“Now that the Ford brand is picking up market share and we’re a healthier company, the decision makes more sense,” said spokesman Mark Truby.

Mercury was the Depression-era brainchild of Edsel Ford, Henry Ford’s son, who named it after the Roman god. Its first car, the hit 1939 Mercury Eight, positioned the brand as a step up from workaday Ford but below luxury Lincoln.

James Dean famously drove a 1949 Mercury in the movie “Rebel Without a Cause.” And Mercury scored during the fuel shocks of the '70s, as Americans responded to smaller offerings from the badge, including the Comet. In 1986, the Sable sedan became one of Mercury’s last success stories, riding the coattails of the Ford Taurus by mimicking its groundbreaking aerodynamic shape.

But shadowing Ford’s every move became Mercury’s curse, as Ford failed to fashion stand-alone models or a distinct identity for the brand. For decades, Mercurys have been lightly revamped versions of Fords, plus superficial changes to grilles and interiors. In every case, the Ford versions have proved more popular with consumers.

Sales of Mercury vehicles peaked around 620,000 in 1978. They had fallen to 360,000 in 2000, and to just over 92,000 last year -- barely more than sales of a single Ford model, the Edge crossover. That left Mercury with just 0.8 percent of Ford’s total 16 percent U.S. market share.

Ford's 'Unprofitable Distraction'
Jeff Schuster, director of forecasting for J.D. Power and Associates, said that Mercury had become an unprofitable distraction for Ford. And with Detroit retrenching and refocusing on its core brands, the timing was right to cut its losses.

“Mercury created muddy water for Ford,” Schuster said. “This gives them an opportunity to expand Lincoln and turn it into a true premium brand.”

Schuster said that, as with GM when it axed its Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Saturn brands, consumers will fall into two camps: bargain hunters and avoiders.

“Some people will look to get a deal on a Mercury, but others will avoid it because they’re worried about resale value or service.”

Analysts said that Mercury is also a relic of a bygone age in Detroit, when the Big Three dominated every corner of the market. Today, with even Lincoln struggling against nimble import rivals -- including Hyundai’s well-received Genesis luxury sedan -- Mercury became the odd man out.

Sympathy for Dealers
Bob Tasca Jr., president of the Lincoln Mercury Dealer Council, said that the decision would be toughest for the roughly 276 “stand-alone” dealers who sell only the Lincoln and Mercury brands. Some of those dealers may not be able to rely on Lincoln sales alone to sustain them.

“There are going to be cases where some will make it and prosper, and others will go out of business,” Tasca said.

Tasca said he’s fortunate to have both Ford and Lincoln Mercury franchises in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and expressed sympathy for dealers who’ve put “their hearts and souls in their business.” But “from a financial standpoint, it was the only decision Ford could make.”

Ford officials denied that the company had lied to or misled dealers in recent months by assuring them that Mercury had a future. (The closing of Mercury is not expected to cost any assembly plant workers their jobs.) The company will offer buyouts to 1,712 Mercury dealers, with some offered the chance to pair up their remaining Lincoln brands with Ford franchises.

As the brand winds down, the company expects the last Mercurys to roll off the assembly line in the fourth quarter of this year. The company will also support dealers with special incentives to help them sell off their remaining inventory, which will also likely be by year-end.