Those looking for some commercial property in the Northwest might want to consider Tygh Valley, Oregon. Located about two hours east of Portland, it’s home to what many consider the beginning of the Barlow Road, a part of the Oregon Trail. This 1.66-acre lot also has a couple of buildings on it that the new owner can put to good use. Please ignore the 97 Merkurs though, because they’re not included in the sale.
Located at 80093 Dodson Rd, this land is actually just a portion of acreage owned by the folks at Rapido, a Merkur parts dealer. In fact, Rapido has been supporting Merkur owners since 1985 and this is its primary location. While it does sell parts it’s also willing to sell entire cars.
According to Rapido, “The cars have sat for 5 to 20 years and were all driven in and parked when acquired. One would have to go through the fuel system and the rest of the engine to bring it up to date to be driven again.”Of course, in the case of the property for sale, the cars aren’t included. Rapido says that it’ll relocate the cars up to the remaining part of the property when the acreage sells. “The lower portion is no longer needed,” it tells The Autopian. As for the business itself, nothing is changing it says. That’s great news for Merkur owners too.
Merkur showed up in the USA in 1985 as a response from Ford to brands like Acura and Lexus. The first model available was the XR4Ti, a three-door hatchback based on the Euro-spec Ford Sierra. Ford’s VP at the time was Bob Lutz, and he thought that the XR4Ti would go head-to-head with cars from BMW too.
Interestingly, these were hand-built in Germany and came stock with a turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine making between 145 and 175 horsepower depending on the gearbox in the car. Automatic cars made less power while manuals made more. Standard equipment in 1985 included power mirrors, variable ratio power steering, power disc brakes, and nitrogen-pressurized shocks.
Merkur continued to develop and improve the car throughout its time in America. For 1986 it added a third brake light into the rear spoiler and smoothed out the turbocharger outlet tube. In 1987, it added new paint colors, reduced the steering ratio, and made 15-inch wheels standard. By 1989 when it left production, the XR4Ti had cruise control, new interior colors, and a simpler rear spoiler. Despite all of that, they never really sold well.
The other Merkur model, the Scorpio, a five-door hatchback, was an attempt at building a competitor to luxury sedans. In fact, the Scorpio was the flagship of the Merkur brand while it lasted. Somehow, Merkur (really Ford) believed that the way to buyers’ hearts was to offer it with an engine that made only 144 horsepower. So it weighed more than the XR4Ti but made less power no matter how you looked at it. A five-speed manual was standard and a four-speed automatic was also available.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Merkur brand just never took off the way Ford hoped it would. Part of this was just bad timing. The value of the German Deutschmark went up relative to the dollar, making the cars more expensive than planned by the time they were imported to America.
Much like it did with Edsel years previously, Ford pulled the plug on the brand not too long after it started. In fact, Merkur only barely outlived Edsel in terms of total years of production. In any case, the point is that after all these years, Merkur still has a niche following in the USA and plenty of owners remain dedicated to the brand.
That’s where Rapido comes in as a major lynchpin of the community. It tells The Autopian “If anyone is interested in a vehicle as you can see we have many available, lol. In all different conditions. They could reach out directly on Facebook through messenger like you or email us at rapidogroup1985@gmail.com.”
Now, if only Fisker owners could have a similar situation come together over the next few years.
As for the property up for sale, Redfin says it’ll come with “a building with a durable concrete floor and a bathroom.” In addition, a manufactured building on the property was used as an office in the past and could be again. Frankly, this is the perfect place for someone who already has a Merkur or two. Nowhere else in the country would offer the kind of parts available.
My state is full of natural wonders. And this.
So that’s where they all went.
As has been mentioned numerous times (pretty much anytime Merkur is mentioned), naming this new brand as something that was 1) hard to pronounce and 2) so similar in name to the other brand (Mercury) you shared floorspace with was a disaster.
I get the rationale in why Ford wanted to bring these over to the US. Compete with the German imports with an actual German car. Ford was in a predicament however. Stand up a new brand to sell these, which costs a shit load of money. They could have spent the same amount of money to reposition Mercury as the import fighting brand and badged these as Mercurys.
