Japanese Wives Sweat as Markets Reel

Japanese homemakers who moonlight as currency speculators have been hit hard by turmoil in the markets. Read more...

National Perspectives: For Rich Mexicans, Parallel Lives in U.S.

A small but growing group of Mexican citizens are creating parallel lives in Houston, Dallas and other cities north of the border. Read more...

The Missionary Mogul

He?s the world?s biggest cutter and polisher of diamonds. His real estate empire extends through Israel, the former Soviet Union, Europe and the United States. He has the ear of the Russian and Israeli governments. But what Lev Leviev really cares about is what is good for the Jews (at least the Chabadniks). Read more...

Spending: This Glass Is for the Cabernet, That One the Pinot Noir

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Fundamentally: Why Haven?t Investors Played It Safe With Blue Chips?

Trouble in the credit and mortgage industries looms large. Read more...

Market Week: Should Fed Tread Lightly on Rates?

As the debate heats up over how much the Federal Reserve will lower rates, one investment adviser thinks the smaller option is better. Read more...

Planning: Navigating a Path Through a Turbulent Housing Market

With prices falling, home sellers might have to accept lower prices than they had hoped for, while buyers might find it tougher to qualify for a mortgage. Read more...

Being Rachel Zoe

She turned her own look into a tabloid-headline-grabbing, million-dollar-sales-generating, Hollywood-star-making style machine. What will she fashion next? Read more...

Former ABC Consultant Says He Faked Nothing

A former consultant to ABC News has denied accusations that he fabricated interviews with American political figures for a French magazine. Read more...

What?s Offline: Your Workplace Enemy Is You

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Economic View: One Answer to Global Warming: A New Tax

15.09.2007 23:05 » The case for using a carbon tax to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Read more…

The Count: Car Ads Sell Sizzle. Drivers Don?t Buy It.

15.09.2007
Ford commercials trying to lend a sexier image to the company?s Mercury division don?t seem to be helping sales.

Maybe you�ve seen them. Those Ford commercials featuring an actress trying to lend a sexier, tech-savvy image to various vehicles from the company�s Mercury division.

The spots don�t seem to be helping sales.

One of the vehicles promoted in the ads, the stylish Milan, competes with hot-selling sedans like the Toyota Camry.

�Competes� might be a little strong. The Camry is the top-selling car in the J.D. Power and Associates midsize conventional sedan segment; it outsold the Milan by more than 10 to 1 in 2006, and it is on pace to do so again this year. Even if you include sales of the Milan�s sister car, the Ford Fusion, it�s not much of a contest.

With this in mind, it�s easy to see why there has again been talk, including a recent article in Automotive News, about how long the Mercury brand might stick around.

With so much stiff competition in showrooms and on the road, it seems that sizzling commercials can do only so much.