A lot of buzz has been created lately in the automotive sector. Despite vehement denials by Ford executives, many auto industry experts are predicting that Ford will be retiring their Mercury brand in order to focus on the Ford and Lincoln brands.

Declining sales of the Mercury brand led industry analyst Aaron Bragman of Global Insight to say “Mercury has one more product cycle left in it, and then will most certainly be retired as a brand.”

Jerome York seems to agree with the prevailing theory that Mercury’s days are numbered. Previously an automotive executive, he now serves as an advisor to the investment company that handles Kirk Kerkorian’s investments. Mr. Kerkorian currently owns 4.7% of Ford stock, and recently made a move to bolster his position as a Ford shareholder.

Mr. York indicated that he too believed that the struggling auto maker would benefit from retiring the Mercury brand, and given Mr. York’s current position some believe this may cause Mr. Kerkorian to use his influence to eliminate Mercury.

Another industry analyst, Tom Libby, summed up the problem quite succinctly. “It’s hard to sell a Mercury when it looks just like a Ford that’s priced at $4,000 less,” said Libby.

Other than the fact that Ford executives are resolutely denying the truth of this claim, there’s not much to go on with this claim and it may end up working out in Ford’s favor. They say that no publicity is bad publicity, and with Kirk Kerkorian’s recent investment in the company and all this talk about Ford and Mercury’s plans for the future, the auto company is certainly in the news more than usual. Marketing types might argue that this can do only good things in an industry full of flagging auto sales.

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