At the time (with one exception), Mercury was just a slightly tarted up Ford. And most of the time those Mercury’s could be had for just a couple hundred bucks more than a Ford, while not offering much else other than slightly different styling. Ditch the Grand Marquis, the Sable, the Cougar, and the Topaz. Keep the 1st generation Tracer (also a rebadged import), slot in the XR4Ti and the Scropio (and eventually the Capri convertible) and spend the bucks to rebrand the existing Mercury line in the same vein as Oldsmobile tried to be in the 80s/90s.
Ditch the Grand Marquis? DITCH THE GRAND MARQUIS? Are you taking crazy pills??
I actually discussed this briefly with a Ford exec a while ago, but after Merkur had already folded. I was schooled about how jealously possessive dealerships were of their product lines. It never could have happened.
No Mercury dealer would’ve given up even some of their bread and butter cars to get an untested new product line with no sales history or volume guarantee, much less give most or all of them up. Mercury dealers liked having tarted up Fords because they were easy to sell. People knew where to go if they wanted a Ford, but a little nicer.
Not only would the dealers have been uncooperative, they probably would’ve sued the corporate office to Germany and back if Ford had tried to force the issue.
They were already plenty angry about having to invest so much money and dedicate the space for a “side floor” to put the Merkurs on display in a way that made them look separate. I’m told that some were genuinely hopeful, but most were reluctant or even resentful.
If all the dealerships were owned by corporate, sure. Mercury would’ve been the place. But there was no way to make it work back then.
If you name your car something your customers won’t pronounce, you’ve made a car your customers won’t buy.
You could say the rising deutschmark killed these dead on arrival, but it didn’t kill BMW or Audi.
For a new brand, you need customer interest, fast. For that, you need word of mouth among influencers. And having a name nobody knows for sure how to pronounce means you’re not getting much word of mouth.
Selling them through a network staffed with people more accustomed to getting grandpa into his next Grand Marquis or Town Car didn’t help either.
Of course the Ford dealers didn’t know how to sell niche cars. They also didn’t know how to sell the SHO in my two experiences with them in 1990 and 1993.
The 1990 dealer said I couldn’t afford a used SHO, and tried to sell me a 2year old Probe GT for $15,000 with coffee stains and a cigarette burn.
I Bought my 2 year old SHO with 32,000 miles for $9,800. It was a better choice.
They didnt know how to sell DeTomasos either. I owned a Scorpio and the dealer experience was the usual garbage. They kept trying to upsell me to a Lincoln. Ended up buying the car through a friend who was a regional Ford rep.
The Scorpio was a pretty decent car but was no Mercedes or BMW. The Cologne V6 was weak in a car this size. Ford should should have put in a 302 or a Windsor. Had a chance to drive several XR4ti as well. The experience was like driving a low budget BMW 320. Not bad but not in the same class as my 325is of years later
As I recall, a lot of people in the 80s couldn’t pronounce “Ah dee” or spell “Bimmer” either. The difference is there were plenty of fanboys around to pretentiously correct everyone. Not so with Mere Coors.
BMW never had an issue because “bimmer” is just a nickname. People already know the car if they know that.
I never knew anyone who had trouble with Audi because all three common ways of saying it are similar enough to easily recognize.
Both also had the benefit of a gradual introduction through US servicemembers serving in Europe returning with knowledge of and interest in them.
Also, BMW and Audi’s introductions to the US were not huge corporate bets placed on immediate success.
Good ol’ Wamic. Decent place to stash a bunch of parts cars, it’s on the dry side of the Cascades but not a desert, with an easy shot up OR-97 to I-84 via The Dalles.
And don’t miss the Dufur Threshing Bee!
I remember thinking the XR4Ti was as sexy an ‘American’ car as I’d ever seen outside of a ‘Vette.
“…a major lynchpin of the community.”
Are there minor lynchpins?
Quick, who can tell me what the XR4Ti and MkIII Jetta had in common?
OK, OK enough guessing. The answer is: both offered a K2 edition that came with K2 badging and a ski rack.
Why a giant corporation thought having a brand called “Mercury” and also a brand called “Merkur” selling not-dissimilar products was a good idea is beyond me.
I’ve always wanted an XR4ti though.
One of my friends parents had a Scorpio and I loved that car. The back seat was huge and it was the fist car I can remember riding in with an adjustable rear seat. 🙂
I always wondered what made these better than an SHO.
Dying of dysentery would probably be better
Merkur, further proof of Bob Lutz’s ineptness.
