Mercury USA Sales : 1980's

The 1980 US Mercury Capri, complete with Bond girl

This period could not have started worse, with sales collapsing by one third. It's hard to see how that could happen. Various factors contributed but that someone with more knowledge of that may wish to leave a message to clarify The question now is could the problem be turned around?

The Grand Marquis became a distinct model, replacing the Marquis, which in turn went down a size to replace the Cougar, which in turn was downsized and took over from the Monarch. All of that had the effect of lifting sales.

The medium sized Zephyr was replaced by the Topaz in 1984 and the Mercury Lynx did like wise with the Bobcat in 1980/81, the Lynx being a European Ford Escort and more popular than the car it replaced. The Capri was on the way out.

LN7: One totally new model was this, a 3-door sporty hatch model which didn't last long nor sell in huge numbers. I guess it was a halo car.

The good thing was Mercury brand sales had really taken off again after the 1980 disaster.

Model	1984	1983	1982	1981	1980
Grand Marquis	143,594	96,659	77,348
Cougar/Monarch	120,964	87,933	56,438	75,456	83,567
Marquis	103,722	65,184	10,645	53,145	52,644
Topaz/Zephyr	73,454	53,379	42,363	50,603	87,032
Lynx/Bobcat	67,725	78,876	95,959	94,978	45,017
Capri	17,739	22,708	31,280	47,151	62,592
LN7		4,694	13,107	18,217
Total US Sales	527,198	409,433	327,140	339,550	330,852

It was a case of steady as she goes for these five years with sales dropping slightly. The Sable name replaced the Marquis and the Mazda 323/Protege sourced Tracer model came in for the Escort based Lynx. The first Tracer model had poor sales as a new model usually lifts sales. The Capri finally was put to bed.

Model	1989	1988	1987	1986	1985
Grand Marquis	111,575	114,385	116,482	123,096	135,202
Sable/Marquis	110,962	119,218	104,518	108,773	90,274
Cougar	99,673	100,961	110,722	114,270	119,225
Topaz	85,732	92,723	63,200	67,499	73,098
Tracer/Lynx	57,966	58,921	68,938	65,497	85,871
Capri				12,647	15,389
Total US Sales	465,908	486,208	463,860	491,782	519,059

Summary: Mercury was doing OK but couldn't afford to slip further back in sales if it was to remain a viable brand worth retaining.

For the 70's coverage in this series, simply click here.
For the 90's coverage in this series, simply click here.

1984 Mercury Lynx

Oldsmobile USA Sales : 1980's

The Firenza was a perfect fit for tennis

Oldsmobile had a very strong early 80's as sales past the million mark for four consecutive years, starting with 1983. Three models were in the 250-300k region, which gave a nice spread of sales. The compact hatchback Starfire was retired with a belated replacement coming in the form of the Firenza. Things were looking good.

Model	1984	1983	1982	1981	1980
Cutlass Supreme	302,087	331,179	281,120	266,070	258,789
Eighty Eight	258,293	228,770	180,839	158,662	147,997
Cutl Ciera/Cutlass	242,209	191,720	113,367	190,834	210,784
Ninety Eight	100,419	119,528	89,223	84,583	73,464
Firenza/Starfire	62,456	44,753	28,282		5,334
Cutl Calais/Omega	48,984	49,818	72,392	109,981	87,262
Toronado	41,605	41,791	34,362	38,609	37,051
Total US Sales	1,056,053	1,007,559	799,585	848,739	820,681

The only model change was the Firenza was put out to pasture and in came the Silhouette mini van to have a crack at that potentially lucrative segment. The middle 80's were strong but sales started falling and by 1989, they came down to 600,000 units. Every model was down on the 1985 figure.

Was the gap narrowing between mainstream and premium brands making Oldsmobile's position between the two less relevant? Model differentiation between divisions was becoming increasingly blurred. In the short term a profitable move, but for Oldsmobile it diluted its raison d'être.

Model	1989	1988	1987	1986	1985
Cutlass Ciera	190,720	237,386	244,607	329,930	333,585
Eighty Eight	138,357	158,205	168,853	261,260	188,128
Cutlass Supreme	99,898	116,179	92,779	191,937	217,504
Cutlass Calais	95,254	106,117	101,861	116,018	122,810
Ninety Eight	65,671	73,348	72,001	109,370	122,421
Tornado	10,125	14,887	16,667	16,762	32,093
Silhouette	2,122
Firenza		9,148	17,626	34,113	49,580
Total US Sales	602,147	715,270	714,394	1,059,390	1,066,121

Summary: Suddenly things were not looking so bright for Oldsmobile. What could GM do to address the fall in popularity? Were there now too many brands competing too closely to justify this brands continued existence? The 90's would be crucial.

The Silhouette was a change in direction

To view the 1970's, simply click here. For the 1990's just click here.

