07/06/2008 07:23. June 6 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co . said sales for its Mercury division, heading toward a third straight annual decline, may fall below the company's Lincoln brand for the first time since Mercury's creation 70 years ago.

``We think this is the year that Lincoln outsells Mercury,'' in the U.S., said Brett Wheatley, marketing chief for the Lincoln and Mercury divisions. He made the remarks in an interview this week in Washington, where he was promoting the new Lincoln MKS sedan.

Mercury is Ford's poorest performing division, delivering 23.4 percent fewer cars and light trucks than in 2007. Mercury, with 60,938 in U.S. sales this year through May, led Lincoln by about 14,000 units, down from 19,000 in the same period last year and 37,000 in the first five months of 2005.

The decline... // Bloomberg