The economic downturn has meant that some automakers are ending brands with a long history. Pontiac and Saturn bit the dust last year, the last Hummer rolled off the line a few weeks ago, and Ford recently announced the demise of Mercury.

Consumers who are fans of these models can turn to the used car market in order to find deals on these cars. As new car dealers were forced to liquidate their stock, some have sold cars to used auto dealers at a reduced rate. Those dealers can then pass savings on to the consumer.

For brands like Hummer, the used car market will be the only place to find the discontinued models. Soon, that will be the same case for Mercury.

Mercury, owned by Ford, was the victim of a crowded market. Sandwiched uncomfortably between Ford’s luxury Lincoln brand and regular Ford brand, it never quite found an identity and commanded less than 1 percent of the market share.

Ford has promised to roll out additions to the Lincoln brand to replace the loss of Mercury. In the meantime, consumers may want to shop for deals on the used market for these once-storied brands.