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:

• 

  Best and worst of a V.G. Car - 1995 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By tio - April 1 - 9:00 am

  Mechanically, best ive had! With regular oil changes and required periodic service, it has never been any problem. Bad is the elcectric window system! Absolute pits!. Changed each regulator at least twice, some 4 times (overall total 11 times!) Automatic door/window control panel went bad when i decided to get rid of the car. One other plus: mileage over 24mpg highway, (when originally bought, over 26)! This, to me was quite remarkable for V8, 5lt engine. Body had polyglycote coating and required no cleaning and stayed good with an occasioal wash. Original mileage was 19300; at sale was 83500 w/original battery installed! &, this was, without a doubt, the quickest starting car ever owned!

• 

  UHadMe@TestDrive - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By LVTASC - March 31 - 2:00 am

  I had been looking at getting a Firebird for about 2 months when I saw a review on cars comparable to the Pontiac. I then discovered I had a Mercury dealer 3 blocks from work and, on a whim, took a test drive during my lunch hour. Thats all it took. I did 3 laps around the block and bought it the next morning. This car is fun to drive and has the look and feel of a very-well crafted machine. I have the Sports model C2 package and could not be happier. One caveat.. Keep your eye on the speedometer, you can easily be going 90-95 while it feels like 50mph.

• 

  Outstanding Performance - 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid
  By Wayne - March 30 - 9:00 pm

  The Mercury Milan Hybrid has proven to be every thing I had hoped for. The hybrid system is working flawlessly and I am getting around 39 mpg with a combination of highway/city driving. The handling is excellent, plenty of power and a pleasure to drive. Road noise is minimal. The blind spot detector is fantastic. It took several days of driving before I got the technique of putting it into electric mode whenever speeds are below 47 mph. Now it is just second nature. The interior is well done and the seats quite comfortable. The voice activated Sync works very well.

• 

  Great SUV to own - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By ajktopdawg - March 30 - 1:26 pm

  I have owned my 02 Mountaineer for 2 years. Traded into it from a 96 BMW 328i convertable. Granted, its not a BMW with as speed or open air, but makes up for many other options. The only issue I had was an alarm sensor went bad a 50k miles and that cost me $120 at the dealer to fix. 20 mpg on the hwy at 75 mpg is as good as you get with 5 speed automatic. Front seat is hard and can hurt sitting too long. Plenty of HP and get up and go, quicker than my wifes 3.8 Mustang and thats an 03!

• 

  A car is only as good as the driver - 2007 Mercury Milan
  By Appleton - March 30 - 12:40 pm

  I have read a lot of the reviews on this website. I have had my car for a full 2 years. My dashboard doesnt rattle and my speakers are to die for. I drive the 07 V6 AWD Premier model, black leather interior, black exterior, sunroof and spoiler. I keep my maintenace schedule, I dont wait for my car to whine before I fix it, hence my comment, the car is only as good as the driver. I also treat the leather seats every time it gets clean. I have driven mercury models for the past 10 years, without a breakdown. This car will be in the family and on the road 10 years from now. I traded in a Mercedes Benz for this vehicle, and beleive me when I say I got my moneys worth. It glides. I love my car.

• 

  2007 Milan w/appearance - 2007 Mercury Milan
  By jwr - March 29 - 3:43 am

  So far this has been an outstanding vehicle. Driving a rare 5 speed manual tranny is a real treat, the clutch takeup is as smooth as silk and the tranny shifter is just as smooth. The fuel economy so far is as good or better than the 2002 Focus I traded in on this vehicle. The audiophile sound system is excellent. The car is very comfortable around town and on long highway trips. I would most definitely recommend this car to a prospective buyer.

• 

  Nice car to own! - 2007 Mercury Milan
  By Shannon - March 28 - 8:10 am

  I love this car! I choose the V6 Premier over the I-4 because of the engine power. This car can really get up and go on the highway. The only thing that I miss about my old car (Toyota Corolla) is the fuel economy.

• 

  A lot of car for not alot of money - 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By a_roo - March 25 - 10:00 am

  I just bought this car a few weeks ago, and an still in the honeymoon stage of ownership. Let me tell you why I bought it... I was getting tired of small/medium cars and wanted a larger car with a lot of premium features. This car is VERY comfortable, and the ride is smooth. Granted, Im probaby one of the younger buyers of a car reserved for a more mature audience, but I wondered why I havent looked into a larger car sooner. I was going to wait for the 2003 models, but with the fantastic deals, I bought the 02 Grand Marquis Ultimate edition.

• 

  Best SUV for the dollar - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By moneymotives - March 22 - 10:00 am

  I think the Mountainer is a great buy. I love the comfort and smooth drive.

• 

  Awesome Truck - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By nomorehonda - March 22 - 2:20 am

  I needed a truck with a third row seat. Looks are very important. This truck is not too common and the front is so stylish. Fuel is poor but many suvs are. The interior is spacious, so is the third row seat. Oh yeah, drives wonderful too!