The first Mercury automobile was designed by the Ford Styling studio in 1937. In 1945 the Lincoln-Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company was established, with Mercury bridging the gap between the value-priced Fords and the luxury Lincoln models. In 1998, Lincoln Mercury moved design center to Irvine, Calif., to expose the brands to "trendy west-coast culture." Mercury has recently announced a "back to basics" focus to gain sales by "embracing its place in the Ford portfolio."
