace, with a blinged-out hand gripping the wheel at 12 o’clock. Long live the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the Dirty South. Keep swangin on ’em, H-Town. Check out the official video after the jump.

[Source: Cardomain blog]

Ford posted a $2.1 billion profit for this quarter, beating market expectations by a full year despite a lull in the new vehicle market. Ford has undergone a series of cost-cutting measures, including plant closures and layoffs, but has also introduced a torrent of new product in nearly every segment.

Earlier today Lincoln announced plans to introduce a hybrid version of its MKZ luxury sedan, which has now just been officially unveiled at the New York Auto Show. Based on the same platform as the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan, the MKZ Hybrid also uses the same hybrid drivetrain to achieve an impressive 41/36 mpg (city/highway)

While Ford has poured a lot of money into the Lincoln brand over the past few years, with new products and designs, the Blue Oval hasn’t seen much return on its investment. Now, however, it may just have a plan that could work: It’s called the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid and it just so happens to be the most fuel efficient luxury car in America.

Lincoln will debut a hybrid version of its MKZ luxury sedan at the New York Auto Show later this week, according to a report by The Detroit News. No details on the hybrid Lincoln are available, but it’s expected to share the same hybrid format used in the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid, where it gets 41/36 mpg (city/highway) and can operate on electric power at speeds up to 47 mph.

J.D. Power has just released its Vehicle Dependability (VDS) Study for 2010, giving the top spot to Porsche, followed closely by Lincoln and Buick. Only one of the three, Buick, was on the podium last year, but has dropped from first to third. Also of significance is the continued slide by Lexus, which finds itself in fourth place this year. Last year Lexus placed third, marking the first time in 14 years the luxury Japanese automaker didn’t take first. That’s nothing compared to Jaguar, however, which dropped a total of 21 spots from second last year to 22nd for 2010.

Technically a mid-cycle refresh, Lincoln has decided to do more than just minor updates to its entry-level MKX crossover for 2011. An important model for Lincoln, the company says that more than half of MKX buyers are new to the brand and that seven in 10 of those buyers purchase another Lincoln.

Ford ended 2009 with its highest sales month since May 2008 while gaining its first year-end market share gain since 1995.

Sales were up in every product category in December 2009 as Ford recorded a 33 percent sales increase compared to the same month in 2008.

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury sales totaled 179,017 in December. Full-year sales totaled 1.62 million, down 15 percent, but Ford estimates it still managed to increase its U.S. market share by a percentage point to 15 percent, representing Ford’s first full-year market share gain since 1995.

“Ford’s plan is working,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing Sales and Service. “Customer consideration continues to grow for our high-quality, fuel-efficient vehicles. In 2010, we will introduce an even higher number of new products, giving customers more reasons to Drive One.”

The Ford Fusion, recently named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year, set a new full-year sales record at 180,671 units. Sales for the Ford Escape reached 173,044 units in 2009 for the crossover’s second-best year, including a 75 percent increase in December compared to 2008.

Ford’s F-Series truck had its best sales month since March 2008 with 48,209 units moving in December. The year-end tally of 413,625 units made the F-Series America’s best selling truck for the 33rd straight year, and top-selling vehicle, car or truck, for a 28th consecutive year.

Official release after the jump:

The Lincoln MKT is the sister car to the Ford Flex, which I reviewed very favorably a couple of weeks ago. Both vehicles have the same powerful direct-injection 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6, meaning that they can really put some serious power down on the pavement. With 355-hp and 350 ft-lbs of torque both the Flex and the MKT scoot to 60 mph in just over 6 seconds! That’s good enough to pull away from many so-called sports sedans. And that V8-like power produces V6-like 16-mpg city and 22-mpg highway gas mileage.

Luxury cars can change a lot in seven years, with some evolving faster than others. When the MKZ first arrived back in 2006 as the Zephyr, it represented a worthy contender to the likes of the then current Lexus ES and Infiniti I30. It was well screwed together, decently optioned, competitively priced and delivered a more involving driving experience than its Far Eastern rivals.

Lincoln has been hard at work refreshing its lineup over the past few years and the luxury arm of Ford has chosen to display three of its newest vehicles at the 2009 SEMA Show: a 2010 MKZ, a 2009 MKS and a 2010 MKT. But before the two luxury sedans and one crossover made their way to Las Vegas, Lincoln shipped them out to different tuning shops across the country to have each car individually stylized.

“Lincoln as a brand is continuing to attract younger customers to the showroom with products like the MKS, MKZ and the new MKT luxury crossover,” said Amy Marentic, Ford Car and Crossover marketing manager. “These customers place huge importance on style, design and technology, and these are areas where Lincoln plays well. SEMA gives customizers the opportunity to push the boundaries of design, while still focusing on the core strengths of the Lincoln brand.”

Ford’s SEMA Designer Melvin Betancourt echoes Marentic’s thoughts stating that, “Customization is about individuality and reflecting who you are. That is particularly true about the new generation of people who are buying cars. The vehicles at this year’s SEMA show prove that Lincolns have great personalization potential.”

See AutoGuide’s live SEMA Coverage here!

See more on each of the three SEMA Lincolns after the jump: