North America. The model line was fitted exclusively with a 144hp 2.9L V6 (the largest engine of the Ford Scorpio). Shared with the Ford Ranger/Bronco II, the V6 was paired with a standard 5-speed manual transmission; a 4-speed overdrive automatic was offered as an option. Body In contrast to many of its European counterparts, the Scorpio was offered solely as a five-door hatchback (a sedan was not introduced until 1990). As with the Mercury Sable sedan, the Scorpio was designed with blacked-out B and C-pillars for a "floating-roof" effect). Closer in style to the Ford Taurus, the front fascia was designed with a minimal front grille opening. While less extensive than the redevelopment of the XR4Ti, several changes were made to distinguish the Merkur Scorpio from its Ford counterpart. The rear fascia is unique to Merkur, styled with a full-width taillamp lens (similar to the Mercury Sable). With the exception of divisional badging, the front fascia was largely unchanged; Merkurs are fitted with modified foglamps and headlamps (in compliance with American lighting regulations). Along with standard two-tone lower body trim, the Merkur Scorpio received its own model-specific alloy wheels. Sharing much of its interior with the Ford Scorpio, the Merkur Scorpio was solely offered in a five-passenger configuration. In contrast to the Sable (or the Lincoln Continental or Town Car), the Scorpio was offered with power-reclining rear seats and a tilt-telescope steering column. Pricing At its launch, the Merkur Scorpio was sold with a base price of $23,390 (). Options included automatic transmission, power moonroof and Touring Package. Most North American Scorpios were sold with automatic transmission and the Touring Package which raised the sticker price to $26,405 (). Although smaller in size, the Scorpio rivaled the Lincoln Town Car in price. To attract customers to the model line, Lincoln-Mercury offered potential Scorpio customers a Guaranteed Resale Value Program, matching the resale value of the Scorpio to the Mercedes-Benz 190E. Discontinuation On October 20, 1989, Ford announced it was ending imports of the Scorpio to the United States. As the XR4Ti had ended sales earlier in the year, the decision effectively closed Merkur; lasting only two model years longer than Edsel, it is among the shortest-lived American car brands in postwar history. Coinciding with lower than anticipated sales (Ford had sought 15,000 sales a year for the brand), Merkur fell victim to unstable exchange rates between the dollar and German