For a long time now Ford has contemplated getting rid of Mercury. i'm more of a GM guy but have always had a bit of a soft spot for the brand. Mercury hasn't had a unique vehicle since the 2002 Cougar and that wasn't much of a success. I guess you can say the Marauder was unique and I did like it but it wasn't much of a success either. I do like the styling of the Mercurys over alot of the Ford versions with the exception of the Grand Marquis. I heard people say that a Mercury is a better value than the Ford. It seems that Ford doesn't have alot of products for the Mercury division so discontinuation is highly possible. I think that Ford should keep Mercury except give it a distinction other than a slighty more luxurious Ford. I think that they should do what GM did to Saturn... rebrand European Fords as Mercury.