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Editorial
Missing those great car brands
Friday, May 28, 2010
Well if I had money
I'd tell you what I'd do
I'd go downtown and buy me a Mercury or two
Crazy 'bout a Mercy
I'm gonna buy me a Mercury
And cruise it up and down the road
So goes the 1949 tune by K. C. Douglas and Robert Geddins, paying homage to a classic American brand that is now rumored to be on the chopping block.
Ford, which owns rights to the song and has used it in advertising its nameplate band, isn't confirming that its mid-range label is going away. But if it does, it will only be a sad reminder that we're all getting a little older and some things we hold dear are fading into the past.
And it won't be the only brand to disappear in our lifetimes, however young we are. Packard, Rambler -- sure, DeSoto is long gone, but Chrysler stopped selling Plymouths in 2001 and the current recession saw General Motors drop Saab, Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer, with Oldsmobile disappearing a few years ago.
The good news is that current brands are growing stronger, and other brands are bound to emerge as we shift to new forms of power for transportation. The best news will be if they are American brands and not imports.