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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  Many problems... - 2009 Mercury Mariner
  By Freddo - October 22 - 4:50 am

  I was excited when I bought this car. Unfortunately, it has proven to be dangerously unreliable. 1. Tire pressure warning kept going off for no reason. 2. GPS lost signal and also couldnt find its way to Oakland airport. 3. Transmission started jerking and failing. We reported the transmission problem and brought the car in to the dealer. They told us there was apparently no problem even though AAA was called at one point because the car wouldnt start. When put into Neutral, it started. This morning I had to run out to the highway and pick up my wife because the transmission was making weird noises and the car was lurching forward. Total transmission failure.

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  Mercurys are Mistakes - 2004 Mercury Sable
  By Colleen - October 1 - 10:00 pm

  I bought a 2004 Mercury Sable, I like the look of the car I like the size of the car I like the interior, but I have had some hugh problems. First it started with my Starter needing to be replaced ar 30,000 miles, then my battery kept dying, I have to date changed the battery three times and the dealership cannot figure out what is draining my battery, but the dealership is taking the easy way out and saying things to me like, "You must have left your lights on," not once have I left my lights on or a door open? Now the car has 37,000 miles and the transmission needs to be replaced. I will never buy an American car again.

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  I will never buy another Murcury/Ford - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By I hate this car - August 22 - 9:10 am

  This is the worst car ever. I hate this car. The windshield wipers go off practically non stop without you even touching the dial. They are especially worse whenever I use the turn signal, and theyll go off about 10 times every time I turn. The transmission is iffy, it misses all the time, and is very jerky. It probably needs to be fixed! The brakes need to be serviced again, I already had them replaced once. (Ive got about 120,000 miles on it). Its got some nice features inside. I like the power seats, and its got awesome AC. But there is nothing worse than driving down the road with your brakes squealing and wipers going off like crazy. Dont buy one!

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  Horrible Transmission Problems - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By sin143 - July 12 - 12:50 am

  To anyone that is looking to buy a Mercury Mountaineer. I never ever buy domestic cars, but needed a 7 seater so decided to go with the Mountaineer. 2 weeks into purchasing the car, the wheel bearing went out, so that was replaced by Ford at no charge. 2 years later the transmission went out on me. I had to fight it thru corp to get the dealership to fix it thru the warranty. Its been 2 years since I had that replaced, the transmission is starting to stall at 20-30 miles again, so another tranny problem comes. There should be a recall on transmission on these cars. If I have to replace 2 already in 4 years.

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  2002 horrible Mountaineer - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By tim - June 23 - 5:30 pm

  Our Mountaineer has 67,700 miles on it and the transmission already has to be rebuilt. The transmission shop told me there was nothing that I did wrong or I could of done to prevent it, that this is a commom problem with this transmission. The dealership and Ford wont help us because the warranty is up. I contacted The National Traffic and Highway Safety Administration and made a formal complaint. If you have any problems with yours please do the same it only takes 10 to 15 minutes.

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  2000 Mercury Cougar - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By Mindy Dill - June 18 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle is a piece of junk!

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  My mariner - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By GEORGE SCHOTT - April 4 - 2:56 am

  The vehicle is very noisy there is a lot or transmission noise and vibration.The instrument cluster is a disaster (information center)95% of the time you cant see it due the reflection the charactors are difficult to read. The compass is useless it is stuck over in the extreme left corner using a little stick figure for information.Seating has almost no lateral support. There is no indication if the transmission is in 4wd or 2wd, is gives you a unsure feeling when you are wet or slipery conditions. So far i am not impressed with the gas mileage best i have done is 18.5 At normal speeds. The overall noise inside the car is excessive my last 2 trucks didnt make this much noise

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  My Marquis is Junk - 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Sam - February 15 - 6:46 am

  This car is junk. I cant even start it half the time. The alarm system will not disarm. It had a water leak and smells like swamp water. There is nowhere to put anything. It is total junk. Ive already had to replace the exhaust system. It is basically $22,000 worth of junk. I will never own another. Thats a promise. Mercury will fix nothing. 36,000 miles and you own it baby.

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  Lemonade? - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By Jen - February 7 - 12:00 pm

  One year in, and this car needed the fuel pump replaced while still under warranty. CD player 6 cd in dash also ATE cds and got stuck even after repairs to it. Needed to do the brakes sooner than would be expected. I was told that this was due to the front wheel drive or something.. Not only the brake pads, but also the rotors usually need to be replaced every time on this type of brake system. They dont tell you that when you buy it. Next came the dead battery.. at about 25,000 miles. Just as it fell outside of warranty in terms of years, not miles, it needed the alternator replaced. This was at 32,000 miles. This is when I dumped the car, ate the negative equity, leased a Mazda

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  AWFUL CAR besides look and stereo - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By ihatemycar721 - January 8 - 10:00 am

  This was my first car, i had bought it for cheap through family. THIS CAR IS CURSED! My hood didnt latch and flew up while i was driving on the expressway! Cup holder spills drinks everywhere. Have had to spend tons of money on fixing things. Headlights have a film on them. it VIOLENTLY shakes between 50-60 mph, needs a new motor mount. paint chips and fades. not a lot of storage. cloth on seats are itchy.it is just bad luck all around. air bags have not deployed in my 2 accidents they should have. seat belt locks constantly. LOVE the cute sporty look, and it has GREAT stock stereo system!