As a captive import from Ford of Europe, selected Lincoln-Mercury dealers marketed the Scorpio in the United States and Canada.

[3] A near-direct counterpart of the Ford Scorpio Mk I (Ford Granada Mk III in the United Kingdom), the Merkur Scorpio was developed to give Lincoln-Mercury a competitor against European executive cars sold in North America, including the Audi 100, BMW 5-series, Mercedes-Benz 190E, Saab 9000, Sterling 827, and Volvo 740/760.

Lasting only for two model years, the Merkur Scorpio is among the shortest-lived Ford Motor Company nameplates in modern history.

Along with unstable pricing due to fluctuating exchange rates and insufficient sales figures, the model line would have required a costly redesign to remain in compliance with upcoming American safety regulations.

[6] In contrast to American-designed rear-wheel drive Ford chassis (i.e. Fox, Panther), the DE-1 platform was fitted with four-wheel independent suspension.

With the exception of divisional badging, the front fascia was largely unchanged; Merkurs are fitted with modified foglamps and headlamps (in compliance with American lighting regulations).

[7] In contrast to the Sable (or the Lincoln Continental or Town Car), the Scorpio was offered with power-reclining rear seats and a tilt-telescope steering column.

The Ford Scorpio was developed with neither feature and passive safety compliance proved too expensive to justify the conversion cost of redeveloping the slow-selling model line for North American sale.