504:, leading to unstable pricing. By 1989, the Merkur Scorpio rivaled the Lincoln Town Car in price, despite its strong visual resemblance to the far more affordable Mercury Sable. Alongside the lack of sales from either the Scorpio and the XR4Ti, the fate of the Merkur line was ultimately sealed by passive restraint requirements in North America. To bring the two vehicles into compliance for 1990, the two vehicles would have required the addition of airbag(s) or a passive restraint system (automatic seatbelts), requiring an expensive redesign for both model lines (the Ford Sierra and Ford Scorpio did not receive airbags until their 1993 and 1994 replacements, respectively).
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The body of the XR4Ti was shared with the Sierra XR4i albeit modified for
American regulations. It differed from the standard Sierra 3-door in its side profile appearance: in place of the long, rear quarter windows of a standard Sierra 3-door, the Merkur was fitted with the C-pillar windows of the
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In the United States and Canada, Merkur was ultimately not considered a success by Ford. Projected to sell 15,000–20,000 vehicles annually, the brand only sold 26,000 XR4Tis in its first two years; sales declined nearly 50% for 1987. On average, each
Lincoln-Mercury dealer would sell one to two
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In its own response, Ford announced the creation of the Merkur brand in
November 1983 with an expected launch for the 1985 model year. Instead of developing all-new product lines, Merkur adapted vehicles from Ford of Europe to meet American safety and emissions regulations. During the 1970s, the
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hatchback. North
American regulations dictated a number of modifications to the design of the vehicles, which meant that a Merkur could not be identical to a European-market Ford Sierra or Ford Scorpio. To adapt a Merkur for sale in the United States and Canada, 5-mph bumpers were added, FMVSS
484:
The Merkur
Scorpio (unlike the XR4Ti) was assembled on the Ford Cologne assembly line in West Germany. The body was largely unchanged for North America, with the exception of 5-mph bumpers, and US-market bumpers; Merkurs are also distinguished by badging and full-width taillamps. Powertrain
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During the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States and Canada, buyer preferences in the luxury-vehicle segment began shifting from once traditional
Cadillac, Lincoln and Chrysler models towards more European-produced and inspired vehicles. As a response, the
485:
modifications were minimal, as the 2.9L V6 was an engine used in North
America (by the Ranger and Bronco II). While a 5-speed manual transmission was standard, nearly every Scorpio sold was equipped with a 4-speed automatic transmission.
411:
5-door Sierra, and equipped with opening rear quarter windows behind the front doors. In line with the XR4i, the Merkur XR4Ti is distinguished by a large biplane rear spoiler, similar to that of the Ford
Mustang SVO.
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Following the 1989 model year, Lincoln-Mercury withdrew Merkur, making it one of the shortest-lived automotive brands in the modern
American automotive industry, lasting only one model year longer than the
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and Ford
Thunderbird Turbo Coupe (with the intercooler deleted), the engine was retuned to 175hp with a 5-speed manual transmission and 145 hp with a 3-speed automatic transmission.
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One of the shortest-lived vehicles ever produced by Ford Motor Company, the Merkur Scorpio was discontinued at the end of the 1989 model year, marking the end of the Merkur brand.
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As slow sales of the brand did not justify the expense of such a redesign, Ford withdrew the XR4ti in early 1989, with sales of the Scorpio ending at the end of the model year.
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In the initial launch of Merkur, approximately 800 Lincoln-Mercury dealers signed up to take on the Merkur brand. Advertising and PR materials strongly urged the proper
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The 2.8L V6 of the XR4i (which did not meet American emissions requirements) was replaced by a 2.3L turbocharged inline-4. A modified version of the engine used by the
392:, the mid-range sporting model of the Sierra. Along with reflecting the use of a turbocharged engine (see below), the XR4Ti name was chosen as General Motors held the
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and Ford Taurus, the Scorpio was an extended-wheelbase version of the Ford Sierra, making it the largest car sold by Ford of Europe.
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Several factors led to the slow sales of the Merkur line, including an unfavorable exchange rate between the dollar and the West German
422:. Prior to the 1988 introduction of the Merkur Scorpio, the XR4Ti was the sole Merkur model. In early 1989, the XR4Ti was discontinued.
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As a result of the Merkur XR4Ti requiring adaptation for North American sale, final assembly was contracted to specialty manufacturer
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from 1985 to 1989. Drawing its name from the German word for Mercury, Merkur was targeted at buyers of European
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pronunciation of the brand name (German for Mercury). On Merkur vehicle badges was a script stating:
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had been imported from West Germany, becoming the most-imported car in the United States behind the
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As an entry-level luxury car, the Merkur Scorpio competed against a range of sedans including the
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108-compliant headlamps, and an instrument panel with non-metric gauges.
