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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  mini-me4 - 2007 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By mnmyummo - April 11 - 5:50 pm

  The Grand Marquis I bought was smooth and quiet. The V8 though was noisy, effortless, and sometimes felt ungainly. But the cabin felt comfy, despite the unsupported front seat. The trunk was quite cavernous. Sometimes, though, the vehicle tilts when cornering at higher speeds, such as 30-40 mph, but overall the ride seemed stable and supple. All in all, the Grand Marquis is a comfortable touring car, but I do think better cars exist in its class.

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  Looks good, but thats about it. - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By CarlosSeoane - April 10 - 2:00 am

  I bought it October 2003 with 20,000 miles for $ 10,000. Thanks Goodness I bought an extended warranty, because a week after buying it the transmission blew and it cost the warranty 4,000 bucks to fix. It has 26,000 miles now and nothings broken yet, although sometimes it wont start easily and others it feels like its going to die on me when idling. I hate the fact that I cant trust my car.

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  Great Family Car - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By MercOwner - April 5 - 10:00 am

  Ive owned this car since 2001, bought it with 32k miles. It is a very reliable vehicle. It has the best ride, unless you like sportier/firmer ride quality, and is large enough for the whole family, even on vacations. It is a Park Lane Edition, equipped with all options except for a CD player. One can really work the deals during the negotiation of these car purchases!

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  2002 Grand Marquis - 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By libsdad - March 28 - 2:00 am

  Purchased 12-2002 as a program car. No major defects, except battery died and was replaced under mfg. warranty. Nice ride for trips, averaging 21.4 mpg. with 60/40 mix of hiway/city driving.Have yet to go on long trip, but look forward to it.

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  semi satisfied - 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By tano - March 22 - 10:00 am

  Great looking car. Listed as a big car but interior seems anything but. Front seat all the way back still leaves one feeling too close to steering wheel. Practically no leg room for rear pass- ingers. Huge trunk but a real back breaker to load and unload.

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  Carols critique - 2006 Mercury Montego
  By Carol York - March 13 - 11:03 am

  Mileage not as good as expected Like the large windshield Would like to have a digital dash (totally) Seatbelt placement is good Very quiet ride

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  Anonymous looking...a BLAST to drive - 1998 Mercury Mystique
  By goggomobil - March 10 - 9:10 am

  4 cyl Zetec with the CD4E automatic trans. Looking for a small but not cramped car, We chose a red Mystique. Although the styling isnt avant-garde, it is still an attractive car. The car had 108K miles when I test drove it. In spite of this, it was tight and was as devoid of squeaks and rattles as one could expect. What impressed me right away was how well it held the road. I took it around the perimeter of the GM Proving Grounds, got it up to about 55 mph and YANKED on the wheel, serpentine fashion. This car was absolutely stuck to the pavement. It is kinda light on horsepower, but its the best everyday 4 door car I have ever driven.

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  Great powertrain, but poor assembly - 1999 Mercury Villager
  By VG - March 7 - 6:23 pm

  Just sold after 9 years. Nissans design and the solid and reliable Nissans powertrain were the other reasons why I bought it and they surely stood up strong. However, my first years under warranty have been spoiled by constant trips to the dealership to have a dozen of minor assembly items fixed. It just seemed that the van was put together in a hurry and things were constantly falling apart - CDs skipped on minor bumps, headlights had leaks and failed, windshield cracked from an edge, speed steering rattled at high speed, etc. Once all those things have been fixed, the van has became fun and proved to be a real work horse.

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  UK driver great first American car, when i have it - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By davidscouse - March 6 - 7:52 pm

  My mrs got a Chevrolet Astrovan few years ago so decided to find an American car for me. Had it for nearly 4 years now. Been great to drive BUT is a gas guzzler, had to replace brake pads and discs which i think is wear and tear, also had some other matters to do with exhaust and suspension fixed. Windsreen wipers come to life by themselves and is infuriating. Now i have to replace front wheel bearings, and replace rad after leak which needed to be imported from USA. ABS light comes on frequently. Does not sound too promising especially when i have to take it to a specialised garage and is away for a month at a time. On plus side its bigger than UK vehicles and fast. Comfy and solid

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  Nice vehicle, great price - 2008 Mercury Milan
  By Pat - March 5 - 12:40 pm

  I purchased this vehicle used with only 3000 miles! It was not my first choice, but I had read about it online and decided to try it. The dealer had it in a back corner. I like the drive and I feel comfortable and I like all of the features, although I will probably never use them all. I am not impressed with my mpgs so far, although I am told it will get better as I "break the car in". I am getting 17 highway! Except for that, I love the vehicle. It has a smooth ride and I get no interior rattling (so far) as some have reported.