I read about this either yesterday or Friday, and truthfully think it's a great idea. It sucks that they're closing 5 plants and laying people off, and I'm never in agreement with that, but ditching the money-losing scraps of metal was a no-brainer. When was the last time you heard about someone getting excited about buying an Escort? The Focus is doing what the Escort couldn't: outselling Honda. When a company diversifies, it should go beyond changing name plates and trim packages. As Jim noted, Oldsmobile, one of the very first automobile companies in this country, is done. With the similarities between the various GM models, this was inevitable. The same is true for Ford/Lincoln/Mercury. I have also heard that Mercury isn't long for this world, but I know they are also planning on releasing the Marauder late this year, so who knows?
In anycase, I see this move as being one of the best they've made in quite a while.
Take care,
-Chris
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