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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  My 3rd Grand Marquis! - 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Rob Hepler - April 28 - 4:57 am

  For the money, its difficult to beat. Very reliable, comfortable, handles well, not bad on gas, and repairs/parts are affordable. I highly recommend them.

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  2008 Mercury Grand Marquis LS - 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Tom Stipp - April 26 - 10:03 pm

  Having owned and driven many late model cars, my 2008 Grand Marquis is one of the very best.Fuel mileage in the upper 20s hwy, extremely comfortable and roomy, excellent reliability, award winning safety record many years in a row. The so called experts would have you believe the body style is outdated and recommends buying one of the newer more up to date not so safe and not very comfortable boxie vehicles on the market they say is more stylish. Had you rather be in a not so safe stylish one or one that has won safety records years in a row if involved in a serious crash which could happen to anyone at anytime? I will stick to my Merc, its a great car.

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  Delighted to be driving a Montego again - 2006 Mercury Montego
  By Bob Dar - April 26 - 7:36 am

  Looks great, many compliments on style and appearance. Drives and handles great, short turning radius, positive steering. Sit tall front seats with excellent visibility. Extra roomy back seat and trunk (two couples or family with luggage should be able to travel together. Neat hooks in trunk to hold grocery bags upright. Side doors close quietly. Audio seat belt reminder.

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  Cant see - 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By mpeeb24 - April 26 - 2:00 am

  Great Car, but I cant see where Im going at night. The headlight beams are so scattered that they dont reach very far down the road. My old truck with sealed beams has better lights! Otherwise, the car runs and drives great. Having been a Japanese car mechanic for 20 years, I can honestly say that the overall fit and finish, mechanical quality and performance of this car is more than a match even for more expensive imports. My family needed a bigger car, and all it took was one test drive to sell me on this one.

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  sable review - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By stratamite - April 25 - 10:00 am

  It was fine, it could be more roomier. There are no cup holders in the back, not good you have kids. Otherwise I liked it. The car did very well on long trips. It has great power for passing on the highway.

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  Best bargain out there. - 2010 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By al - April 24 - 12:00 am

  The 19 mpg is a city rating. On the highway at 80 mph I get 25-28 mpg. Some friends make 30 mpg or better. It has sufficient power to smoke the tires from a start and more than enough acceleration all the way past 100 mph. When I bought the car I was planning to put in a tuner kit to add 100 HP, but decided I did not want more horsepower as it had enough for anything but the drag strip. It has room inside. The steering is effortless, the brakes are good. I feel safe if and when a foreign car were to destroy itself against my big Mercury and the insurance claims prove it. It is a great car for a little price tag. Yes, buy a used one, they are reliable.

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  This is a Sedan - 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By mongo - April 22 - 5:20 pm

  I have had this model for 15 months and it is still in the "teething" stage because of the low miles. So far, there have not been any major problems with this unit and rather enjoy the road-boat. I can zip-zip thru traffic, room permitting, as if I were in a coupe and not a full-sized sedan. The style is quite nice but rather chintzy on the inside and outside trim. The trunk space is partially taken up by a full-sized spare and think a smaller spare would be adequate. The gas mpg is rather low but will wait for the engine other components to "seat-in" and then see what the mpg will be with more miles on this car.

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  Still happy 2.5 years in - 2006 Mercury Milan
  By EJJMILAN - April 22 - 10:50 am

  I have loved my Milan from the start. I have gotten a lot of compliments on how nice and luxurious it is - it is hard for me to believe it is a moderately priced American car, it is so nice! I was in an accident where I was rear-ended on the highway - I barely felt the jolt, was perfectly fine - my Milan showed minimal damage - I cant say as much about the economy import that hit me - her car literally crumbled and had to be towed away! I loved the two years of free oil changes that I received! My only gripe is the brakes arent that good, and the paint job is not up to snuff. I had to have the roof completely repainted due to rust. Many chips in the paint on the rest of the body too.

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  My Mercury Mariner - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By Melody - April 22 - 10:13 am

  In April of 2005, my family purchased a Premier Edition Mercury Mariner. We love it. It is a fun to drive vehicle and is an easy keeper. It is roomy and has a plush black leather interior with all the bells and whistles, including a sunroof, premium sound system and heated seats. It is a joy to own.

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  So far,so good... - 2001 Mercury Villager
  By lawlady - April 21 - 2:00 am

  The only complaint I have is how hard it is to take out the seats, and that the third row seat does not fold flat--but that was not an option in minivans when we purchased this vehicle. The handling is great, and I love the way the interior looks.