Michigan Lincoln Dealers Need Mercury Incentives; Mercury Owners Disappointed

June 14, 2011 - PRLog -- DETROIT, M.I. – Michigan Lincoln dealers and Ford dealers knew there would be Mercury owners who would want to switch over to a new brand as soon as the Mercury brand was discontinued, but what dealerships have been able to offer this forgotten group of buyers has been inadequate at best according to some local dealers.
It appeared as though Ford Motor Corp decided to not offer any real incentives for owners to switch over to Lincoln and therefore remain part of the blue oval family. It seemed only after Lincoln sales dropped in January that Ford Motor Corp decided to offer Mercury owners some kind of incentive.
Although as a whole Ford Motor Corp rose 13.2 percent in January, the sales for Lincoln vehicles dropped 21 percent from the year before. Last year 7,036 units were sold while this year saw only 5,558 units sold in January.
Michigan Lincoln dealers and other dealers in the Midwest were given the go from Ford Motor Corp to offer two incentives from mid-February to April 4. The incentives for Mercury owners included:
•   $500 toward the purchase of a new Ford vehicle
•   $1,500 toward buying a new Lincoln vehicle
Other than the cash incentives there was only one other incentive that was offered: Mercury lessees could take advantage of an early lease termination. According to Paul Haldeman of the Haldeman Ford-Lincoln dealership in Allentown, Pa., there should be more incentives for customers to keep them loyal to the brand.
Haldeman stated in a letter to Automotive News, “I can attest to the tragic manner in which Ford has handled (or mishandled) the discontinuation of Mercury and the loyal Mercury customers.”
Haldeman also said that customers ask when Ford will offer a special Mercury trade-in incentive, but he has no reply adding in his letter, “It’s no surprise that our former loyalists are moving to import products.”
Michigan Lincoln dealers and Ford dealers may be having a harder time keeping their customers with no incentives since April 4, but without the backing from Ford Motor Corp, dealers are unable to satisfy their customers need to trade-in. As 4.3 million new Mercury vehicles were sold over the past 15 years, there are plenty of owners that have the possibility to switch over to a Lincoln or Ford vehicle and it seems that Ford Motor Corp should take advantage of the numbers.
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[Source(s): Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, Automotive News]