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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  Jessica - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By jessica - December 15 - 6:30 am

  I bought this car after the escape I had transmission went on it at 80,000 miles didnt have this one a year and the transmission went very disappointed good thing it was still covered in the warranty dont think I will buy ford products ever again.

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  Made on a Monday - 1995 Mercury Villager
  By Poppa Bear - November 24 - 2:00 am

  We decided to spend a little more and get a higher quality mini-van. Unfortunately, this particular one must have been assembled on a hangover Monday morning. We had oil leaks, coolant leaks, power steering leaks, two blower motors, and the rear AC/heater went out. On its good days, it ran well on the highway. Nice ride and easy to handle, and back seats that kept fussy kids apart.

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  not weather proof - 2006 Mercury Montego
  By not impressed - November 11 - 12:26 pm

  My problem has to do with the rain, water and leafs, pine needles, sand, anything that touches the windows goes into the door. The seal that is normally against the window in most cars, making it waterproof is not present on the Montego, in fact in discussing this with the few people that I was allowed to talk to at Mercury it was noticed that all of their cars except one, is now built this way. The seal that does touch the window is too far down, what doesnt go into the door with normal wind or vibration of the car goes into the door when the window is lowered. My car is not garage kept, I have mulch that is falling out of the bottom of the door, until it plugs up. Then what ice, rust....

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  Beauty is only skin deep - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By Shawn M - October 31 - 10:00 am

  This car looks great and handles great. It lacks power and acceleration especially with the auto trans. The gas mileage is horrible at about 14.2mpg in the city. Ive had various mechanical problems including fuel pump, brake pads wearing out every 12k miles, faulty tires and more. The service is terrible and takes FOREVER. I would not recommend the 2000 Cougar to anyone unless all you want is to look good.

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  Never Again - 1999 Mercury Villager
  By VanMom - October 27 - 10:00 am

  This has been the worst vehicle I have ever owned and will never buy another Ford product. Have replaced headlight wiring, throttle box (>$400 due to sticking gas pedal), and power door locks. Drivers auto door lock currently not working, and radio display is blank (have found out this is a common problem). Doors rattled like crazy from day #1 (dealer fixed after many, many tries). Many other annoying repairs. Great inconvenience. My advice -- buy a Honda. We have had two,and they last well over 200,000 miles with minimal repairs. Only bought Villager because Honda Odyssey was not available at the time and had to have a mini van.

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  Bad or Great - 1999 Mercury Mountaineer
  By parker002 - October 18 - 2:00 am

  I loved this Ute. in the beginning, but one problem has lead to another. First there was electrical with the Radio. Then they replaced it and we lost all signal hhhmmmmmmmmmm. We put the old one back in, and now I have memorized the functions since I cant see them anymore. The turn signal is now broken, and I think there is a knock in the Transmision. We are currently trying to sell this PO_ and buy a car. We spent 19,000 on this car and a year later we will be lucky to get 14,000 even more pathetic.

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  repairs - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Twice bitten - September 18 - 12:50 pm

  I love the way this vehicle drives, I love the way it handles and the comfort. However, I hate the repair cost! Ive had small transmission problems starting at 41k. At 77k , I spent 1400 in repairs. Today, I forked over $2100 for a new transmission at 106k miles. If thats not painful enough, the differential (sp?) was also shot! My repair fellow said he sees this on the Explorer and Mountaineers- Ive never heard of those going bad? After $1100 for that, I can promise you that I wont be a repeat purchaser of a Ford product. I had a Windstar prior to the Mountaineer. My trans went out at 38k on that and was going out again at 110k when I got rid of it for the SUV.

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  Why Chose the X-R7 - 1996 Mercury Cougar
  By daskew - September 12 - 10:00 am

  I bought our XR-7 V6 model as a used vehicle. It is my experience that the for a V6 it is kinda suggish when taking off. I think that the XR-7 has a very comfortable ride, expecially on long trips. I feel that the fuel economy is very poor for this particular model. Get yourself in the frame of mind that this is not a sport coupe. Like most American made cars it feels like it was made on an assembly line. The air vents are placed in such a manner that the rear passengers have a good wait to cool off. The tires should have come in a low profile. The car is made up of a lot of parts, that over time begin to loosen.

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  A Non so likeable SUV - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By MechanicalAnimal - September 7 - 12:43 pm

  I leased our 2006 Mariner for my wife in 2006 in an effort to find a more economical replacement for her 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. I thought she would be able to live with a smaller sized four-cylinder SUV. I was sorely mistaken. She almost immediately complained about the lack of power. After spending time behind the wheel myself, I must admit the engine is not powerful enough for that size/weight vehicle. Furthermore the brakes are substandard in wet conditions and the gas tank is too small which results in having to hit the gas station more often than one would like. Overall not a fun vehicle to drive. My first (and probably last) Ford Motor Company product.

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  Tire noise will drive you crazy - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By Ariel - August 17 - 5:43 am

  My husband drives an F-150 SuperCrew and it sounds like a quiet luxury vehicle compared to my Mariner. Also, I am disappointed with the lack of illumination on key controls for night driving. Unless you memorize all the controls, you are s.o.l. after dark. I had more illumination on my 10 year old Dodge Caravan.