Brougham-Holiday

In almost all city driving: 14.1mpg- 1988 Olds 98 Touring Sedan. This was based on three recent fill ups.

In no particular order: Pontiac Aztec- universally hated by nearly everyone and a symbol of GM's perverted view of what a new Pontiac should be. Chrysler Sebring (2007-2010)- Chrysler takes America's favorite convertible and trashes it. The build a sedan that embodies everything wrong with Detroit as the company is sliding into the abyss. Smart - Nobody can sell more than a couple dozen in their market before be people question why anyone would buy one. Saturn Astra - GM's costly experiment to bring a competitive small car here from Europe. They give a car that is ready to be redesigned in it's home markets to a US division that built its reputation of cheep (cheeper than this) small cars. The car was too old and too expensive to be an entry level Saturn. Pontiac G3 - The car Pontiac enthusiast lose sleep over at night. An awful car, rebadged to give Pontiac owners one last kick in the gut before killing the brand. Lincoln Blackwood/etc- There simply were not enough farm owning pimps to make this a viable product. That might not be a bad thing. Honda Accord Crosstour - Seriously.....Honda you had mojo and its gone.....so far gone. GM's Redesigned MiniVans (2005)- Trying to find one that didn't start life as a fleet vehicle is a proverbial needle in a haystack. Good thing they only lasted a couple of years...Pontiac, Buick, and Saturn already had enough trouble finding customers without these things. Chrysler Crossfire- Who knew customers didn't want an old Mercedes with bad Chrysler styling...I'm sure Chrysler dealers love servicing these things since parts are hard to find and they share nothing with other Pentastars. Cadillac STS- Caddy built a competitive Sports-luxury sedan but everyone had stopped paying attention after 20 years of FWD Sevilles.

I would like a copy of this as well (just saw the Facebook Post from C&G and came by to check it out).

I've had two of these big Oldsmobiles (88 Delta 88 and 88 Touring Sedan) they are great cars and can really take a beating. Except for the clear coat peeling off they are hard to kill. Make sure there is no rust in the trunk on the inside of the wheel wells and you should be ok. Also The brake/fuel lines tend to rust on these. Good luck!

ElectroChromatic glass would be a nice feature if the cost could be kept down. I cannot see many people spending big money for this feature like they would for an upgraded stereo or sun roof. You can get your windows tined for under $200 at many shops around here so the feature would have to compete price wise with that. Quality is another concern. Can we be sure that the quality will hold up in an automotive application. How hard would it be to repair the glass should an issue occur such as a cracked window or an electrical faliure. What about the stuff used to make transition lenses (eye glasses)? It simply reacts to the sun so it must be simpler to deal with. There are no wires or control modules to control it. Since the technology is already out in the consumer market it must be possible to find out the durability and cost of using the product.

Parsons must do a lot of business because I've seen quite a few cars with their logos on them down here on the sound. I've yet to see a new Regal on the road, hopefully that will change soon!

GM's newest products continue to do well. I see Impala and Malibu had good months, I wonder how much of that was fleet sales? They've sold over 400 Regals without any advertising, not bad.

How well does the OnStar navigation work? What issues are there with the switch gear? How is the long distance comfort?

*Discontinued sports cars of GM seems more appropriate.

I like this ad, finally the Challenger gets a kick ass commercial...even if it is 2 years late.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXAxMPugw3A

My dad had a 64 Catalina hardtop 2dr when I was small, black with a blue interior, what a car!

Pontiac 6000/Chevrolet Celebrity, they used to be every where. I haven't seen a Chrysler K car in a while or the first generation of the Minivans with the quad headlamps.

I got it now...oops 1970 Olds 88 Royale w/ police equiptment 1966 Ford Thunderbird 1956 Imperial Thats better.

Why buy a Mercedes if you really wanted a Cadillac? Hell his mechanic is ready to turn this thing into a Caddy right now!

Happy birthday sir!

Daily driver: 2009 Cadillac XLR-V Family Truckster: 1992 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser Sunday Driver: 1970 Olds Delta 88 unmarked with police package.

I had no choice but to learn how to drive a standard shift car because when I was 16 my dad had a Honda Civic with a 5 speed. The cool part is as my friends started to get their own cars, some of them were standard shift so I got to take them for a ride before they could! I've had to drive their cars to see if the transmission felt ok, the most fun being a 350Z with a standard shift.

