Mercury's days numbered?

Published reports out of the U.S. indicate that Mercury’s days might be numbered.
 
Sources close to the situation told Automotive News that Ford executives plan to propose the elimination of the 71-year-old brand soon, as sales continue to dwindle in the U.S.

Figures for the Ford brand have experienced a steep decline since the turn of the latest decade, shortly after it was removed from the Canadian market in 1999.

If Mercury is phased out, it would mark the latest Detroit-based brand to wind down over the last few years. Prior to bankruptcy woes, General Motors and Chrysler both eliminated lines including Pontiac, Plymouth and Oldsmobile.
 
Mercury is responsible for just 1.9 per cent of Ford’s global sales through the first quarter of 2010.

- with files from Automotive News