While the Mercury Mariner crossover and Sable sedan scored impressive gains in January, overall sales for Ford Motor Co.'s long-sinking Mercury brand were off by 35% during the first month. That's on top of a 7% decline in 2007 that left Mercury with just 168,422 sales last year -- exactly 1 percentage point of share in the United States. At its peak, in 1985,Mercury sold 528,033 vehicles.
Lincoln Mercury dealers have lived for years with rumors that the Mercury name would be exiled to history, but the reality may be just days or weeks away.
