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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  fun to drive - 2004 Mercury Marauder
  By lou varga - July 21 - 2:00 am

  Its a car that feeds the ego. It hearkens back to a bygone era, but with a reliable vehicle. It looks good, rides good, gets decent gas mileage(never less than 17) and draws compliments as nothing else Ive ever owned. I could take two friends and all their luggage to the airport in comfort with no problem. It handles better than my 2002 Grand Marquis did. I am 65 yrs old, 75" tall and over 200lbs and I can get in and out of it in comfort.

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  03 Mercury Marauder - 2004 Mercury Marauder
  By Lowell - July 21 - 2:00 am

  The mercury Marauder is a pleasure to own, drive and behold. I have never owned a vehicle that put a permanent grin on my face before. It is a vehicle that you have to drive to appreciate. Test drive one. You will find your own grin!

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  2003 Mercury Marauder - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By Lowell - July 21 - 2:00 am

  The Mercury Marauder is a dream come true. A full size luxury car with sports car performance. The smile on my face never ends. To like a car after one year of ownership is normal. To love a car after one year of ownership is not normal. After one year I love this car. Visit mercurymarauder.net.

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  my marauder - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By impala owner - July 21 - 2:00 am

  overall a fun car to drive it turns heads and makes people hit their brakes to see exactly what it is

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  its too bad - 1997 Mercury Sable
  By john libile - July 21 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car with the hope that American manufacturers had actually started to put some quality control into the design/manufacturing process after a decade of being beat out by the Japanese; I was wrong. I bought this car for my daughter and I will never make the same mistake of buying American again. This car has had the transmission rebuilt twice, and it is once again failing.The engine runs poorly and is burning nearly a quart of oil a week; my mechanic tells me its due for a rebuild. The ergonomics are so so and the styling is lackluster. Now I remember why I should stick to Honda and Toyota.

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  Nice car if not for all the faulty "Bells and Wistles". - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By harleyguy2 - July 20 - 10:38 pm

  For the most part the car can well and drove nice. The interior and exterior quality was good. However, the Memory Seats, Power Seats, Heated Seats and Heat and A/C controls were problems from the very start. Each were repaired multiple times under the warranty. After the warranty expired problems with power seats and A/C occurred again. Ford would not peform the repairs under the 12 month 12,000 mile warranty as they said the parts that failed were not the same as the parts repaired the previous year, even though the symptoms of the problem were identical. Finally traded it in on a Foreign car. Cant afford a Ford.

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  QUALITY AT BARGAIN - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By irv - July 20 - 10:00 am

  ONE OF THE FINEST AUTOS IVE OWNED IN FORTY YEARS OF DRIVING IN THE NYC AREA WILL BUY ANOTHER AT 250000MILES EASY SERVICE GREAT SAFETY WITH MY NEW TOYO PREM TIRES . A GREAT FAMILY CAR!

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  Smooth & sweet - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By 12 paws - July 19 - 5:30 pm

  Ive had this car since 2005. Im very happy with this ride. Traded a Buick Riveria (very sweet) in to get this Cougar. Shes got the looks and power. Ready for new struts now,comfort is a must!!!

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  A good, solid car - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By Mickie G - July 19 - 12:46 pm

  There is one major drawback, gas gas gas consumption. Otherwise this is a solid investment if you purchase this car with low mileage and car fax proves that it was not driven into the ground. If the car was well maintained and has clean background, this is indeed a great car to have.

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  Awsome car - 1995 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By jamesl8 - July 17 - 11:19 pm

  95 grand marquis ls has got to be the best car ford built i bought the car frome a friend for 500 and it had 219000 miles on it now it has 285000 on it all ive replaced is a water pump 24 bucks and thats it besides add a little oil every now and then cheak engine lite has been on since 240000 but everything still works great ac is very cold heat is hot car rides good the power is great with the intercepter engine the trans is strong no slips no hard shifts no leaks. the car has never failed to start i plan on driving it till it blows then ill haul it to the crusher because its not worth fixing just buy another over all the value of the car is great for 500 dollars u cant go wrong