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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  Great car - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By Texas guy - September 16 - 9:10 am

  Best car Ive ever owned. Plenty of power, 25 mpg on the highway, very smooth ride. Good handling.

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  Nice SUV - 2001 Mercury Mountaineer
  By APD - September 15 - 2:00 am

  I have been very pleased with this SUV. I have owned a number of trucks in the past and this one by far is the most comfortable one yet. Because of its relationship to the Explorer, you are able to find many parts to upgrade mechanical and appearance.

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  I love MY Villager! - 2001 Mercury Villager
  By luvmyvillager - September 14 - 5:40 am

  My Villager has been extremely reliable and comfortable. I have had no problems with it. Its a fun van to drive and I wish they were still making them!

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  My New Milan - 2006 Mercury Milan
  By TKOlive - September 12 - 3:16 pm

  I just leased a new Milan Premier V6 and so far I love it. I traded in a 03 MINI Cooper, and was spoiled by her pep and manueverability- but I am thrilled with everything so far. The Milan does not take off the moment you accel like a CVT transmission, it does jump a bit and lose a little road control with a harder accelleration. After less than a second, it does pep up by leaps and bounds...getting on the highway is a breeze. The back window is a little hard to see out of, the brake light blocks the car directly behind you and the rear-view mirror is distorted. Leasing is a great option if you dont want to pay $400 a month for this car. I got $1000 incentive + $500 college grad money.

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  great ride - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By mick - September 10 - 9:30 pm

  i have driven explorers for the last 12 years, and i can say i enjoy my little mariner more than any of my previous fords. also with gas prices the way they are going a smaller suv for me is the way to go. handles well and is a pleasure to drive.

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  Good To go! - 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By Mariner21 - September 5 - 9:00 am

  MPG as advertised. 30-34 around town and highway. Great small turning radius. Very maneuverable. Environmental controls are excellent - heat/air/defog etc. Delivered fit and finish just fine. Interior molded plastic parts a little on the cheap side - not terrible but not a clean design - bolt/screw fitting visable. Overall - would buy another one. Dealer sales and service support adequate but could use some Toyota/Honda customer/service style training. Mariner Hybrid - good example of why you should buy American. Good wheels!

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  I LOVE IT!!!! - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Rick Wood - September 4 - 10:00 am

  I owned a Lincoln LS before the GM Ultimate Edition. I absolutely love the ride and handling of the GM. The LS was a little too stiff for me. I have driven the vehicle 3300 miles in less than two months and am still impressed with the way it rides, handles, and provides me with pain free comfort on long trips. A must see! A must buy!

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  Great Van with few problems - 2002 Mercury Villager
  By 86bmw325i - September 3 - 9:23 pm

  This van is great. This is my 7th year of owning it and had a previous 1995 model Villager. I love the performance and semi sporty handling, better than the other minivans I test drove. The interior is well designed, except that it has so much plastic used. The dashboard rattles when it idles, so I took it too the dealership, but of coarse they said they couldnt hear it. Had an exhaust leak at about 90k, the mechanic couldnt order the right part because they quit making it, so he had to weld the old one. It still whines a little when you accelerate, nothing big, though. Also, I can feel engine vibrations through the steering wheel. But, other than that, its a great mini-van.

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  Super Nice SUV - 2007 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Mike Philpott - August 31 - 7:03 am

  Have owned this 07 Mountaineer Premier for just two weeks (and 600 miles) but its already an irreplaceable member of the household. We like just about everything about the Mountaineer. Looks great (love the color - White Chocolate paint with two-tone tan leather interior - as well as the overall style) plus its very comfortable to drive and extremely stable on the road. We also like the fact that the 3rd row seats fold down flat into the floor at the touch of a button and will accommodate two full-grown adults in at least semi-comfort. We are very happy with our purchase. A great vehicle that Im sure we will enjoy for many years to come.

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  The da!~ gas pedal - 1999 Mercury Villager
  By K Logie - August 30 - 10:26 am

  Purchased 99 Villager w/ 46,000 miles last year, seemed like a great used vehicle (clean, good shape, no accident history). Brought back to dealer b/c the gas pedal was stuck. "Supposedly" it was fixed, when I picked it up, after them having for a week, I had to drive from MA to MO and realized the tachometer stopped working and the gas pedal was still sticking! The vehicle has 79,000 miles on it, pretty much everything on the dash has stopped working, except the speedometer works about 50% of the time. Getting rid of it now before something else goes wrong! Previously owned a 96 Villager, other than gas pedal it was a great van!