| News that Mercury would be given the axe by the | | | | they did do over the years was to acquire premium |
| Ford Motor Company points to a trend common for | | | | European brands which eventually dragged down the |
| American car manufacturers: the demise of one or | | | | entire Ford empire. Aston Martin, Land Rover and |
| more brands after years of service. | | | | Jaguar are all gone and Volvo will soon go with it. In |
| GM, Ford and Chrysler have each started, purchased, | | | | the 1950s, Ford was unsuccessful with its Edsel brand |
| developed and eventually ended a number of car | | | | and in the 1980s Merkur had a short life. Edsel was a |
| brands down through the years, perhaps many more | | | | sub-brand of Ford while Merkur was sold with |
| than what most people realize. Let's take a look at the | | | | Lincoln-Mercury. Much too confusing for consumers to |
| Detroit 3 and the brands that were eventually cut | | | | grasp, offering products that were not what |
| loose and the reasons why they were let go. | | | | consumers wanted. |
| General Motors -- GM has built itself up time and again | | | | Chrysler -- Unlike its chop happy American |
| only to tear itself down in a bid to remake itself. As | | | | competitors, Chrysler is going in the opposite direction |
| recently as 2009, GM had 8 brands common to North | | | | and now manages four brands. Ram has been |
| American and 4 more including Holden, GM Daewoo, | | | | separated from Dodge, joining Chrysler and Jeep in |
| Opel and Vauxhall popular elsewhere. Brand | | | | the Chrysler fold. Plymouth was killed off around the |
| management run amok; the automaker couldn't keep | | | | turn of this century, just a few years after the Eagle |
| up with them all. Gone in 2003 was Oldsmobile, | | | | brand was closed down. Eagle was what was left of |
| followed recently by Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and | | | | AMC an automaker Chrysler acquired in the 1980s. |
| Hummer. Only Saab lives on, owned by another | | | | Plymouth was Chrysler's budget brand made |
| automaker. Step back in time and LaSalle, Lafayette, | | | | redundant by Dodge and the newly bolstered Jeep line. |
| Oakland and Viking were among the other GM brands | | | | We've also seen the coming and going of other |
| terminated many years ago. Most discarded brands | | | | American car companies and brands including |
| have poached sales from other brand or in the case | | | | Packard, Pierce-Arrow, Studebaker, Nash, Rambler |
| of LaSalle were no longer needed. LaSalle was | | | | and so many more. In coming years we're likely to see |
| developed as a sub-brand for Cadillac. | | | | other brands come and go, a practice that seems to |
| Ford -- Unlike, GM Ford hasn't gone brand crazy. What | | | | have gained acceptance in recent years. |