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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  Save your dough - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By Vic man - October 28 - 10:00 am

  Save yourself 10 grand and buy the Crown Victoria Sport. You only get a few less lb./ft. of torque, and Mercury should be embarrassed for pulling the engine from the demised Lincoln Mark VIII instead of running a supercharged version of the 4.6.

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  Audi-esque - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By Montgomery - October 23 - 5:13 pm

  I have owned many cars and SUVs. I wanted an all wheel drive sedan. The Mercury Montego reminds me very much of my 2001 Audi A6. The design is clean, not garrish like the Chrysler 300. The CVT is extrememly smooth. The car handles well and is HUGE inside. The gas mileage is better than any other full size sedan or SUV I have driven recently, and it performs on regular gas, not premium. The engine is a little coarse, but has adequate power.

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  Great SUV - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By msass - October 22 - 5:43 am

  Overall this is a great vehicle. I have only had one major problem (with the cd player) and it was covered by the warranty. Very comfortable to drive, good pick up, great AWD! Handles very well in the snow, especially compared to the 2wd model.

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  Palm Springs to Highway 15 Drive - 2001 Mercury Cougar
  By Indio to Idlewild - October 12 - 6:46 am

  ... the Cougar V6 performed quite well over the pass (zero to 4500 ft) from Palm Springs to Idlewild to Highway 15 up to Hemet. I had driven the Celica GT, Mitsubishi Eclipse GT and Lexus SC300 as well on this route. Fuel economy was impressive the whole trip. Overall good value domestic sports coupe.

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  Big Highway Cruiser - 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By roknrob - October 12 - 2:00 am

  This is standard suspension LS (not the performance version), well equipped w/leather, 8-way power seats both sides, factory CD, power pedals etc. I use this as a highway commuter, 66 miles/day. GOOD: 4 disc brakes, fuel economy (26 hwy), reliability, passenger and luggage space, safety, value for low buck. NOT SO GOOD: Numb handling, sensitive to cross winds. So-so ergonomics...long reach to radio, wide but unsupportive seats, no tachometer, slooooow power windows, no usable cupholders or driver storage (dumb split armrests...coulda been storage). Aging old-man styling, but still a respectable old-fashioned Detroit cruiser.

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  An Okay SUV - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By Car Guy - October 9 - 1:46 pm

  At first, we were very happy with our Mariner. It had the nice heated leather seats, Intelligent-4WD system, and a roomy interior. However, it has gotten to a point where road noise is nearly unbearable, wind noise is too noticeable, and nearly every bump we go over is transmitted into the cabin. On the plus side, we are getting 21.5 miles per gallon, we get good comments about its exterior, and it has good handling. If you want a practical SUV, the Mariner is a good choice. If you want a comfortable SUV, look at another one.

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  Not bad car - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By Bill Gamelli - October 5 - 4:10 am

  Bought the V6 all wheel drive for wife. Perfect size for her and bought the Milan instead of the Fusion because Mercury is going out and got $4500 off sticker. Will always get parts for it but did not really think about my resale value since Mercury will be no more.

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  04 Mountaineer - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Susan - September 30 - 9:50 pm

  Passenger windows on both sides wont go up and down. Been worked on, need more work apparently. Heated seats are fabulous. "Leather" on seats not holding up that well, showing wear and cracks. Runs great, no mechanical problems yet at 55,000 miles.

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  Excellent in V6 manual - 1998 Mercury Mystique
  By Fibbo - September 28 - 1:33 pm

  Fun to drive, great handling and acceleration for its price. Only cons are, gas mileage isnt great and fifth gear revs pretty high in highway driving (adds to fuel economy problem). Also the front cup holders are poorly designed. Wheel bearing problem around 100,000km was the only big repair.

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  Check the roof before you buy it!! - 2005 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Sue - September 28 - 11:13 am

  Nice size car for the money, however, we had a serious problem with the welding on the roof area. We could see weld marks all throughout the roof edging (inspect carefully your roof before buying!!!) Was told by the dealer this happened on several other of their cars!! Now is leaking transmission fluid-- What a piece of junk!