AMC USA Sales : 1970's (2nd Half)

The 1978 Concord

Years ago, I recall seeing AMC vehicles around Auckland, NZ. They weren't numerous but in a country where US brands were not selling at all, they offered something different. The other day, I noticed an AMC Javelin in the town I now live. Of course, I had Dinky cars of a Nash and Rambler models too when I was a boy.

The American Motors Corporation was founded by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson (I had a Hudson sedan Dinky too) in 1954. In 1970, AMC acquired Jeep and turned it in a subsidiary company named AM General. However, this is about AMC vehicles.

In the early 70's, sales were in the 300,000+ area, so not huge but solid nevertheless. A limited budget meant that they had to target niches not exploited by the Big Three and investment dollar had to be spent wisely. Trying to sustain that over a long period is a challenge.

Model	1979	1978	1977	1976	1975
Concord/Hornet	85,431	114,764	79,508	81,884	97,841
Spirit/Gremlin	54,356	25,693	37,938	50,617	66,614
Eagle	14,101
Pacer	8,169	20,811	44,874	79,898	96,769
Matador		9,471	22,041	35,345	61,048
Total US Sales	162,057	170,739	184,361	247,744	322,272

Concord/Hornet: Starting with the Hornet, it was a compact model with various body options that ran until 1977, when it was replaced by the Concord. There wasn't much difference but the Concord had a nicer interior. 

Spirit/Gremlin: Looking first at the subcompact Gremlin, it was a uniquely styled 2-door hatchback. It sold well but it appears it was replaced far too late as sales were poor by 1978. The Spirit arrived in 1979 as a sedan and liftback, using the Gremlin platform with more conventional styling.

Eagle: This was basically a four wheel drive Concord, a crossover vehicle! AMC were having to be creative to survive. 

Pacer: This would have to be one of the most audacious car designs ever, in a positive way. It had a futuristic look, potentially polarising yet AMC had to try such things. It was however expensive to make and sales falling away after a promising start added to that. 

Matador: The large car of the range, it would have been the most profitable. The second generation model is released in 1974. The '73 oil crisis, large cars are going out of favour and it was not replaced. 

Summary: During the late 70's the loss of the Matador hurt sales and the Pacer fell away badly after an initial sales rush. By 1979, total sales were heading to half the average of just a few years earlier.

With sales falling, Renault took a 22.5% share in AMC. Renault cars would also be made by AMC in the US for local consumption. Would it give the company the financial lift needed? The 1980's can be followed by clicking here. 

The Pacer was apparently a chick magnet, albeit of the classy sort

Plymouth USA Sales : 1970's (2nd Half)

1977 Plymouth Volare

I recall having a couple of Plymouth Plaza taxis as dinky cars. That was all I knew of the brand. Plymouth was created in the late 1920's to give the company a low price vehicle to compete with Chevrolet and Ford. If that was the case, by the late 1970's it wasn't doing that well. It was based around the Valiant and its successor the Volaré. The early 70's sales were averaging over the 700,000 mark.

Model	1979	1978	1977	1976	1975
Volaré/Valiant	167,091	210,125	306,548	386,182	234,601
Horizon	84,668	116,412
TC3	62,072	2,581
Champ	27,031	1,471
Arrow	21,829	26,825	47,345	30,430
Sapporo	12,322	3,073
Voyager	10,125	13,895	13,767	12,974	12,928
Fury	2,681	60,378	92,056	97,063	104,110
Gran Fury	746	980	31,692	48,951	62,909
Total US Sales	388,565	435,740	491,408	575,600	414,548

Volaré/Valiant: The last Valiant model went from '74 to '76 and was replaced by the slightly smaller Volaré. After a sales spurt, they fell away rather quickly to under 170,000 by 1979.

Horizon: This was a car developed by Chrysler Europe with modifications for North America, so a compact hatch model. Sales were unspectacular, but solid.

TC3: It was decided to use the Horizon car and modify it into a 3 door sporty hatch. In 1979, it sold in reasonable numbers but still early days.

Champ: An unusual name for a car, it was a Mitsubishi Colt Galant made in Japan and sold under the Plymouth name. It's what the Americans call a captive import. It was still just a new model for Plymouth in 1979 but had been sold as a Dodge for some years earlier.

Arrow: Another captive import from Mitsubishi, it was the coupé version of the Lancer known as the Celeste. It sold quite well.

Sapporo: The third import, this time a Mitsubishi Galant Lambda two door, four seater coupé. It was a niche model so not intended as a volume model.

Voyager: This was a larger van introduced in 1974 which didn't sell in the numbers that the same vehicle did as the Dodge equivalent.

Fury: The 7th generation large car had been a successful model in the past but in 1975 took over the role that the slightly smaller Satellite model held up until that time.

Gran Fury: This model took over from the Fury model in 1975. Sales quickly petered out during this period.

Summary: By 1979, sales were half the 1973 total so things hadn't gone that well in a few short years. For an entry level car sales surely sales needed to be better than what the decade ended on.

The 1980's continues the series and can be seen by clicking here.

1978 Plymouth Horizon