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 SUV for a Ford Product - 2006 Mercury Mountaineer
  By CO Driver - October 29 - 1:06 pm

  The Mercury Mountaineer is an all around great SUV with a nice standard package as well as a great option list that will make the price shoot through the roof. The 4.0L V6 is a great motor offering 210 hp and 254 ft-lbs of torque at 5100 rpm and an average of 20 mpg. Living in Colorado I can really test the performance of a motor! At an average altitude of 5,280 ft and many passes that climb well over 12,000 ft, the 4.0L V6 had power to spare. The handling of the Mountaineer is better than other SUVs test driven. With the Stability Control system, it really helps the Mountaineer really stick to the road. With minimal body roll and tight steering, their really is no "wishy washy" feeling

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  Our second Mountaineer - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By eleprd - October 27 - 10:00 am

  This is our second Mercury Mountaineer. We love it!!

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  Never Again - 1999 Mercury Villager
  By VanMom - October 27 - 10:00 am

  This has been the worst vehicle I have ever owned and will never buy another Ford product. Have replaced headlight wiring, throttle box (>$400 due to sticking gas pedal), and power door locks. Drivers auto door lock currently not working, and radio display is blank (have found out this is a common problem). Doors rattled like crazy from day #1 (dealer fixed after many, many tries). Many other annoying repairs. Great inconvenience. My advice -- buy a Honda. We have had two,and they last well over 200,000 miles with minimal repairs. Only bought Villager because Honda Odyssey was not available at the time and had to have a mini van.

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  2004 Mercury Monterey Lurury van - 2004 Mercury Monterey
  By Louis J. Nelson - October 27 - 10:00 am

  Especially like fold down rear seat, vehicle is very responsive, like rear and front sensors and canopy air bag system. I am still strong on American cars and would never own a foreign one as I see cancer (rust & eaten away metal) on many of the foreigners and some GMC models.

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  Loving It - 2009 Mercury Mariner
  By Susan - October 25 - 11:00 am

  Ive really enjoyed driving my new Mariner. 100 miles every day on farm to market roads in southern Texas. Averaging 24 MPH and no problems so far except for a small squeak in the center dash when driving over a different type of payment. Enjoy the Bluetooth and Sync. Comfortable seating - that surprised me for a compact SUV. Id recommend it to another single person or a family with small kids.

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  mountaineer - 2003 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Traci Nerren - October 25 - 10:00 am

  good options for the price with a v-8

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  I want another one - 2004 Mercury Monterey
  By aml5501 - October 21 - 1:43 pm

  This was my first minivan and it will be my last. I love this minivan. Everything about it. It is luxury from top to bottom. I just wish it got better gas mileage. I havent seen another out on the road, which I think is sad because I love it and I think everyone should have one. My kids love the automatic doors the most. I love dropping them off at school and just pushing a button to let them out. I just wish they still made them. I too would love a navigation system and a little more under the seat storage but other than that, it is perfect.

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  Great Car - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By cyn202 - October 21 - 10:00 am

  I purchased this car in December of 2003 for $10,500.00 including tax/title. The car was a fleet car from Enterprise with 15,000 miles on it. I still had time on the original warranty and I also purchased the extended warranty. So I am covered until the car is payed off. This is one of the nicest cars I have ever owned. It has a very roomy interior and a large, deep trunk, CD player, tinting rear view mirror. It a great car to drive and I am getting well over 300 miles of "in town" driving to one tank of gas! I fill my tank up only twice a month. I am very pleased with this car. In fact, the car pictured here on this site is the same color as mine..."arizona beige".

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  The little things - 1997 Mercury Cougar
  By jimmyh911 - October 21 - 10:00 am

  This car ran beautifully up until its warranty was up. First to go was the radiator than a freeze plug. The crack manifold almost totalled the engine. (we recieved the recall too late.)The front end has had $3500 in repairs in the last 2 years. The doors sagged off the hinges ($450 repair) Through all of that, it rides beautifully, never breaks down, handles well, has a beautiful cockpit and speeds like bat out of he11. The cougar cleans up beautifully but still leaves others in its dust.

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  My mountianeer baby - 2003 Mercury Mountaineer
  By rteest03 - October 21 - 10:00 am

  I have never enjoyed a car more in my life. I tried maybe test driving 15 different SUVs that were similar in size and price. There was no comparison to the Mountaineer. I have had nothing but superior quality from the performance to the way it looks. Not only would i recommend this car, but I would advise you to be preparde that once you buy it, you will have mountaineers for the rest of your life!!!