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 Second Love - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Rhythum - August 29 - 2:00 am

  This is our forth Mercury Grand Marquis Each one just gets better. They are fun and easy to drive. I am very confident of the dependablity. It gets very good gas mileage. 22 to 26 miles to the gallon.One of the most important parts is its comfort . We travel alot and really enjoy the comfort and the huge trunk. It will not nickel and dime you with repairs.This one has and excellent paint job with a half rag roof. Looks very sporty.

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  Sport Ute Van - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By William Graham - August 26 - 2:00 am

  I only have 5500 miles so far. I like the room and the third row seat. The transmission is quite rough at times in the shifting. The V6 is adequate for my uses but a dog on gas consumption. The ride is not as choppy as my 1998 Explorer. I love the exterior appearance.

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  38 months and counting - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By kessdoggie - August 26 - 2:00 am

  Solid performer overall, may have lower trade in value than Honda/Toyota, but I paid a lot **less** for it to begin with. Get about 24 on highway (65-70 mph avg) and about 17 around town.

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  I Love My Villager! - 2000 Mercury Villager
  By godzgirlprayz - August 25 - 9:47 am

  This is the best vehicle Ive ever had! It has nearly 150k mi, I got it with 39k mi. It handles well. No major problems, have only had to do regular maintenance until just recent. Now its starting to run rough, like its going to stall out. Shimmy in the steering when I go over 70 mph. Replaced timing belt at 100k. repaired ac switch (front & back) around 120k. No probs with windows, radio, doors. Oxidation and paint peeling but its 11 yrs old & we live in FL! Otherwise its beautiful! We are gonna try to get it repaired bc I love this van!

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  Best car I ever owned! - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By D.S. - August 24 - 8:16 pm

  This is the best car I ever owned. Went from a 90 Towncar to this. Great ride, handles like a sports car. Will pass anything with ease. Mileage is 23 mpg. The LX with all the bells and whistles would be nice too. One down side is it is smaller inside than a TC but everything short of a van is. If you are looking at one to buy I would jump at it. Great safety, dual air bags. Handles like a sport car, rides like a luxo coupe. Good mileage, lots of space. Looks fantastic. If you want a more sporty ride get the Marauder. But I can not fault this car. Just did a trip with it and the cruise stays within 3 mph of where you set it going up and down hills.

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  Excellent big V8 value - 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By FRANK - August 24 - 7:23 pm

  My satisfaction with a 1994 ford crown victoria I purchased new, drew me back to my looking at the Mercury. The excellent value for the money of a quality auto ruled out considering the Chrysler big cars and the Toyota and Honda offerings as well as the Chevrolet big car. The comfort and room are worth the small trade off in gas mileage, plus the safety of a bigger car. The wide choices of options allowed not having to pay for unwanted and needless ones. Only one small service shop item, failure of keyless door pad which was repaired at no charge. The standard features and overall attention to detail shows that from my 1995 crown vic, to my present 2006 grand marquis, quality is first class.

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  Great Vehicle ! - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By JS - August 24 - 12:26 am

  10 days & 500 miles. Sticker is $32K, got $2k off from the dealer and $2k factory rebate. I am pleased & impressed. This is a lot of automobile for $28K. I cant believe Ford is not advertising this vehicle. Fit & finish is on par with any Honda or Toyota. While not a Vette or Lincoln Town Car, this is a powerful, smooth, comfortable, roomy & quite vehicle. Huge back seat and huge trunk, not to mention with the trunk passtru & passenger front seat down, you can carry 9 foot items ! SYNC with my Verizon LG cellphone & Apple iPod is fantastic! While gas mileage is not exactly outstanding, one must remember that this is a large (safe) vehicle with AWD.

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  Love my Mountaineer for the most part! - 2003 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Amurr1991 - August 23 - 5:10 am

  I have had My Mountaineer for quite a while and Love it! I have only had to replace ball joints and Put new tires on it (standard maintenance). This vehicle is such a workhorse and handles great in all weather situations! The fuel economy is awful though, (only about 13-15 combined). Overall I have been pleased with this truck. The only complaint I have is that the interior quality could be better. The truck has 110,000 miles and does tend to have some minor rattles, but not too bad, other cars I have had dont generally start to rattle until much later, but hey Its a Ford not a Mercedes!

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  Never again... - 1997 Mercury Sable
  By jsez - August 22 - 2:00 am

  I have had this car for several years now, and have had nothing but problems with it. I have replaced the O2 sensors, the cam shaft position sensor, and now it needs a new transmission. All of the interior A/C control knobs have broken off. The flip out cup holder is a pain, you have to hold anything in the cup holders to complete a turn unless you want your drink in your lap. NEVER AGAIN will I buy this car or its twin, the Taurus.

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  Perfect vehicle for imperfect families - 1999 Mercury Villager
  By spencersdad - August 21 - 10:00 am

  A handsome package, flexible, capable and about the only "mini" van that can comfortably carry SIX passengers in comfort up&down I-5 without a mutiny.