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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  Mercury Monterey Great American Made Van - 2007 Mercury Monterey
  By Kyle - September 26 - 1:03 am

  My 2007 Mercury Monterey is awesome it has it all at the push of a button like dual power sliding doors dual power heated & cooled seats & dual climate control & a power liftgate the Monterey has a sporty exterior & a elegant interior with great looking wood and chrome trim accents & the little clock between the a/c vents look great & it has a great smooth ride & i really love going around sharp curves because the Monterey hugs them with ease & even going about 80 mph on the freeway the ride is extremely quiet & the powerful 4.2L V6 is really fast from the get up & go i love to floor it because i love that power and still get about 21 mpg i could not be happier with my Monterey i recommend it

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  Finally...a car done right - 2006 Mercury Milan
  By CJ - September 25 - 1:50 am

  We purchased a 2006 Milan Premier after considering the typical Honda and Toyota models. Milan is a standout for the money. The styling is fresh and the interior is first rate. Leather seating is very comfortable, and room is amazing against typical cars in this class. Milan is a fun to drive car, with controlled handling over a number of road conditions. It just seems sure footed. Point it and it follows. The Audiophile sound system renders CDs well, and delivers better sound than most OEM systems. I wish, however, Ford/Mercury would again revert to the JBL or Harman sound systems. Its nice to have a label attached to a premium system. We love this car.

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  excellent vehicle! - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Eric Knutson - September 23 - 10:00 am

  We researched the midsized SUVs and test drove 6 different brands before settling on the Monutaineer. It had the best value for the price and so far we love it! Very fun to drive after only driving 2 door sedans in the past. Great bang for the buck. Standard options offered on base model are far better than Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, GMC Envoy, and Trailblazer on their entry models.

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  Peacock Process - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By Peacock - September 21 - 5:26 pm

  I like everything about this car, except the mileage. Wish that I had bought a hybrid, as Im doing a lot of driving. I was told that it would pay for itself, but the cost of gasoline has risen dramatically since I bought this car, and Im reconsidering my choice of car. 20 - 22 mpg in town, and 22-24 mpg on the road.

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  Extremely Satisfied in Montgomery AL - 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By John Kline - September 21 - 12:40 am

  I had a Crown Vic with 200K miles and never spent a dime except on regular maintenance, tires and brakes, so I bought the Grand Marquis LS and get 27 miles per gallon on the road at 65-75 mph. Rides great. Wonderful buy for the money. Accelerates very well, handles well and sits very comfortable Tried the Sable, but easily made the choice. Certainly a wonderful car; could not be more pleased, I like its design, even if it is more than a decade old. I am a young 68 years old who works out two hours a day, works a 12 hour day and enjoys life. This is a car for a person with the maturity and self confidence to handle it--a person who can afford to pay more, but chooses not to.

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  Likes and dislikes of ownership - 2000 Mercury Mountaineer
  By r Holmes - September 20 - 2:00 am

  The 5.0 engine is very adequate for this vehicle, and the AWD works very well in snow. The only problem Ive had is that the check engine light comes on all too often, and the dealership does nothing to repair the problem except to turn the light off and then charge a large bill for a service that takes 5 minutes

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  The Kitty Cat From Hell!!! - 1997 Mercury Cougar
  By Justin - September 18 - 8:03 pm

  This rare 30th Anniversary Mercury Cougar is a lot of car for the money. This car came loaded with leather, power seats, one-touch sunroof, climate control, autoheadlamps and many other options. However, it has had its fair share of problems. It was trouble free up until 60,000 miles when the oxygen sensor needed to be replaced, causing the service engine light to come on. At 63,000 the ABS module went, which was very expensive to repair. At 65,000 miles the service engine light came on again and this time it was the ignition coils. At 68,000, the intake manifold gasket cracked which caused coolant to leak all over once pressure was built up in the lines. What is next to go?

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  Great Value - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By Jim_R - September 18 - 10:00 am

  Mercury brand is back. Great value.

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  marauder good idea - 2004 Mercury Marauder
  By biscoitti - September 18 - 10:00 am

  nothing wrong so far.have not bought a new ford product since 1974.this car is well built and solid.

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  I wish I bought this car new - 1996 Mercury Cougar
  By Vegasman - September 18 - 10:00 am

  I bought this Cougar Last month. I thought that I would park it in my garage and use it as a back up when I did not want to drive my new Chevrolet SSR. TO my suprise this eight year old car with only 52000 miles deives better than some newer cars that I have had. It goes to work with me every day and everything still works. What a great buy for $4,500.00 dollars.the V6 has pleanty of power and will cruise along just fine. This is a fun car to drive and I do not feel that I am driving an old car. In Las Vegas it gets very hot in the summer and AC works great. It is a car that looks great and is fun to drive.