My car's an orphan now.
I get the sense that I'm the only one around here who will miss Mercury. I think the brand was as much a victim of an indifferent public as it was of badge engineering. If you could afford to spend a little more to get a better looking, slightly more luxurious, and less common version of a car you were going to buy anyway, why wouldn't you? But most buyers seem content with blending in and with mediocrity, and thus Ford sales have risen while Mercury sales have fallen. Many of them probably aren't even savvy enough to even consider Mercury when looking at Fords (and I'm sure Ford dealers would rather sell a Ford loaded with options than suggest that the buyer go across town to check out the Lincoln-Mercury dealer). And of course the really savvy folks haven't been buying American anyway.
So it's saddening and disheartening, but I have to admit that it's not completely unexpected. I just hate to see the automotive world get a little bit less interesting - I'd rather see 9 Tauruses and 1 Sable in a day than just 10 Tauruses.
Any Oldsmobile owners care to commiserate with me?