Mercury is Kaput - Ford to Discontinue the Near-Lux Brand

Ford Motor Company will announce today that it intends to euthanize its Mercury Division, after weeks (and indeed years) of speculation, per a report from the AP and The Detroit News. Mercury will join Chrysler's Plymouth division and GM's Saturn, Hummer, Pontiac and Oldsmobile brands on the scrap-heap of automotive history.

A moment of silence, please, for the folks who brought us this little gem....

Here are a few more tasty morsels from Ford's near-luxury companion to the Lincoln brand.

The Mercury Monterey (this one a wagon) ....

And a lovely Monterey convertible....

Makes me a little misty-eyed thinking about my first two cars, both Mercuries: a '75 Comet (yellow with a white vinyl hard top) and a '78 Zephyr (tan, a.k.a. "Ford racing beige" per the folks at "Car and Driver" magazine).

RIP, Merc.