Overview & Reviews

Mercury was a division of Ford Motor Company marketed as being somewhat more upscale than Ford. Throughout the latter part of its 71-year history, Mercury's vehicles were essentially Fords with unique styling details and special features meant to enhance their desirability relative to similar Ford products.

It all started in the 1930s, when Edsel Ford, Henry Ford's son, saw an opportunity to create an additional brand within the Ford hierarchy, one that would exist between the everyman Ford Deluxes and premium Lincoln Zephyrs. To achieve this, Edsel felt the vehicles of this new brand should offer distinctive styling along with innovative features and better capabilities. He named the new division "Mercury," after the Roman mythological god. The 1939 Mercury Eight was the division's first car. It distinguished itself from similar Ford products via a 95-horsepower engine that offered 10 more horses than the Ford V8.

The Eight proved to be a hit, with more than 155,000 sold by the early 1940s. Production stopped during World War II; after the war, the brand was realigned more closely with Lincoln. The company grew from strength to strength in the '50s, establishing itself as a maker of vehicles offering style, performance and cutting-edge technology. A dash of glamour was added to the automaker's image when James Dean appeared onscreen in a Mercury in the film Rebel Without a Cause.

The 1960s saw the introduction of Mercury's Comet and Meteor vehicles. The Comet featured diminutive dimensions and luxury accoutrements, while the Meteor was a midsize family car that followed the trend toward more reasonably sized cars. Racetrack wins boosted awareness of the Comet and helped the model make a big splash in terms of sales. By the end of the decade, the iconic Mercury Cougar, a variation of the Mustang, had been rolled out, its Eliminator version taking its place in the pantheon of legendary early muscle cars.

Hit hard by that decade's oil crisis, consumers during the 1970s were hungry for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Mercury responded with a new, smaller Comet and the Bobcat, the former a fancier version of the Ford Maverick, the latter a fancier version of the Ford Pinto. The brand's sales grew during a decade that was filled with turbulence and uncertainty for many competing marques. Mercury further expanded its lineup in the '80s, this time including the small, Ford Escort-based Lynx. Mercury enjoyed success with the 1986 launch of the Sable, a fraternal twin to the Ford Taurus whose sleek, aerodynamic lines and futuristic "light bar" front end styling set it apart from the Ford.

Mercury's sales hit an all-time high during the 1990s that would never again be matched. Minivans and SUVs were a big reason for that as Mercury introduced its Villager minivan and Mountaineer SUV. Late that decade it introduced a new Cougar, which differed from its predecessors by being a front-drive sport compact that also holds the distinction of being the last Mercury that wasn't a rebadged Ford.

The years following the new millennium were challenging for the brand, as changing consumer tastes and a lack of differentiation between Mercury and Ford vehicles hurt sales. Pundits often proclaimed the end of Mercury was near, but Ford kept stating it would keep Mercury around despite offering no hope for any unique future vehicles from the brand. Finally in 2010, Ford pulled the plug on Mercury, putting an end to more than 70 years of car-making heritage.

User Reviews:

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  The worst car I ever owned!!! - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By Let the buyer beware - December 27 - 10:00 am

  What a relief!!!.... I just got rid of my Cougar. That was the worst car I ever owned. The radio replaced three times (and still doesnt work); windows leak; windshield replaced; dashboard sqeaks; alternater replaced; in addition to the numerous factory recalls. In one year alone I had to bring this car back to the dealer 13 times.

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  Never Again - 1998 Mercury Sable
  By Murse - May 17 - 7:43 am

  honestly this has got to be the worst car i have ever seen. i bought it with only 18,000 miles on it and within a week the shifter broke. making it so i couldnt shift. that was a 200 dollar fix. 3 weeks later the tranny dropped. i was like i give up. after replacing the tranny for $1800 a tire fell off while driving down the road. the lugs were so weak that when i accidentally went over a curb the wheel just rolled off. never again will i buy a mercury or ford. i have had the worst luck. go toyota all the way.

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  Garbage car! - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By Mark Renes - September 2 - 10:00 am

  I was reading the reviews, and I cant believe anybody had anything good to say about this car. My car is sitting in the shop right now, with the Ford techs trying to figure out why Im on my 4th alternator, and why my car wont start 90% of the time. When I picked up my car in January of 2001, Reverse didnt work and it got a transmission overhaul at with 16 Km on the car. My rear bumper doesnt fit properly either.

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  A total disappointment - 2011 Mercury Mariner
  By disappointed73 - November 14 - 7:58 pm

  Two months after purchasing my 2011 Mariner 4 cylinder the rear window exploded. Even though the dealer claimed ignorance to the issue I found many occurrences on the internet proving it was a known defect. The air conditioner quit working next. Took the dealer 3 attempts to fix it during the hottest period in Wisconsin in decades. Next a defective alternator pulley required 3 days at the dealer. Since the replacement of the pulley the air conditioner has quit working again. The warranty will expire very soon. Now I just want to get rid of the car. Had enough.

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  Disappointed - 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By NoMoMercs - April 21 - 2:00 am

  My Mercurys digital dash has not worked properly since day one and I have owned it for about 6 mos. now. Dealer cant seem to find the problem. Engine has used oil since day one, and according to Ford 1 quart within 1,000 miles is within acceptable useage range. Not in my book when I paid over $30,000.00 for it!

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  miserable owner - 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By dave - April 6 - 8:33 am

  This vehicle is 7 months old and I have problems with radiator, all four tires cracked and need replacing, glur trim is coming off of the side of the car. I took out special warranty policy which has not been totally honored by the local dealer. 2 dealers refuse to honor Ford warranty.

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  No good - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By Martinz - March 7 - 10:00 am

  The car is slow, Handles bad, and it a HUGE copy off the lengendary 1994,1995,1996 Impala SS. Oh and what color is the Marauder only avaible in?? Black. Same as the 1994 Impala. Whos coping who??? I really dislike this car and im gonna sell it.

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  worst car ive owned - 2001 Mercury Cougar
  By prpcpd - January 6 - 8:00 pm

  will never buy another ford again. be ready to drop alot of money on repairs. everytime car hits the shop(which was often), be ready to spend at least $1000. tires are ridiculous, and mpg sucks (i got 15.6).

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  Piece of Junk - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By Horrible Vehicle - July 11 - 6:40 pm

  My wife purchased this car new for around 30,000 Canadian and it has been nothing but trouble, broken master cylinder causing brake failure while driving, intake manifold carboning up, broken brake calipers, premature brake wear (every 50,000 km), sun roof failure, fuel pump failure, poor suspension (shock failure 80,000 km), check engine light comes on constantly, maintenance light on since new and dealer cannot clear, the car is worth nothing now. Do not purchase this car!

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  Burned!!! - 2008 Mercury Mariner
  By kingsime1 - April 2 - 6:04 am

  I have bought and paid for a 2008 Mercury Mariner, and on the day I made that last payment...my 2008 Mercury Mariner literally started to fall apart! From the "torque converter" to the cigarette lighter...you name it, and theres a problem...of which I see thousands of complaints online, yet no recalls, or any attempts by your company to right these wrongs your company has done by knowingly selling faulty products, and doing absolutely nothing about repairing these problems after youve taken the money! I swear, I will NEVER purchase an american product (not only cars, but anything with "made in U.S.A." on it) in my life. Its no wonder the american car companies folded to the foreigners!