msockol 2.0

Had my money
I tell you what I’d do
I would go downtown
Buy a Mercury or two
Cause I’m crazy ’bout a Mercury
–Steve Miller Band

Steve Miller better move fast.  Media reports over the last few days have strongly suggested that Mercury’s days are over, the victim of muddled branding, poor sales and a general sense of irrelevancy.  The idea that Mercury represented “entry level luxury” ended years ago, and it seems to make sense for Ford as it consolidates its resources.

Mercury is the last survivor of a marketing concept born roughly a hundred years ago by GM chairman Alfred Sloan, who came up … Continue Reading

The Andersons. Can a cup of Maxwell House be far away?

When I was a boy, there were only one type of coffee and two true ways to drink it–black or light (which was shorthand for cream and sugar at any nearby Dunkin Donuts shop).  My Dad, who drank more coffee than I thought humanly possible, liked his cup extra light.  In most restaurants, it cost about a … Continue Reading