Remember Mercury’s plan for a new, compact C-segment offering? Chances are it’ll wear a “Tracer” nameplate.
According to Automotive News, Ford told dealers at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention that the car will be called Tracer, and will ultimately reach showrooms in 2011.
We’d heard a C-segment car was in Mercury’s plans last month, when Ford executives -- including Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas -- told audiences that such a vehicle was under development. Ford sources tell us the car won’t be a “whitespace” vehicle like the Ford Grand C-Max, or even the Lincoln C concept.
Tracer, however, seems to be a surprising name choice. Not only does it break from Mercury’s recent naming conventions (which give models names that start with “M”), but we’d think Mercury would want to re-invent its small-car game.
Although it was first used on a modified version of the Mazda 323 in 1987, the Tracer name has long been synonymous with Mercury’s badge-engineered version of the Ford Escort. The Tracer nameplate -- along with a Mercury compact offering -- was killed in 1999.
Look for more information on the new Tracer to emerge later this year. We’ll likely see the new “mini-Merc” at the 2010 Los Angeles auto show, and the car should reach dealers in early 2011, shortly after the 2012 Focus goes on sale.
Source
