CLEVELAND - The owner of the Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Gainesville said Thursday he is not surprised Ford has decided to end production of the Mercury line of cars.
Dennis Green of Jacky Jones Lincoln-Mercury says "I think the company had sent out a few smoke signals that it was coming. I thought maybe they were just, sometimes they just test the water...but I kind of suspected that something was coming about but they had said they would have some 2011 models so I didn't realize it would be this quick."
Green said it's really too early to tell how the decision will affect his business but it thinks it will be positive because "they are going to concentrate on Lincolns and I think now that they've made the commitment to enhance the product line, it's only going to get better."
Green has been selling Mercurys since 1987.
He said from his Cleveland office Thursday afternoon that he had had no calls from his Mercury customers and believes strongly that they have nothing to worry about, such as getting service for their cars, once the Mercury line is phased-out.
Green said Ford's decision is a "by-product" of the economic downturn which severely impacted the automotive industry.
As for the future of the industry, Green says all signs point to a continued rebound. He said one of the most telling signs is an increase in the sale of "work trucks" at his dealerships, which "to me is a good sign because that means people are going back to work."
Thursday
July 17th, 2025
7:24AM
