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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  Time for retirement - 2002 Mercury Villager
  By Pmpepsi - July 11 - 10:00 am

  Retirement for the villager comes none too soon. It lacks the features and refinement of other minivans. Reliability has been the biggest shortcoming. This is a perfect of Fords fall from grace in recent years. Problems include a loss of breaks, transmission issues and relentless rattles and squeaks. Interior materials have that cheap look of and economy car, certainly not what you expect in a upscale Mercury.

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  Look Elsewhere! - 2004 Mercury Monterey
  By Atlanta - July 10 - 10:33 pm

  We bought a 2004 used in 2004 with low miles, certified and inexpensive. Even though we got a good deal on the price- it was not worth it! First, the heated seats had to be replaced twice, the TRANSMISSION had to be replaced at 35k miles, then a whole stream of problems with the emissions, which was not covered on the extended warranty that came with a certified car. It has a clunky transmission, a loud ride, brake problems, auto door closing problems and every other option on this car has a had some sort of problem or another! Even though many of the items were thankfully under warranty, it is a constant hassle having it in the shop and there is always some sort of fee that is charged!

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  Dont buy one that shakes - 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By William Dennison - June 28 - 7:40 am

  This car has vibrated and shook since purchased. The dealer says there is no Ford service bulletin, so there can be no problem. In fact, there is a service bulletin that the dealer apparently does not know about. I gave the dealer a copy of the bulletin and the car is still not fixed. This is the worst car I have ever owned. This car really lives up to what many people think the letters in Ford really represent.

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  dONT RECOMMEND - 1995 Mercury Villager
  By stod band - June 22 - 6:53 pm

  i DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS VEHICLE BECAUSE AT 94OOO MILES THE CRANK BROKE EVEN AFTER ALL PROPER MAINTANCE HAD BEEN DONE. iNTERIOR THEY WERE NOT THINKING WHEN THEY PUT THE CUP HOLDER IN THE FRONT.

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  This Car Is the "Mercury MISTAKE" - 1998 Mercury Mystique
  By Chris - June 20 - 10:46 am

  My LS Mystique (Mistake)has been nothing but a problem from the beginning. The transmission was replaced before the car was even three years old. The original paint job began to crack at less than three years and had to be repainted. The dealer installed premium 6 disc CD changer and premium speakers have had excessive mechanical difficulties. The list of constant repairs has been going on from the beginning. I will never buy a Mercury again and for that matter will never buy an American car again. I will most certainly be buying a Toyota for my next vehicle.

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  Buy a foreign car - 2000 Mercury Sable
  By met - June 6 - 10:40 am

  Purchased my Sable with about 75,000 miles in 04. Check engine light came on the first week I owned it. Had to replace the oxygen sensors. During the first year, the back spring broke and punctured the rear tire while I was driving. (They had a recall to put a guard on the tire because the front springs were having this problem, but no reimbursement for the back.) In the past few months, Ive replaced the alternator, entire engine and now the transmission is leaking fluid. My dad had to replace the engine in his Mercury Grand Marquis around the 140,000 mark as well. The back suspension has always been creaking - sounds like the back end is going to fall off when you have people in it.

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  Ft. Myers - 2005 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Chip - May 29 - 11:36 pm

  It has been at the dealer 3 times for warranty work. The rearend went out at 12K miles. When you turn the steering wheel it makes a grinding noise, which the dealer says nothing is wrong. They cant fix it. I have owned Ford truck/SUVs for the past 10 years and never had any problems. My wife has had only Honda/Toyota products. I am going to sell it and put her back into either a Honda/Toyota product.

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  what a piece - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By Perry Tolliver - May 2 - 12:20 pm

  car only has 90 tyhousand miles on it the interior is falling apart, the tape deck quit working, uncomfortable on ong trips probally due to the leather seats, was handed down to me by my parents, that upgraded to a top of the line Acura, with the money that I have put into repairing the car I could have flat bought a nice brand new car or had a really large down payment on one. This car broke me for Ford Motor Company. I will never buy another Ford midsize again

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  Not A Keeper - 1995 Mercury Villager
  By Tom Rademacher - April 3 - 11:36 am

  This car performed well for us the first 80,000 miles or so, but dont plan on owning it for the long run unless you enjoy poor workmanship that fails over time. The engine is a champ, the same they install in the Nissan Quest. But weve had trouble with cargo door alignment, power lock failure, power mirror failure, AC, rear heat and a handful of other electronic elements -- niggling things that we wish ahead of time wed known were going tolet us down. The car just isnt built for the long haul.

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  Mercury Mariner Hybrid - 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By j mueller - March 29 - 11:53 pm

  I owned a Lincoln Aviator before this.There is no comparison. This car is cheaply built!It has uncomfortable seats with paper thin leather, poor sound system, you can hear the outside air through the windows, it has a rough ride. Overall it is just a cheap, uncomfortable car that was definitely not worth 30-some thousand dollars!