Merkur Parts Retailer Still Going Strong After 40 Years

From 1985 to 1989, the Merkur brand was used by Ford Motor Company specifically to target European luxury car shoppers. However, rather than build new vehicles to sell in North America under the Merkur brand, The Blue Oval instead adapted European models for that purpose – in this case, the XR4Ti and Scorpio, which featured some changes designed to enable them to meet U.S. safety regulations. Unfortunately, Merkur didn’t hang around for long, but there are still a few of them on U.S. roads to this day, and one notable parts retailer is still going strong after 40 years in business, too.

As first discovered by The Autopian, this parts seller – the Rapido Group – is still in business after 40 years in Tygh Valley, Oregon, news that surfaced after the company put up a portion of its land for sale recently. That 1.66 acre parcel is listed for $150,000 at the moment, but make no mistake – the dozens of Merkur models parked on that piece of land aren’t included with the sale, unfortunately. However, what’s perhaps even more notable is that the company still exists, even though there are only around 1,500 Merkur models still on the road in the U.S.

Rapido has been in business since 1985 and currently has around 97 Merkur models sitting on its property, some of which it’s willing to sell whole, too. It notes that many of these models are rust free, though they obviously will need some work, regardless. That list consists of 45 Scorpios (two of which are equipped with the rare five-speed manual), as well as more than 50 XR4Tis, with five of them being non-sunroof models. These vehicles have been sitting for anywhere from five to 20 years, and were “running when parked,” making them desirable for those that don’t mind performing a basic tune up.

Though it’s selling a piece of its land, Rapido is in the process of shuffling these cars around, as it reportedly doesn’t need that space anymore. However, it has no plans to change its business model or close, which is obviously great news for anyone that covets these cool yet somewhat obscure pieces of Blue Oval history.