| abstract | - Lincoln–Mercury is a collective name for the Lincoln and Mercury divisions of the Ford Motor Company, whose vehicles are typically sold side-by-side in a single dealership. Lincoln–Mercury is also well-known for having been a longtime sponsor of The Ed Sullivan Show from the show's earliest days as Toast of the Town in 1948 until 1962 when the classic TV program was already known as The Ed Sullivan Show. Sullivan himself promoted Lincoln–Mercury by touring every major U.S. city. He met Lincoln–Mercury dealers and even sold cars in order to promote their dealerships, often inviting dealers to attend his television show in New York City where they observed the program from the client booth. The highly successful Sullivan program had a long run on CBS and was telecast live each Sunday evening from 1948 until 1971. Lincoln–Mercury played a major role in that success, especially while the show was struggling financially during those early days of television. Prior to the Lincoln–Mercury sponsorship, the talent budget was so low (CBS allowed only $375) that Sullivan and coproducer Marlo Lewis had to put up their own money to keep the show going. On June 2, 2010, Ford announced the closure of the Mercury line by the end of the year. Derrick Kuzak, Ford's head of product development, said seven new or updated Lincoln product lines would be developed over four years to make up for Mercury's loss. No dealers sold only the Mercury brand, but most of the 276 Lincoln–Mercury dealers would likely sell only Lincolns; others will be merged with other Ford dealers.
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