Look Here for Merkur History

Subject: Look Here for Merkur History Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:39 am

Merkur, the German word for Mercury, was an automobile brand which was briefly marketed by Ford Motor Company in the United States and Canada from 1985 to 1989. The Merkur brand was a separate franchise agreement and was offered to only Lincoln-Mercury dealers, of which about 800 took the franchise. Two vehicles were sold under the brand; the XR4Ti and the Scorpio. Merkurs were a form of captive import. Advertising and PR materials strongly urged the proper German pronunciation, "mare-coor," but practically no one used it and the cars were generally called "Merkers". Below the Merkur badge, was a script stating "FORD WERKE AG-Cologne, West Germany", indicating the car's place of manufacture.

Like the Capri before it, the Merkur was Ford's attempt at selling a European car in the American market. However, due to the number of changes to meet US regulations, the XR4Ti was manufactured by Karmann in Rheine, Germany, with a turbocharged 2.3 L 4 cylinder engine from the Ford engine plant in Taubate, Brazil. The Scorpios were manufactured in Ford's Cologne plant and fitted with the Cologne 2.9 L V6.

Only two models were sold under the Merkur badge — a performance-oriented 3-door hatchback version of the Ford Sierra XR4i called the Merkur XR4Ti and nicknamed Merkur XR (1985-1989), and the Merkur Scorpio (1988-1989), which was an American version of the Ford Granada Scorpio (Scorpio being the top trim level for the Mk III Granada in the UK) 5-door hatchback. Neither model was particularly successful in Ford North America's eyes. Exchange rate fluctuations were one explanation; another was the generally odd styling and peculiar name. Also, the Scorpio bore a strong resemblance to the Mercury Topaz, and similarly-sized Mercury Sable, which were sold on the same showroom floors and was considerably cheaper. A major factor in the decision to drop the cars was the requirement to add either a passive restraint system or air bags for US models since these were not requirements for European models. The XR4Ti was dropped first and the Scorpio a few months later in 1989.

here is a breif history of the Merkur brand hope you liked it
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01 Mustang GT,88 Mustang GT, 85 Merkur XR4Ti

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