That conversation most likely never took place at Ford, but it might as well have. The Merkur, despite being a decent car, failed in the US. And, it failed at a time when we were buying virtually every car the Europeans were sending us.
It failed not because it was a bad car. It was a restyled Ford Sierra. The Sierra was a well regarded car in Europe. The 2.3 liter 4 cylinder engine that Ford used to replace the Cologne V6 wasn't a bad engine. It had been used in the Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe and the Mustang SVO. It wasn't extremely powerful - No US spec engine really was in the 1980s - but when the turbo kicked in it was fun to drive.It failed because of Ford's marketing. The name was odd to Americans. Many pronounced it "Mer-Ker, " instead of the way it was supposed to be pronounced, which is "mare-koor." But the biggest mistake Ford made was trying to sell this car through Lincoln / Mercury dealers. The last place anyone would look for a sporty European car was at a Lincoln / Mercury dealership. It didn't help any that many Lincoln / Mercury dealers didn't like the car and didn't want to sell it. (I was talked out of buying one by the dealer in the late '80s. Really.)
The XR4Ti had a few teething problems when it was introduced, but all-in-all it was a good car that never had a chance due to Ford's questionable decisions.Looking back on it today, it was as good as - and in some cases better than - many of the cars BMW, Saab, Audi and Volvo were sending us.
This 1986 manual transmission Merkur looks to be in decent, but not perfect condition. Mechanically, quite a bit of work has been done including a rebuilt cylinder head and a new turbo. It looks like most of the work it needs is on the body - some minor rust and a mismatched hood - and the interior. You could probably drive this car while restoring it. There is a U.S. Merkur Club, whose members should be able to give you any advice you need and help you source parts.If you're looking for something a little different from the typical 1980 Euro coupes. a Merkur would be a great choice.
Located in the Detroit Metro Area, click here to see the Craigslist listing for this car. The asking price is $2500.00.
1 comment:
1) YAAAY you're back!!!
2) Merkurs are still sexy. There's something about them that's a little bit bad-guy in a Euro club.
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