I’m sure the soil is thoroughly contaminated with inevitable oil/coolant leaks
I’m getting old and looking for a place to settle down and eventually pass on, but I’m not ready to meet my Merkur just yet.
Yer gunna meet yer Merkur if ya don’t eat yer mershed pertaters!
Mmmhmm.
I wondered where they all went.
”Ran when parked” always seems like “Ran until it didn’t”.
Does sound better than, “ran until dumped.”
”when parked, owner ran”
My favorite car ads to hate are the ones that say things like “Runs great. Needs new engine”
“You can drive it anywhere”!
“If you think you hate it now, wait ‘til you drive it!”
“If anyone is interested in a vehicle as you can see we have many available, lol. In all different conditions.”
Do they know what they got?!?!
It’s the “lol” that tells you all you need to know.
I’d be more interested in the tarped 914.
I wonder if you could swap in the drivetrain from a Focus RS in one of those Xr4Ti bodies?
I’m no expert is engine swaps, but the XR4Ti has a longitudinal engine layout and the Focus is transverse. I would imagine that it would be a pretty major effort. Probably much easier to swap in an ecoboost Mustang drivetrain.
But why bother? The Lima 2.3 is actually a very tunable engine with good aftermarket support even today. These things were used everywhere in Fords and Mercurys for decades.
The engine itself wouldn’t be difficult, but trying to cram a FWD powertrain into a RWD platform would be problematic to say the least.
A 2.3 EcoBoost transplant from a Mustang probably makes more sense.
“Ford hoped it would. Most of this was just euro designing.” Fixed
I worked on a couple Merkurs way back in the day when I was a Ford line mechanic. I liked them. I also liked the Probe and the Taurus SHO. Once they stuck the 3.0l Vulcan into the Probe, I though at the the time that it was only a matter of time before the Yamaha developed SHO motor would end up in a Probe SHO, but alas that never happened.
That might have gone farther into the FWD Mustang plan at the time.
I was just thinking the same, if the Mustang hadn’t gotten a stay, I could see that happening. Torque be damned, a 220 hp V6 in the Mazda based coupe wouldn’t be a great look against the 225 from the 5.0.
Give it and AWD option and it would have certainly been interesting. Especially for the Rally Racing crowds at the time.
Hmm, this makes me think the SHO motor would fit in the Probe’s platform mates, the Mazda 626/MX-6. They had a fairly stout turbo-4, but they’d really sing with the Yamaha engine, as they’re quite a bit lighter than the Taurus.
A buddy of mine’s girlfriend had an XR4Ti. That was my first exposure to an IRS car and I really liked it.
My friend’s dad had a SHO. it was in the shop more than it was on the road.
Alright which one of you did this?
That last picture is giving me warm, happy, rally stage vibes. Scorpiondian flick, anyone?
All 12 of them.
At least one other German Ford on-site as well, that appears to be a classic Capri in front of the building in the last picture.
“Merkur showed up in the USA in 1985 as a response from Ford to brands like Acura and Lexus … “
Lexus appeared in 1989 with the LS400!
And with poor decisions like the Merkur, Ford clearly hadn’t invented the time machine in 1985 😉
And Acura launched in March 1986. I guess the author meant Mercedes, BMW???
Wikipedia had 1985 written some places, so I let that one fly 😉
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acura_Legend
QUICK! Get in the DeLorean!
Or Saab and Volvo.
I think you’re on target – to the extent Ford pitched these (esp. the XR4ti), it was as bargain basement BMWs, driver-focused cars with European lineage.
But Ford’s pitch was fairly half-hearted, and at the time, very few people would have cross-shopped seeming domestics and Euro imports.
Didn’t Chevy try the same thing with the Lumina “Eurosport” or some such nonsense. Add cladding to a Lumina: instant BMW!
Chevy used it on the Celebrity before that even! My first car was a Celebrity Eurosport wagon. The only thing “Euro” about it was that it didn’t have fake wood paneling, which was the domestic style at the time…
Any mention of an upgraded suspension and/or blackout trim – or basically dechroming – was said to be like a challenger for European road cars. Chevy going so far as to put the Euro lettering on their cars was more on the nose with the intent though. A couple others here and there did pop up, like the Dodge Omni Euro-sedan.
Are those “Euro” wheels on that Omni? We know in retrospect that none of these attempts really convinced too many people.
Ford had spies in Japan. They knew what was coming years in advance as their products proved. OK, that dog won’t hunt.