The initial success of the Ford empire was
clearly due to Henry Ford’s decision
to keep things simple, in design, application
and model line-up. But by the 1930’s
competition was forcing Ford to do a major
re-think of this strategy, and a move to a
more up-market offering would also require
the establishment of a different division,
a brand that offered clear differentiation
from Ford. Lincoln catered to the top tier,
but for the burgeoning middle ranks Mercury
would take the lead.
In fact, the jump from
the more humble Ford V8 to the Lincoln Zephyr
was quite substantial, so Edsel Ford together
with sales chief Jack Davis came up with the
Mercury Eight. An overnight sensation, the
car would sell over 70,000 in 1939 and make
it a household name in the US. Taking the middle
ground between Ford and Lincoln, it inevitably
drew upon the enormous parts bin of both divisions.
The 1941 Mercury used a Ford body shell, then
after World War 2 the Mercury Type 72 Coupe
used a Lincoln body shell. The 1960 Comet used
a Ford Falcon body, and the Cougar two door
coupe of 1967 would become an almost direct
competitor to the Mustang. The DNA would turn
distinctively Ford, the Cougar really being
a Thunderbird with slightly different sheet
metal, and during the 1980’s and 1990’s
the identity of the marque would become less
prestigious.
|
