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.
I’m not sure how Merkur could have been a response to Lexus and Acura, given Lexus launched as a 1990 model and Acura launched as a 1986 model. Merkur was primarily aimed at German luxury automakers. Also, I highly doubt these cars were handbuilt.
One of those maroon Scorpio hatchbacks is likely my grandfather’s car. He would always buy the strangest vehicles and either sit on them or sell them after a few years.
Let’s remember some cars: 1975 El Camino, 1975 280z, 1979 280zx, 1977 Dodge Power Wagon Ram, 80s AMC Eagle Wagon, 1989 Merkur Scorpio,1986 Mazda RX-7, 1987 Chevy S-10, 1993 Crown Victoria, 1993 F-150, and a 2003 Lincoln Town Car, oh and a Baja Bug. Pretty sure there was a Suzuki Samurai too.
I didn’t know what these where so looked them up, Here in the UK we know them as a Ford Sierra and Ford Granada, The Sierra at least was quite a popular car here and still kept by enthusiasts.
I haven’t seen a Granada for years and even then it was one of the later ones with the blobby headlights and strip lights on the rear.
Sierras I see as often as Escorts, though never stock, always with thick low profile tyres and a loud exhaust.
“Are you going to get rid of all these cars when the deal closes… or do I need to do that?”
“We will just move them to the other side of the property line”
“Oh, okay….. I think I will pass…”
I wish that Ford had just replaced all of Mercury’s shit cars at the time with these. I think it would have been a much different story than it ended up being.
Well no one else has said it so I will.
Ah-Merkuria F** yeah!! ????
There’s no good reason to buy that plot unless you have an adjacent plot. So much of the land is easement to get to that guy’s shop.
Basically they’re selling their driveway except they still get to use the driveway.
Merkuria. Just two hours east of Portlandia.
Back when I had my XR4Ti in the late ’90s I was fully aware of Rapido Group from there ads in European Car magazine, but since this was during the Web’s infancy I never found the chance to really look into them. God knows I could’ve used them for two issues the occurred during ownership.
Twenty-two year old me was far less adept at working on cars then present-day me is, but what I wouldn’t do to go back and fix those two issues properly / in time before disaster struck. I really loved that car (a low mileage 1985 model in silver with the phone dial wheels that I picked up for $1800 in 1995).
I wonder if a soil sample might be prudent before purchasing. I can just imagine leaking fluids and other contamination over the years.
The liquids from the existing leaky cars will just run downhill back on to your property when they are moved 40 feet to their new home.
Merkuria is fine, but I’m more partial to Merkurburgh.