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was a performance-oriented hatchback. Sized nearly identically to the
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The Merkur model line consisted of two models: the three-door
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hatchback, the XR4Ti was a slightly rebodied version of the
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Introduced for 1985 as the introductory Merkur vehicle, the
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brand going on sale in 1985 and Nissan and Toyota bringing
253:) is a defunct automobile brand that was marketed by the
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Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
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Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1989
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Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1983
63:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
16:Defunct automobile brand of the Ford Motor Company
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1487:United States Council for Automotive Research
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1591:1989 disestablishments in the United States
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123:Learn how and when to remove this message
1586:1983 establishments in the United States
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450:segment. Similar in appearance to the
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61:adding citations to reliable sources
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335:Ford Werke AG-Cologne, West Germany
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497:Merkur vehicles each year.
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1551:Ford Motor Company of Canada
602:road car timeline, 1985–1989
353:hatchback and the five-door
300:Japanese automotive industry
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1437:Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Co.
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524:Merkur: What's In a Name
398:Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera
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19:Not to be confused with
1430:Dodge v. Ford Motor Co.
1263:Detroit Corktown campus
1031:New Holland Agriculture
197:September 16, 1989
28:Merkur (disambiguation)
564:Merkur Club of America
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199:; 35 years ago
1354:William Clay Ford Jr.
1108:AutoAlliance Thailand
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240:German pronunciation:
1357:(Executive Chairman)
1046:Special Vehicle Team
871:Changan Ford (China)
420:Rheine, West Germany
57:improve this article
26:For other uses, see
21:Mercury (automobile)
1274:Roosevelt Warehouse
540:www.sextamarcha.net
244:[mɛʁˈkuːɐ̯]
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1379:Racing teams
1193:Ford Sollers
1134:Ford Vietnam
1113:Changan Ford
969:Aston Martin
852:Subsidiaries
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748:Discontinued
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544:. Retrieved
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499:
495:
487:
483:
475:Sterling 827
459:Acura Legend
456:
445:
413:
409:
402:
386:Ford Mustang
382:Merkur XR4Ti
379:
376:Merkur XR4Ti
368:Merkur XR4Ti
348:
334:
328:
316:
296:
283:
261:division of
248:
235:
234:
194:Discontinued
150:Product type
119:
110:
100:
93:
86:
79:
67:
55:Please help
50:verification
47:
1391:Performance
1341:Ford Family
1265:properties
1126:Ford Otosan
1121:Ford Lio Ho
943:Philippines
938:New Zealand
798:(1938–2011)
763:Continental
1556:1980s cars
1530:Categories
1448:Ford Field
1443:Fordlândia
1362:Jim Farley
1346:Henry Ford
1291:Motorcraft
1201:Ford Union
1169:AutoLatina
1026:Land Rover
999:Ford Japan
994:Ford India
948:Quick Lane
711:Divisions/
546:2023-09-18
511:References
394:GMC Sierra
293:Background
204:1989-09-16
186:Introduced
154:Automobile
83:newspapers
1424:Big Three
1349:(Founder)
1336:Designers
1303:Platforms
1286:Factories
1204:(Belarus)
881:Argentina
876:Australia
830:(1939–65)
822:(1946–61)
814:(1949–76)
806:(1985–89)
787:Frontenac
782:(1917–64)
774:(1956–59)
766:(1956–59)
758:(1960–61)
479:Volvo 740
471:Saab 9000
113:June 2022
1505:Category
1477:New Edge
1406:Munchi's
1318:Vehicles
1251:products
1236:(Brazil)
1220:(France)
1196:(Russia)
1021:Kwik-Fit
979:Cosworth
653:Mid-size
463:Audi 100
396:and the
308:Infiniti
72:"Merkur"
1515:Commons
1467:History
1396:Team RS
1281:Engines
1233:Troller
1217:Matford
1188:(China)
1180:(49.9%)
1161:Argo AI
1093:Current
1066:Visteon
1061:Troller
974:Chariot
926:Romania
916:Ireland
911:Germany
859:Current
819:Monarch
795:Mercury
779:Fordson
739:Lincoln
720:Current
713:marques
660:Scorpio
641:Compact
426:Scorpio
416:Karmann
355:Scorpio
259:Mercury
255:Lincoln
250:Mercury
226:Markets
220:Mercury
216:Lincoln
202: (
178:Country
97:scholar
1328:People
1296:Mercon
1225:Samcor
1154:Former
1009:Jaguar
962:Former
921:Italia
906:France
901:Europe
896:Credit
891:Canada
886:Brazil
827:Thames
811:Meteor
803:Merkur
790:(1960)
732:Raptor
618:1980s
600:Merkur
477:, and
345:Models
331:German
236:Merkur
136:Merkur
99:
92:
85:
78:
70:
1365:(CEO)
1212:(50%)
1164:(42%)
1145:(32%)
1137:(60%)
1129:(41%)
1116:(50%)
1103:(50%)
1071:Volvo
1056:Th!nk
771:Edsel
755:Comet
646:XR4Ti
635:1989
362:XR4Ti
351:XR4Ti
312:Lexus
304:Acura
287:Edsel
160:Owner
104:JSTOR
90:books
1051:Spin
727:Ford
632:1988
629:1987
626:1986
623:1985
614:Type
310:and
181:U.S.
76:news
989:FPV
418:in
341:).
277:of
59:by
1532::
538:.
473:,
469:,
465:,
461:,
326:.
289:.
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247:,
696:e
689:t
682:v
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