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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  Outstanding. - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By Bobbby B - April 12 - 2:00 am

  This is an outstanding car. I put it the test and it has proved to be worth every penny i paid for it. Which wasnt very much anyway!

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  Love love love this car! - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By CandyCane - April 12 - 2:00 am

  I love this car. Its really fun to drive, has lots of pep. Love the looks of it too; very different from the looks of most cars in its class...makes it stand out. Steering is a little heavy; I think that would be my only complaint, but its honestly not THAT bad. I have had it for 2.5 years now and have never had to do anything but routine maintenance; have had no major problems at all.

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  Great Car - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By Lars McCulloch - April 12 - 2:00 am

  Fun! I love this car. My experience has been great. I unfourtuantley got into an accident and it wasnt too expensive to fix.

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  Best car I ever owned - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By ArtE - April 12 - 2:00 am

  Best car I have ever owned. I fill the tank with gas, change the oil every 3 or 4 months, absolutely no problems. Although my selling dealing has been a pain, the price was good though. Well there is one minor problem which they have so far refused to fix and Im talking to Ford directly about that. They tell me they will fix it, but when? Its already out of warrenty and still promise, but have not done it.

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  Sporty SUV - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By Tracee - April 11 - 10:43 am

  I just recently purchased the Mercury Marinier the end of March 2005. So far I think it is a great small SUV. I have driven 4 Explorers over the last 9 years & I feel the Marinier has a very roomy interior.

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  Love my Marauder - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By jeffn - April 6 - 10:00 am

  Handles well, no slop in the steering and no "floating" in curves or on bumpy roads. It is slow off the mark but quickly picks up once the tach reaches 3000. It has the quiet ride that youd expect from Ford and the leather seats are quite luxurious.

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  Mercury has one Awesome SUV - 2007 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Kyle - April 5 - 5:46 pm

  My new 07 Mercury Mountaineer is awesome it has a killer sound system super smooth ride and a easy to use Nav System and the V8 Engine can beat just about anything you want it to its really cool i love the design and the colors look great Dark Cherry and Light Tan Leather the Mountaineer has it all and at a price you can afford and it has plenty of passenger space and cargo room and the 18 in chrome rims look great with the dark paint and the rear park asst is a great feature and the interior quality looks great and so does everything else and i never would have thought that when i was 26 i would own a Mercury but they have some really cool cars u should check em out u might like what u see..

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  Great Car, the right decision!!! - 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid
  By MB - April 3 - 11:40 pm

  Had a 2007 Lincoln MKZ that my wife hated, poor turning radius, difficult to judge for parking,etc. Looked at the Fusion Hybrid, the new MKZ, and fell in love with this elegant, understated, very European styled tuxedo black Milan Premier Hybrid. Have over 1200 miles on the car and we are averaging 38 MPG, just amazing, never expected it to be so good. Price was right, and the reviews sold us.

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  great used car - 2000 Mercury Mystique
  By mister zip - April 3 - 10:33 am

  I bought a used very low mileage GS....in 5 years it s only been driven 33155 miles, that made me take the chance on it ... its an EXCELLENT student or work car...luxury,,,no, but that isnt why I bought it...I really like this car!!!

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  Great CUV for the price and package - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By TPATRO - April 1 - 8:20 pm

  I love this CUV. Drives great like a car. Have not any single issue so far. I also have an aftermarket Navigation system. Cant ask for anyhting better!