| About the Car |
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| In 1984, Ford released to the American and Canadian public a new division called Merkur. Merkur was to be made up of German-built Fords imported to the states to compete with the likes of BMW and Mercedes, among other popular European auto manufacturers. The first vehicle released as a Merkur was the new Ford Sierra, sold stateside as the Merkur XR4Ti. The XR4Ti was a two-door, five-seat hatchback sports coupe designed to go head to head with the BMW 3-Series. XR4Tis sold quite well initially, but after a few years, sales began to fall. There was no doubt Merkur needed a second model. In late 1987, the German Ford Granada Scorpio (not at all like the Granadas sold in this country) became the Merkur Scorpio and was the second and last model to be released as part of Ford's ill-fated Merkur program. The Scorpio was a five-door hatchback sedan (five-door refers to the four passenger doors and the liftgate on the back, which is also referred to as a door for some reason). It was very well equipped, available with power-adjustable Connolly leather seats front and back (yes, the back seats recline!); power everything (including a 2-way power moonroof); high power AM/FM/Cassette stereo with amplifier; heated front seats; trip computer with average economy, current economy, fuel range and fuel-used settings; an overhead console with time, date, timer and outboard temperature; heated mirrors and taillights and many other innovative items. The Scorpio was designed to compete against BMW's 5-Series, Audi's 5000, Mercedes-Benz's 190- and 300-series, and Saab's 9000. Although not officially stated as competitors, there were also the Alfa Romeo Milano, Peugeot 505, Sterling 825 & 827, and sport model Cadillac Sevilles in the same market Needless to say, the Scorpio had some heavy competition. However, when compared to these other vehicles by automotive magazines, the Scorpio often placed very high. Despite the rave reviews, sales were not very impressive for a number of reasons. First of all, the country was headed towards a recession, and we all know car sales nose-dive when the word "recession" gets tossed around. Furthermore, many Lincoln-Mercury-Merkur dealers were not very informative about the cars, with customers often knowing more about the cars than the dealers themselves. Considering this, and the fact the car cost $24,000-$28,000 in the late-80s (equivalent to $36,000-$42,000 in 2001), people were rightfully hesitant to buy the vehicles. There was also what I call the "posh-factor." If you've ever gone to a Lincoln-Mercury dealer and then visited a BMW or Mercedes-Benz dealer, you know there's a huge difference in service and overall luxuriousness of the dealer environment. Part of the exclusivity of owning a car in this price range is how pampered you are at the dealer. By mid-1989, prices on Merkurs were drastically reduced at many dealers (sometimes by as much as $10,000) in order to get customers interested in the product. However, this action was 'too little, too late' to overcome the obstacles the Merkur division faced. Just before the end of 1989, Ford officially announced the Merkur division was to be cancelled. By the end of what had been a 2 year sales period (late-1987 to late-1989), only 22,010 Scorpios had found homes in the U.S. and Canada (16,093 for model year 1988, 5,917 for model year 1989, with a handful of 1989 models sold new in 1990 as there was no 1990 model year Scorpio). The XR4Ti sold only 42,464 in it's run of 5 years (late-1984 to late-1989). A small number of unsold cars were sent back across the Atlantic for sale in Europe. Today, the Merkur Scorpio and XR4Ti are rare indeed. It is estimated that only about half of all Merkurs made are still on the road. RETURN TO HOMEPAGE |