Mercury to get compact car in 2011 07/12/2010
On Sunday, Ford Motor Company president Mark Fields announced that the U.S. automaker will launch a new compact car model in early 2011 for its Mercury brand.
"Here in the U.S., the trend toward fuel-efficient vehicles is very important, and the trend toward small cars is coming back," said Fields at meeting with U.S. dealers at the annual National Automobile Dealers Association convention in Orlando. "Our strategy is pretty simple: have a broad-based lineup."
Two dealers who attended the meeting have said that the car will be called the Mercury Tracer, according to Auto Week Magazine.
Some industry experts were surprised with Ford's support for Mercury despite uncertainty over whether the automaker will decide to keep the brand for the long term, according to ABC News. Mercury brand sales fell by nearly 23 percent last year.
Meanwhile, Ford has notified dealers that they may begin ordering the Fiesta compact on February 15. More than 60 percent of dealerships have said that they will order high trim levels of the vehicle.
The 2011 Fiesta will be available for purchase later this summer.
