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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  SAFE CAR - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By keith fonseca - September 18 - 10:00 am

  my 2002 sable ls is well worth the money it cost, has everything a person could want and in an accident you would be surprised of how well it holds up.i had it for 3 weeks and was rear ended by a car doing from 65-70mph and her car was a complete loss nothing left and the sable was hit bad but took the bang rather than the passengers. the 5 star crash rating is true.would not be happy with anything but the sable

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  Oh my Kitty - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By Cougar owner - September 18 - 10:00 am

  I purchased my Cougar in April 2000. Most problems related to service but I did take the car back about 4 times the first two weeks for radio problems. A few months afterward, I took it back because of bubbles that caused paint chips. The car has had several recalls that I knew nothing about until a year later. The most recent problem was the RPM revs in neutral. Passengers are not crazy about the back seat, so this car is for the selfish...few riders and no little kids! The car seat does not fit properly in the back. I like the looks, but I am not completely satisfied. I wont be buying another Cougar...neither will I buy another Mercury.

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  A decent buy - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By Byronape - September 15 - 10:00 am

  I bought the car with 125k miles on it for about $2000 under book. The interior has held up well, but the paint has lost some of itt luster. The engine is still reasonably strong, and the steering has held up well. A bit heavy in the corners, but not too bad. If you are intrested in this kind of thing, there are a few places to find aftermarket parts for this car. A web search should bring several up. All in all, my time with this car has been well spent with only a single and inexpensive problem that had me driving a Geo Metro (I still have nightmares from that thing) for a week. I am not sorry I bought the car at all.

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  I Love My Cougar!!!!! - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By fsugirl - September 15 - 10:00 am

  I have owned my Cougar for nearly 4 years now and I have never had a problem. I brought it in for a couple of recalls and I just had my brakes done at 35000 miles, which is all fairly normal, other than that I have had no problems with it. She drives great, looks great, and Im sad that they discontinued it.

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  04 Mountaineer - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Nolepat - September 14 - 2:00 am

  Had ours only one week. It is solid, very quiet, comfortable and well built. Wanted one without the third seat; glad we couldnt find one now. The loss of storage space is negligible and gaining the seat has already come in handy. Filled up today for the first time; got 17 mpg on all city driving. Mileage will only get better, looking forward to getting this "Brute"-what my wife calls it-on the interstate.

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  my oponion - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Patrick Meredith - September 14 - 2:00 am

  I purchased this vehicle out of the clear blue. I have had please owning and driveing it over the years.

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  baby girl - 2004 Mercury Sable
  By Terrie - September 14 - 2:00 am

  i think that she is one of the best car that i have ever had, and i have had 7 of them.

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  Bought a used Milan - 2006 Mercury Milan
  By jr - September 13 - 7:50 pm

  I bought a 2006 Milan in August 2008. The car looks good and is comfortable inside. Road noise on stock tires is too loud on most roads. The ride is harsh with sharp jolts on rough roads. I thought it would be smoother and quieter than it is. The automatic trans, when manually shifted to a lower gear, shifts into low at 40 mph, quite a jolt. Also the radio, for no reason will increase volume to an uncomfortable level sometimes when I hit the cruise control to decrease the speed.

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  Why Chose the X-R7 - 1996 Mercury Cougar
  By daskew - September 12 - 10:00 am

  I bought our XR-7 V6 model as a used vehicle. It is my experience that the for a V6 it is kinda suggish when taking off. I think that the XR-7 has a very comfortable ride, expecially on long trips. I feel that the fuel economy is very poor for this particular model. Get yourself in the frame of mind that this is not a sport coupe. Like most American made cars it feels like it was made on an assembly line. The air vents are placed in such a manner that the rear passengers have a good wait to cool off. The tires should have come in a low profile. The car is made up of a lot of parts, that over time begin to loosen.

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  Everyone Should look at hybrid - 2007 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By The Warners - September 11 - 5:43 am

  We really have enjoyed this purchase nicest vehicle we have ever owned, got the premium package with all the toys so it is extra fun, along with the safety package for added security. Very satisfied with fuel economy have driven over 1000 miles in 1 week and fuel economy keeps getting better. If you have any doubts drive one yourself and you will be sold.