What happened to America's Middle Market Brands? With the demise of Mercury Ford Motor Company no longer has a mid-market brand. They are not unique in this marketing strategy nor are they alone in cutting brands over the last few years. Perhaps the most interesting point is all Automakers are moving away from mid-market brands. We saw this in 2000 when General Motors announced they would phase out the Oldsmobile division. GM cited slow sales and poor returns on investments made into Oldsmobile as the key reasons why the brand went under. Rick Wagoner told Sam Donaldson of ABC in an interview: "If everyone who is now telling me what a terrible thing I've done had actually bought an Oldsmobile recently, why, it would be our biggest seller and I'd be putting money into the division instead of closing it." With Oldsmobile gone, GM made an attempt to expand the Pontiac line-up (Bonneville GXP/Grand Prix GXP) and move the failing Saturn brand into Oldsmobile's marketing position. GM soon found that even with the newest product range in the GM line, (not unlike Oldsmobile in 2000) Saturn was unable to gain large volume and continued to bleed red ink. Pontiac also found itself in hot water as its G6 failed to retain the high volumes of the Grand Am and the Grand Prix lost its 40+ year luster in the face of becoming the definition of a rental car. Saab another middle market/entry level luxury brand that was recently sold by GM is another example of the slow death of mid-market brands. Saab has struggled to exist for twenty years. Some have said the reason was due to poor management and an aging product line. Both points that conspired to lead Saab to the brink of liquidation in January 2010. Spyker, who stepped in to save Saab, recently announced they were losing money as well. This does not wholly explain Saab however. Saab has struggled for the same reason as the other mid-market brands: it lacks prestige yet commands a premium price. It competes in the same price range as "value" brands and luxury brands. These issues are not unique to General Motors. Today we found out Mercury is following Oldsmobile and Pontiac down the road to annihilation following decades of slowing sales and a lack of standout product. Mercury not only had its own market niche within the Ford Family, but at one point Ford decided they needed yet another brand to fill in their market coverage, that brand was the Edsel. At Chrysler, the Chrysler brand is clearly the week link in the Mopar chain. Dodge and Jeep both have loyal followings yet the Chrysler brand seems to stand for nothing (except the 300 which is aging quickly). Again the issue here is a product line of vehicles that carry little prestige yet cost more then their Mopar counterparts. Even the Europeans are struggling with this issue. Lancia and Alfa-Romeo have both been hurting for sales over the last few years (Sergio hopes putting Chrysler and Lancia together will help, but I doubt it) and Saab as mentioned above also continues to hurt (although it is too early to pass judgment on the new 9-5). All of these weak brands are middle market brands, most (Mercury, Olds, Pontiac, Lancia, Saab, Alfa, Chrysler) have many decades of automobile building under their belts and all have had great sales years. What happened to them? More models please - As more and more people grew up with entry level brands (Chevrolet, Ford, VW, Toyota, Honda) the brands lost their image as simply cheap cars. In an effort starting in the late 1950's with the Chevrolet Impala and accelerating in the 1970's and 80's the American value brands started offering models that were priced into the same range as their big brother brands. Impala, Monte Carlo, Galaxy, Thunderbird,etc were all priced into other brands territory. As people began to grow up with these cars they began to attribute these new luxury machines with the value brands. Honda and Toyota did the same in the 1990's and 2000's by growing the accord in size, adding the Toyota Avalon and offering option that are typically found on luxury vehicles (navigation among them). The SUV craze - Because the entry level brands offered SUV's to a larger extent then their premium brothers, remember Pontiac's 1st was the Aztec, Oldsmobile's was the Bravada (a thinly dressed Blazer) and Mercury's was the Mountaineer (a thinly dressed Explorer). Chrysler only had the crossover Pacifica in 2004 and didn't get an actual SUV until the short lived and forgetable Aspen. In short these brands missed out on the SUV craze (notice how GMC and Jeep took advantage of this as mid-market brands and established themselves as important to the overall business). Considering that the last twenty years have not been kind to American cars, many Americans only found themselves behind the wheel of an American vehicle because they loved those big SUVs. Do an informal survey in your area and notice how many foreign cars are garaged alongside a Grand Cherokee or Tahoe. Don't forget many of these SUVs followed their predecessor (Impala/Thunderbird) in selling in the price range of higher cost brands. Have you seen the price of a Tahoe lately? You can easily option them over the $50k mark. Confused Marketing - As the middle market brands started to fade, their marketing began to become confused. Ex: The 2001 Aurora's advertisement reads "Its starts at $30,800, it never ends, start obsessing." What the hell does that mean? Look at Mercury and their ad 'You gotta put Mercury on your list." Or Chrysler's complete lack of a coherent marketing campaign over the last few years. It seems as though all of the good advertising was saved for the profit making value and luxury brands leaving the mid-market brands looking for loose change in the couch cushions. The glass ceiling - Mercury, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile (not so much Chrysler although they do seem lost without an Imperial brand now, and this did effect them while they were owned by Daimler) have to be careful not to price the products out of their market range. Lincoln and Cadillac in the US are the crown jewels of their corporations. The other brands have to be careful not to tread on their territory as it could diminish the value of these prestige brands. The same cannot be said for value brands who often price products into higher price brackets (Taurus SHO, Corvette, Camaro SS, the large SUV's) are all priced into higher price ranges. We live in an age of $30,000 Malibu LTZ's and $21,000 Chrysler's. You can option a Malibu to a higher price then the you can the flagship of the Mercury line (Grand Marquis). Who are you again? - Oh right.... The mid-market brands have been getting second fiddle for decades. They are often forgotten in the face of higher volume or higher profit divisions. Because they lack a clear marketing strategy they also lack a clear product strategy and because they lack a clear product strategy they lack a clear marketing strategy and because they lack a clear marketing.....you get the point. What the hell was a Mercury anyway? How can Pontiac sell performance and MPG and price and being the all American muscle car but having imported models and compete with BMW but also with Kia and Honda....it just made no sense. People were confused as to what the brands stood for anymore. Why buy a Chrysler over a Dodge? Why buy an Oldsmobile over a Chevrolet?, Why buy a Mercury over a Ford? This has been accelerated in the age of the internet because people can easily cross shop and because reviews often quickly point out that a Grand Prix is an Impala, a Grand Marquis a Crown Vic, etc, etc. So do people just not like middle market cars anymore? NO! They love them, but the luxury and value brands do a better job selling then the middle market dedicated brands could/can. Middle market brands lack the large dealership network (compared to the value brands) yet cannot convince people they are worth the extra money/hassle like the luxury brands can. Thats my rant on the mid-market brand mess. Its too early to tell how Chrysler and Buick will hold up but for the track record for these brands isn't all that great. Whats your take on this?

