It's strange that they included Merkur, it was setup to sell European cars only, so I wouldn't necessarily consider it an American brand. And in terms of impact, it had none whatsoever. Ford thought they could cash-in on the European car surge of the 80's, but they brought over the wrong cars to make that happen. The surge in Euro-car sales was mainly in 4-door sedans, and Ford sent a sporty 3-door and luxurious 5-door. And the name was awful. They were trying to play with Mercury and make it sound European, came up with a name that was weird to pronounce.

Saturn would have been a better choice to include, but I guess it was too new of a company to include in a Classic car magazine. But Merkur wasn't that much older. Saturn had a bigger impact, not just in the market, but in the history of GM. I guess there's a question whether it could be considered a collectable brand. I guess not yet, but will be for the oddity value.