SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — Ford is preparing to wind down the Mercury line, created in 1939 by Edsel Ford, after sales plunged 74 percent since 2000, said two people familiar with the plan.

The automaker’s top executives are preparing a proposal to be presented to directors in July, said the people, who asked not to be identified revealing internal discussions. Mercury, losing two of four models next year, will be starved of products and promotion, the people said.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally emphasized the automaker’s namesake brand as he revived the only major U. S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy. The timing of Mercury’s demise depends on how fast executives can persuade the brand’s dealers, who also sell Lincoln models, to close or merge with Ford showrooms, they said.

Three Mercury dealers are located in the Buffalo Niagara region: West Herr in Amherst, Towne in Orchard Park and Emerling in Springville. Each sells at least one other brand from the Ford family.

The Niagara Frontier Automobile Dealers Association reported 151 new Mercurys were sold locally this year through April, up from 143 a year ago.

West Herr is preparing to build a new Ford Lincoln Mercury dealership in

Amherst, to replace its existing one.

Annette Smith, a West Herr representative, noted that Ford

spokesman Mark Truby was quoted as saying, "Our plans regarding Mercury have not changed."

"With that said, whatever decision Ford makes long-term will have no impact

on our Ford Lincoln Mercury dealership project," Smith said.

Mulally also is unloading Ford’s European luxury brands, after they failed to meet the goal of generating a third of the company’s automotive profits. In March, Ford agreed to sell Volvo to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Co. It sold off Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin in the last three years.

Mercury would join Pontiac, Saturn, Oldsmobile and Plymouth among the departed Detroit brands of the 21st century. Sales will end within four years, one of the people estimated. General Motors, as part of its reorganization last year, sold or closed four of its eight brands sold domestically.

Mercury sales peaked at 579,498 in 1978, when it had the slogan “The Sign of the Cat.” Deliveries fell 84 percent to 92,299 last year.

As the U. S. auto market recovers, Mercury’s sales are up 23 percent this year through April, less than Ford Motor’s overall gain of 33 percent, according to researcher Autodata Corp. of Woodcliff Lake,

N. J.

Mercury had 0.9 percent of the U. S. market through April, unchanged from last year.