Alfa Romeo.......Sergio please bring us some.

The Big Three gave up the luxury of selling many different cars with many different models when they lost 50% of the US new car market as well as market share in Canada and other markets. I'm currently reading Alfred Sloan's "My Years with General Motors", the Detroit companies are in a very similar position to GM in the late teens and early twenties and this is how they are going to fix the problem. If a division can nolonger benefit the corporation then what is the purpose? Mercury had no stand alone dealers, did not exist outside the US, had carbon copy models for 40 years, and had no brand image. Even Pontiac and Oldsmobile had something of a tattered image left when they were discontinued, Mercury like Plymouth was a exercise in badge engineering for the majority of its life. Just take a look at the sales figures from FoMOCo this month and see how Lincoln-Mercury is the weak part of the chain. Ford is doing very well and both Ford cars and trucks are doing well in consumer perception but Lincoln still struggles to compete with Cadillac, Audi, Acura, etc dispute recent attempts to build the brand. Mercury is simply lost between Eco-boosted Taurus SHOs and Hybrid MKZs. I'm curious to hear what Lincoln-Mercury dealers think about this and to see what products Lincoln has in the pipeline following the MKX. I think the MKZ-Hybrid will do well because it will nolonger have to compete with the Milan Hybrid. I also see Lincoln becoming slightly sporty like many had wished for Mercury. If this move turns out to be a major win for Lincoln then this may have been the best move Ford has made since not taking government funds.

It is truly a sad day for automotive enthusiast who have grown up with the Mercury brand. Although I'm part of a very small demographic, I see the Grand Marquis as the best deal on the road today. A tough, old fashion V* RWD sedan that kept its buyers very happy for decades. At the same time I feel the same way I feel about Oldsmobile and Pontiac. Mercury is a brand I love, but if the parent company does not have the money to do it right, and I don't think Ford does, then why continue to drag the brand through the mud behind the rest of the corporation? I don't think Ford intentionally tried to kill Mercury, just a few years ago when the Taurus/Fusion/Fiesta/etc were in development, Ford was in rough shape not unlike the GM of 2008/9. Ford made a strategic move to invest in their volume brand for the good of the corporation and to give the brands a fighting chance in years to come. This was made worse because like Plymouth/Dodge, Mercury no longer had any product that was unique. Out side of the Cougar of the late 1990's/early 00's Mercury has not had a unique product in 20 years and even that product (Capri) was crap. When GM ran out of money for Pontiac they killed the brand with G5's and G3's that watered down the brands already damaged reputation for performance. Why would we want to see the same thing happen with Mercury over the next few years as FoMoCo struggled to find the cash to pay down their massive debt, redesign Ford and Lincoln vehicles, and compete in new markets? I don't see Ford as following the foreign competition into a two brand set-up, I see Ford as being smart and making a hard yet wise choice to continue investing in the two brands that have and will continue to turn the entire company around. In short there is no way to slice this other than if Mercury can only get 0.8% of the new car market even with just a few models remaining yet Chrysler.....Chrysler the builders of the PT Crusier and Sebring can get more sales....hell even Audi outsold them and this is just one of many markets that Audi sells in and their cars sell at higher transaction prices. Maybe its me, but I'm one Mercury fan that isn't sad to see this happen.

If I remember right, Parson's claims to be the highest volume Buick dealer in New England. I do like the grille on the Lacrosse, just not the rest of the changes. The Regal has a transmission from China.......is that a first for a large American car?

42/42 it took me 3:54 because i couldn't spell a few of them on the first try. Deawoo Daewoo,whats the difference......tomato tomAto.

Ford recalled 1997/98 model year cars in 1996?