Merkur
Ford introduced the Merkur brand as a franchise separate from its other brands, and it was only offered to Lincoln-Mercury dealers, of which only about 800 accepted.
When the Merkur name was launched in North America, advertising and PR materials strongly urged the proper German pronunciation. 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 North American market. However, Ford could not just import the cars and sell them; American government-mandated safety regulations dictated that Ford modify the design of the XR4Ti and Scorpio. This meant that the two cars were manufactured in Europe in a manner different from other European Fords. The XR4Ti was manufactured by Karmann in Rheine, Germany, with a turbocharged Ford Lima 2.3 L 4-cylinder engine from the Ford engine plant in Taubate, Brazil, and the Scorpio was 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 three-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 Scorpio Mark I (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. Also, the Scorpio bore a strong resemblance to the Mercury Topaz, and the similarly sized Mercury Sable, which were sold on the same showroom floors and were considerably cheaper.
Merkur Scorpios are well known for being nearly identical to each other in appearance and options. All of them had standard features, such as Automatic Climate Control, and the optional Touring Package upgrade was included with nearly every Merkur Scorpio sold. The original cost of a Merkur Scorpio was nearly US$30,000. A major factor in the decision to drop the cars was the US government's 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.
Merkur eventually joined Packard and Chrysler's Imperial in the fray of defunct luxury automotive brands. In addition, Merkur was also the shortest-lived luxury automotive marque.
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