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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  Runs like new - 1995 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Rick - December 10 - 9:46 pm

  I fell in love with my dads 85 Gran Marquis and wanted one ever since. Although I bought my 95 car used a couple years ago with 81,000 miles on it, it runs like a dream. I did have to have the trans rebuilt but it is a small investment to a car that is otherwise mechanically sound. I havent had a problem with it since. With regular maintenance and oil changes, the car more than serves me well. I love it!!

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  Great - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By Cougar - December 10 - 3:36 pm

  Great Car. To the person who bought their Cougar with 100K miles and ripped it for "poor quality". Anyone who buys a car like a Cougar with 100K miles and expects it to be "ok" needs to research more. And to think Ford should repay the customer who bought a used car with 100K is just down right funny. By the way, my cougar didnt start having troubles till 120K miles. Got rid of it in 2008 cause the tranny went out. I loved that car, no problems till 2008. If you keep up the maintenance on any car, it will last.

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  Happy Mountaineer Owner - 2000 Mercury Mountaineer
  By dk - December 8 - 10:00 am

  Like the SUV, after almost 50,000 miles. Had persistent problems with noise in the front suspension at first. taken care of with nothing since. Have 6 cyl, 4.0 liter - gas mileage is great for a SUV. 22-26 hiway, 16-18 in city. We found that aspect just great

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  Good Old Gal - 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Wes - December 7 - 2:00 am

  Yes, the Mercury Grand Marquis is my grandmothers car....except I bought one too. It is a big boat that floats over the highway. If you want near Lincoln luxury at Ford prices...this is your car.

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  Better than most - 1995 Mercury Villager
  By robandmarilyn - December 6 - 10:23 am

  I bought this van with 160,000 miles on it. Original owner had made no major repairs to it. It has almost 200,000 miles on it now and still running strong. Only problems I have is the front end components consistantly have problems (thanks Ford). Had it been totally built by Nissan it would probably be unstopable.

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  WLC-Fla. - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Warren Clinch - December 3 - 2:00 am

  Improve fuel economy, change seat belt in the drivers position it almost never retracks proper

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  brand new - 2003 Mercury Sable
  By rmcknight - December 1 - 10:00 am

  I dont know about reliability, but i feel i got a whole lot of car. for the money. for the same options that i got, it would have cost $8,000 more for the accord or camry. my only concern is resale. that is where i hope reliability is high. acceleration lags a little at first.

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  Glad to have re-considered American - 2005 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Ran Dee - November 29 - 5:46 pm

  Where do you go after driving a lexus and 2 infiniti sedans for the last 10 years? When switching to a SUV the next logical step is import right? Not a chance. Competition is either too small/big or without a 3rd row, and 10gs for the fancy tags, cant see the value there. We took a 600 mile trip the first week. We love this vehicle! Has all the features we were looking for , and for the right price. We feel safe in this vehicle! Styling is strange for my taste. But the monochromatic Ivory Parchment on the Premier is growing on me. Same color and most features of the Lincoln Aviator for 10 gs less. Too soon to tell on reliability... Ill update if something goes wrong!

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  Great Car - 1995 Mercury Villager
  By Hot Rod - November 27 - 10:00 am

  Bought new in 95, after 7 years and 90,000 plus miles, we finally had our first repair and it was just a loose motor-mount and topping off coolant for the a/c. We love this car.

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  Been a good Van - 2002 Mercury Villager
  By trapfreek - November 25 - 5:36 am

  My wife and I have had this van for 8 years (second owner) and it has had no problems. My only complaint is that a strong wind will move it around a bit on the freeway and the seat will not go back quite far enough for me. All we have done in the past 8 years was front brake pads and a new battery. My daughter gets our hand me down cars and I hope this will keep going as well for her for a couple more years.