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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  2005 Mercury Montego - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By Lawrence - August 21 - 8:40 am

  We have been totally satisfied with our Montego. Driving at 65 MPH on an interstate, we have gotten 31.5 MPG. At 70 MPH, it goes down to 27 MPG. City driving makes it go down to 25 MPG. The height of the seats make getting in and out of the car extremely easy. We are both tall, so the more than ample length seats are a plus. Like all Ford products, the car corners fantastically. The 5-star safety rating is yet another plus.

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  Transmission Gone Wrong - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Grand Master - August 20 - 11:23 pm

  My 1999 Grand Marquis has had 2 rebuilt transmissions. It was a rental. Buyers beware because most 1 or 2 years old cars are rentals sold to various dealers. A good price can be had. The only thing is that in 30 years of renting cars most of them have had some kind of major defect.

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  2 ton of fun and 30 mpg @ 60! - 2011 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By drjjjj - August 16 - 8:08 am

  Truck frame, truck engine, truck tranny with car body, excellent visibility, reliability and cheap to maintain! Add isolated chamber quiet, wide, safe and easy to find a nice used one and this car could be the sleeper used car find for the wise! Buy 2003 or newer, run only 5-20 synthetic, replace the LCM lighting control module (see ebay-weak relay) and you have a cheap, reliable upscale ride for $5k+/- that should hold its value and get you 21 mpg avg for most and late 20s at 70! Easy to find a low miler that been driven by an adult too Look under the car and youll be impressed-very robust frame, suspension, etc! Lots of car for the money and a choice used car !

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  The best of the best - 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Scott - August 14 - 7:50 pm

  I have owned the Marquis for over three years. Got the car with 54,000 miles and after the three years of beating it down with delivery service for almost 100,000 of my own miles, the car is still running magnificently. My mom had a 96 and put 308,000 miles and it was still running. These cars are reliable

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  Good vehicle - 2006 Mercury Milan
  By samson126 - August 13 - 3:06 am

  Took advantage of year end pricing and financing and not disappointed. Nice family car. If you are looking to save some money by getting the base model of a brand, this model shouldnt disappoint. Took awhile to get used to 4 cylinder after driving 6 cylinder, but after 5 months the car is dependable and gets me from point A to B without any worries. It looks like a more expensive model and so far is very dependable.

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  A++++++ 35th Aniv. - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By Platinum Cougar - August 13 - 2:00 am

  Great sports car at compact price!35th Aniv. Model is even better than plain!

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  2003 Grand Marquis - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By JD-Iowa - August 13 - 2:00 am

  I like the appearance and enhanced steering compared to my 1996 Grand Marquis. Only disappointment is noisey trim chirping on back doors on gravel road when car is cold.

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  Never Want to Drive a CAR - 2005 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Jerry Riley - August 12 - 5:50 am

  I Love this truck. We go the DVD package and our little girl will ride forever without interruption I believe that is a selling point in its own, all the kids want to ride with us because of the TV and headphones, you can still listen to your channel and they can still watch TV without interruption. But the truck itself is AWESOME I will never own another CAR at all. The gas prices may stink now but they will go down and I will still have my GREAT truck

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  Love it - 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Bacardirobb - August 11 - 2:00 pm

  Purchased a second hand Marquis LS Ultimate Edition. This is my second Marquis. First one was a 1991 and I have noticed that the ride is more stiff on the 04. Same gas mileage as my 96 Cougar and with a larger engine.

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  Great Car! - 2000 Mercury Sable
  By Deeter - August 10 - 2:50 am

  I drive over 100 miles a day (round trip to work. It is comfortable and bullet proof. Stock sound system is rock solid. Heating/AC works great. Ride is comfortable and steering is tight (yet smooth). Its not fancy but it gets the job done VERY WELL! Never EVER had any problems and I am well over 100,000 miles. If you find a low mileage one, BUY IT!