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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  Love My Cougar - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By Deb - September 25 - 6:53 pm

  I loved my 2000 Cougar from the minute I slipped into the bucket seat. Its high performance and handling made this V-6 five speed a blast to drive. Its been five years and 100K miles and I hate to think about having to trade it in.

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  Transmission Issues - 2009 Mercury Mariner
  By marinerowner - September 23 - 5:06 pm

  I bought this car and within 2 days it was back at the dealership. Brand new transmission. Still having issues. Lady in my yoga class having same exact issues with same exact car! This is not just one-off problem, seems to be a major concern with all the same make & model. Service techs at dealership act like this is my problem -- told me hesitation/delay on new cars is "normal". I have a 5-7 second delay with this car after pressing the gas -- car is lurching, zooming, hesitating, stalling. Almost had a few accidents. Not worth the $$$/aggravation. If it was NOT for this issue, this car would be a "winner".

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  GREAT VAULE AND LOTS OF POWER AND ROOM - 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By MERC MAN - September 21 - 10:00 am

  I BOUGHT THIS CAR AS I WAS LOOKING AT A NEW MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS. IT WAS ONE OF THOSE CARS THAT YOU HEAR ABOUT, YOU KNOW THE LITTLE OLD LADY WHO DROVE IT TO CHURCH EACH SUNDAY THAN KEPT IN IN THE GARAGE. IT WAS NOT FAR FROM THE TRUTH, IT ONLY HAD 36M MILES AND WAS IN PERFECT SHAPE. I PUT ALOT OF MILES EACH YEAR AND IT MADE SENSE TO ME TO PRUCHASE THIS CAR VS. A NEW ONE DUE TO THE HIT YOU TAKE ON DEPRECIATION. AFTER THE FIRST 30 DAYS I AM VERY SATISFIED.

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  Bargain 2001 Mountaineer - 2001 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Alf - September 20 - 2:00 am

  We needed something to tow our boat and navigate Michigan winters. The 2001 Mountaineer was a bargain due to the intro. of the all new 2002 model. This truck was sold new in Oct. of 2000, so it had about 18 months of service. We were able to get a 5 year 75,000 mile warranty (from date of original delivery) so we have 3-4 more years of coverage due to the fact it was a 2001 vehicle still covered by the orignal factory warranty.

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  2002 Mercury Moutaineer - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By winevisit - September 16 - 2:00 am

  Excellent SUV that is fun to drive. Great ride and handling. The only complaints that I have are lack of leg room for 2nd row passengers and lousy gas mileage. Very reliable, virtually zero problems.

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  Overpriced - 2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By JM - September 13 - 8:03 pm

  Good, safe, quality car way overpriced due to dealers ordering with every possible ridiculous option. For example-"ambient lighting" which I thought cheap/cheesy-something I might have liked when I was 16 rather than an adult. Nav. system is $2000-buy garmin instead or plug laptop into included outlet and use mapquest on the 3+ yrs of wireless you could buy w/ $2k you save. Nav. system includes dvd player that of course only works if you are in park because you cant be trusted that only passengers and not the driver will watch. 10Gig hard drive to hold all your music but only transfer is one CD at a time (no ipod/MP3 xfer), about 10 min/CD. No backup when hard drive fails! Bargain hard!

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  Outstanding ar first - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By 2141marine - September 12 - 9:04 am

  This is our second Sable, the first was a 1997, and fourth Ford product. As time goes by it seems the quality does not get better. My 1997 Sable was a better vehicle than the 08. At first it was a smooth operating vehicle, after about 20k it developed transmission problem. The Radio/CD player broke and the suspension started to go. Now it is in the shop for an unknown problem, every light on the dash came on , its like the car put itself in safe mode. Dont get me wrong, this is a good vehicle with plenty of room, a strong AC and decent mileage on the highway. Test drive before you drive, after a while it will sound like a lawnmower inside and the transmission will shift hard.

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  "The only car I want to drive" - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By Cougar for life - September 10 - 10:00 am

  I previously owned a 1999 cougar which was my first car when I was a junior in high school, but I was foolish and traded that car in when it had 46000 miles on it. Now, I am a sophmore in college and I recently purchased a 2002 cougar. This one is the Ultimate version. Both of my cougars have been excellent cars. The minute I get into them I get a feeling like the car was made specifically for me. That is probably the best thing about the car. What else can I say? I havent had any problems with either of the cougars Ive owned.

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  Our 03 Sable problems - 2003 Mercury Sable
  By ari1210 - September 4 - 5:03 am

  Purchased 03 Sable with 20,000 miles on it. Excellent car until two years later when the transmission went out 1,000 miles from warrenty expiring. I just today had to have the drums and back brakes repaired. Only has 42,000 miles on it. Other then that car has been reliable. I will never buy another Ford though.

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  Cougar gone wrong - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By madcougar - September 3 - 2:00 am

  I should of known the first day it was a lemon, when speedometer broke and my tire blew out. For the past year I have been in and out of the service shop because my car stops while Im driving, with no warning at all. I can be on the highway or on streets, and it will just turn off. I regret ever buying this car, I wish I would read these other reviews before I purchased it.