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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  Expected better - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By Mustang Gal - July 27 - 11:33 pm

  I expected better from the 2002 Sable. Ive owned Ford products my whole life and never had the problems Ive had with this car. I purchased used with less than 55,000 miles and just turned over 80,000 miles. In the last 18 months, I had to replace the fuel pump - car let me down while I was on vacation and I had to rent a car to get to my destination! A month ago I replaced the right ball socket and head gasket. Ever since the head gasket was replaced, the heat doesnt work right - not good in the Northeast during the winter. Also, since the head gasket was replaced, the engine was making a chirping sound. From outside the vehicle, sounded like a belt slipping - its the camshaft sensor!

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  not too bad not too good - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By not too bad - July 14 - 3:00 am

  overall i am not too impressed. i am glad i leased it and did not buy it. it is extremely poor on gas mileage. all the doors and trunk do not latch well. the keyless entry does not alwasy work. since the transmission recall my vehicle "needed" was done, it works worse. three car seats do not fit in the second row. heating system does not heat up fast enough, but the heated seated are awesome. rear speakers are terrible and tinny sounding. needs trunk release button in the vehicle (its only on the remote). mercury service stinks. I thought having a third row was a plus until I tried to get to it. BOTTOM LINE - I BOUGHT THIS AS A FAMILY VEHICLE --BAD CHOICE!!!

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  Disowning Ford - 2000 Mercury Sable
  By Dvldog - July 13 - 2:00 am

  My wife and I purchased this car to haul our two kids, one dog, and luggage for family vacations (just call me Clark Griswald). Although we have had some problems (suspension and tire wear) overall the car is okay. Mostly, I am sick of Ford taking me to the cleaners anytime something goes wrong with the car. Even the Ford dealership cant perform normal maintenance, they generally have to replace large portions of the car rather then faulty part (no wheel bearings on this car [$10] only wheel hubs [$75]). If you ask me it sounds like blatant planned obsolesce. I think this is the last Ford for us.

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  Transmission. Seems to be the common denominator - 2009 Mercury Mariner
  By Ken - June 9 - 2:40 pm

  Our car has been garage kept, low mileage, driven smoothly. Transmission has been a nightmare. Has been to the dealership 8 times for exact same transmission issue without long term repair. They simply reset the computer. So its obviously a software problem. They deny there is a recall or even a service bulletin regarding same, even though I have found proof otherwise. Now that its out of warranty, they want to charge $175.00 each time they "reprogram " the computer. As it turns out, a FORMER service tech explained that this involves disconnecting the battery for 30 mins. Thats it! Our dealer will not stand by any one these so called repairs, and thats the real issue. No real repair, no long term fix, no support or warranty on service. Next vehicle model will be more thoroughly researched with long history of good service ratings, likely a Subaru. UPDATE: 8-16 car remains in our possession, but sadly we cant trust it for longer trips, so it stays in the garage.

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  Power train - 2001 Mercury Sable
  By UNHAPPY FORMER OWNER - May 13 - 10:00 am

  On the whole I was happy with this car. My reason for getting rid of it was that when passing I would give the car gas and the only thing that would happen on occassion was the engine revving, no power was going to the transmission. I had the dealer check this problem out and everything was within specs.

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  What a shame - 2006 Mercury Mountaineer
  By KC - April 23 - 1:00 am

  Great for all the reasons you read in the other reviews. But watch that hard shift b/w 1&2 gear. Ours (14 months old, 13,000 miles) is now in the shop for the third attempt to repair this. Two torque converters and two transmission rebuilds later, we hope it is fixed for good. Ford, in their infinite wisdom, would not authorize a replacement transmission. So the mechanics keep rebuilding and replacing torque converters. Do not ignore the hard shifting b/w first and second gear if you have it in yours. Otherwise we love the truck in all respects (except for the lack of door handles). When it ran it ran great. What a shame.

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  Problem Car - 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By g. grantham - April 19 - 2:00 am

  This car was not assembled well at all. Problems starting at 2300 miles and continue until present, March 13,2003.The problems have been a number of things. 2300 miles have replace U- Joint. 4300 miles, replace steering grear box assembly. 10000 miles re-ring engine to correct oil consumption. Still uses oil. Last trip 1 quart for 400 miles. Car purchased in July 2000. Glen Grantham

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  Lesson learned - 1995 Mercury Villager
  By William Betts - April 14 - 10:00 am

  We liked it when we bought it but only a month later middle right-side window began to rattle. That was the beginning. Two years ago (2001) we learned from our mechanic the engine posessed a "valve tap" and would have to be rebuilt for $7000. We elected not to and it should only live another 3 years. Recently the automatic tranmission has been shifting bumpily and sometimes starts with a jolt. We know now not to get another automatic.

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  Bad car - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By icabod2 - March 10 - 2:43 am

  I purchased a 2010 Milan Premier with 15,000 on it . After I purchased it I found out transmission had been rebuilt at 12,000. The car still shift poorly 1st through 5 th gears. Found out later through forums Ford Fusions and Mercury Milans 2010s suffer from bad transmissions.Looking to get rid of car. Would not recommend it.

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  Nothing to get excited about - 1998 Mercury Mystique
  By ryanf02 - March 8 - 8:03 am

  I bought my mystique sport when I got my licence 5 years ago. I bought it around 70k miles and now it has just over 100k. All I can really say is you get what you pay for. Its spent its fair share of time in the shop and I wouldnt really rely on it more than I have to to take an extended trip over a couple hours. That being said it was in an accident that Im sure rattled some parts, causing some of the problems Ive had. It can be somewhat fun to drive, although its by no means a particuarly fast car. The sunroof leaks (directly on my crotch) and Ive had the overhead cabin lights just completely fall out. Not the worst 1st car, but Im looking to trade up asap