Editing Merkur XR4Ti (section)

==History==
The Sierra was the successor to [[Ford of Europe]]'s [[Ford Cortina|Cortina]]/[[Ford Taunus|Taunus]], and was developed while Lutz was chairman of Ford's European operations.<ref name="mtbg"/> Due to financial limitations the decision was made to keep the [[front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout]] of its predecessor, and pursue improved fuel economy through advanced aerodynamics.<ref name="autonews1"/> The Probe III design study unveiled at the [[Frankfurt Motor Show#1981|1981 Frankfurt Motor Show]] foreshadowed the direction Ford would take with the Sierra.<ref name="probeiii"/> Responsibility for the Sierra design was handled by vice president for design [[Uwe Bahnsen]] and chief stylist [[Patrick le Quément]].<ref name="autonews1"/> The Sierra was released in Europe in September 1982, and the performance-oriented XR4i appeared in 1983, slotted into the lineup above the Fiesta-based XR2 and Escort-based XR3.<ref group=note>The XR name was first used by Ford on the 1967 Mercury Cougar XR-7, and has since been used on various car models and trim levels in Australia, Europe, North America, and South Africa. While some references report that the 'XR' label stood for 'eXperimental Racing', this is unconfirmed.</ref><ref name="xrname"/>

Lutz spearheaded the plan to bring a version of the XR4i to North America to compete with sporty luxury imports like BMW.<ref name="nyt84"/> Although modifications would be needed, his instructions were that the nature of the car not be compromised.<ref name="CD1984"/> The XR4 for America would be turbocharged, adding a 'T' to its name while keeping the 'i' indicating a fuel injected engine, as in Europe. The 'Sierra' name was not used in North America, since it was already used by [[General Motors]] for their [[GMC C/K|GMC C/K Sierra]] pickup truck, and sounded too similar to the [[Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera]].

With their own production lines occupied building Sierras for the European market, Ford contracted out assembly of the XR4Ti. Using body panels from Ford's factory in [[Genk Body & Assembly|Genk]], the cars were largely hand-built by [[Karmann|Wilhelm Karmann GmbH]] in [[Rheine]], [[Germany]].<ref name="AR89"/> The XR4Ti was introduced at a starting price of US$16,503 ({{Inflation|US|16503|1984|fmt=eq|r=-2}}).

Chief executive officer Pete Petersen decided that the car would be sold under the 'Merkur' brand name.<ref name="mtbg"/> The name means 'Mercury' in German, and tied the new brand to the Lincoln-Mercury dealers through which the car would be sold. Initially, 800 Lincoln-Mercury dealers enrolled to also become Merkur dealers.<ref name="curbside"/>

Ford projected sales of 16,000 to 20,000 units per year. These targets were never met, although for the first two years they came close, with over 25,000 units sold. The car continued to struggle to establish its identity in the North American market, both with the public and with dealers.

An increasingly unfavorable dollar/Deutschmark exchange rate put upward pressure on price. By the late 1980s the XR4Ti was facing a redesign to comply with incoming safety regulations in the US. Ford dropped the 'Merkur' name in 1988, and began to refer to their two European imports by their model names only. Sales dropped off rapidly after 1986, so that in its last year fewer than 3,000 XR4Tis were sold. 1989 was the last year for the XR4Ti.<ref name="MT1-89"/>

The XR4Ti was the last vehicle imported by Ford into North America from Germany until 2016, when the [[Ford Focus (third generation)#Focus RS|Ford Focus RS]] was introduced.<ref name="shiftinglanes"/>