truth about domestics

Automobile magazine has found some interesting automotive treasures just waiting to be purchased by some lucky soul.  This treasure I speak of?  There are tons of new old Domestic cars that are available for purchase.  Vehicles like the Mercury Sable, Chevrolet Trailblazer/GMC Envoy/Saab 9-7X, and Chrysler Aspen are all available on dealership lots across the country.  Even cars as old as 2008/9 Pontiac Grand Prix are still selling even though production ended early last year.  For more details on these great automotive deals, head on over to Automobile Magazine.

(Image source: Ford)

According to two dealer sources who spoke to Automotive News the new Mercury compact car that is coming to dealers in 2011 will be named Tracer.  That’s right.  Tracer, after the sedans of yesteryear that held the same title.  Oh brother.  Here’s to hoping that Ford marketing really knows what it’s doing with this one.  For more details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Compact Sedan Web)

Mark Fields spoke to the National Automobile Dealers Association this Sunday in Orlando, Florida and there he gave Lincoln/Mercury dealers something to finally look forward to.  According to Fields, a new compact based off the new global C-platform will be coming to Mercury dealers sometime in 2011.  As to what type of vehicle we could expect, there was no word, but some guesses include a coupe/convertible or a version of the smaller C-Max.  For more details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Autoblog)

The Mercury brand is in some serious need of fresh product.  Every Mercury product can be currently found in a Ford dealer under a different badge name.  That could change though if reports from Automobile Magazine are to be believed.  They state that Ford is planning a variant off the new global C-car platform that will be for Mercury dealers.  The two possibilities Autoblog throws on the table are a variant off the new 2011 Ford Focus, or a car based on the Lincoln Concept C.  For more news, stay tuned!

(Image source: Mercury)

Ford Motor Company has a lot to be proud of this year.  The automaker was the only one of the Domestic three to avoid bankruptcy and they passed on the government bailout.  The 2010 Ford Fusion won Motor Trend’s car of the year, and now it appears they have something else to celebrate.  According to the results of the ALG January/February 2010 Residual Value Forecast, the average residual value of a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle is up an average of $1,310 versus the same period in 2009!  That’s the biggest jump amongst any automaker in the industry!

Ford has passed Toyota for best in initial quality, and the Fusion hybrid surpassed the Camry hybrid by 8 mpg in the city.  Now they have another award to add to their portfolio; the Fusion is worth $687 MORE than the Camry after 36 months!  The Flex also knocked the Toyota Highlander hard, being worth $1,800 more than the Toyota in three years!

The Ford Taurus and Super Duty trucks won the Kelly Blue Book Best Residual Value awards for their segments.  Ford also posted the highest customer consideration, even besting Toyota for the first time since the survey started in 2002.  For more details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Ford)

According to a J.D. Power study, the Mercury brand is number one in customer satisfaction.  While this is great news for the Ford Motor Company, the big story is that all seven of GM and Ford’s mass market brands (Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury) were ranked above average!  For more on the story, head on over to MSNBC.

(Image source: Ford)

If you have been watching any TV for the past 5 years or so, then chances are you’ve seen Mercury’s ads featuring the beautiful and talented Jill Wagoner.  Well, Autoblog found out that she is a bit of a car nut and decided to interview her.  Click here for the full interview as well as some official photos.

According to reports in the latest Automotive News, Lincoln and Mercury products will begin to get smaller and smaller over the next few years to help combat vehicle bloat and improve fuel economy.  Part of the downsizing will start next year as Ford begins bringing over some of its European vehicles like the Ford Fiesta.  Mercury will also be getting its own version of the next generation Focus.  For more details, head on over to Autoblog!

Watch the video above to hear about a remarkable 89 year old woman who has owned her Mercury for over 40 years now and has put well over 540,000 miles on it!  And people said the domestics don’t make quality vehicles!  If an 89 year old can maintain the car, then there can’t be anything seriously wrong with it now can there? 

Why haven’t I heard stories of Toyota’s with this many miles on them?  Is it because the earlier ones rusted like they were painted in a salt mine?  Or maybe it’s because to most owners, a Toyota is just an appliance.  They don’t bond with their car, they don’t fall in love with it like this woman did.  She threw birthday parties for her car for crying out loud!  Thanks to Tom for sending me this link!

2010 Buick LaCrosse (GM)

That’s right!  Buick, an AMERICAN brand, has managed to knock Lexus from the top of the J.D. Power 2009 Vehicle Dependability Study!  Buick has managed to get it’s quality down to just 122 repairs per 100 vehicles, knocking Lexus out of first place at 126 repairs per 100 vehicles.  In fact, a large number of the domestic brands did fairly well.  Mercury, Lincoln, Cadillac, Ford, and Chrysler all scored above the industry average.  Brands like Chevrolet, Saturn, Jeep, Pontiac, and Hummer beat out brands like Scion, Mazda and Volkswagen, brands people typically associate with good quality.  This is good news for the Domestic automakers, as they continue to push ahead with quality improvements, in the hope that they can shake their reputations for building sub-par vehicles.  For the full story, head on over to Autoblog.