Forums: Mercury Commuter

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Stone. At a time when women weren’t allowed to rent a car, play professional sports, fly jets, or serve as police officers, 13 strong women pilots sought the impossible: to be part of the Mercury 13 astronaut program in 1961. Non-Fiction. Lexile n/a.

Analysts say there are too many brands chasing too few buyers Mercury has come to that big garage in the sky, and there's a convoy behind it of what could be more disappearing brands. After 71 years, the Mercury brand will vanish from the market with little more than a whimper, by the end of the year. The brainchild of automotive pioneer Edsel Ford, Mercury had become little more than an afterthought on the automotive sales charts in recent years, a costly and irrelevant distraction that company officials, after years of debate, finally decided to do away with. The move...

Ford Motor Co., after selling its European brands, said it will discontinue its 71-year-old Mercury brand by the end of the year and expand its Lincoln lineup with a new small car. Ford’s board voted today to cease production of all four of Mercury’s models in the fourth quarter, Mark Fields, the automaker’s president of the Americas, told reporters. Ford will send letters to 1,712 Mercury dealers this week offering them buyouts and giving some the chance to merge the Lincoln half of their franchise with Ford showrooms, he said.

Mercury could soon be the latest Detroit car brand to disappear. Ford Motor Co. is assessing the future of Mercury, although a final decision on whether to kill the brand hasn't yet been made, a person familiar with the company's deliberations said Thursday. The person asked not to be named because the process is ongoing. During a trip to Washington to meet with lawmakers, Ford CEO Alan Mulally declined to discuss Mercury, saying the company has nothing new to announce. He added that Ford is continually reviewing all its brands. Several Lincoln-Mercury dealers contacted Thursday evening said they hadn't heard...

Ford Motor Co. is preparing to wind down the Mercury line, created in 1939 by Edsel Ford, after sales plunged 74 percent since 2000, said two people familiar with the plan. The automaker’s top executives are preparing a proposal to kill Mercury to be presented to directors in July, said the people, who asked not to be indentified revealing internal discussions. Mercury, losing two of four models next year, will be starved of products and promotion, the people said. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally emphasized the automaker’s namesake brand as he revived the only major U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy....

WASHINGTON (AP) - New federal rules are in the works to limit the amount of mercury and other harmful pollutants released from boilers and solid waste incinerators. A proposal Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency targets mercury emissions from about 200,000 industrial boilers, heaters and solid waste incinerators. Mercury can damage the brain and nervous system, especially in fetuses and children.

Research identifies riskier fish and ways to limit potentially harmful exposures The way it boosts neural development in babies and protects the hearts and minds of adults, fish could be considered a health food. Yet the methylmercury pollution that taints fish worldwide can erase these advantages and even trigger profound mental and cardiovascular harm. Several new papers now suggest strategies by which American diners can negotiate the mercury minefield to tap dietary benefits in fish. Their authors also call for reform of federal guidelines that can confuse consumers on mercury risks from fish. Mercury is a global pollutant. Some comes...