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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  Dont Plan On Hanging Up Your Clothes !! - 2008 Mercury Mariner
  By Country - June 21 - 2:46 pm

  Mercury has not designed the mariner for folks who like to travel. Too much daytime glare on the instrument panels and poor lighting contrast will leave you squinting to see the temperatures and your fuel economy indicators. Mercurys engineers left out all the interior entry & exit assist handles that made our mountaineer a delight to use. They claim its the side curtain airbags, but sit in a side air bag equipped, top of the line Lincoln and youll see plenty of handles to hang a clothes travel rod on. One stinking little pull out hook that will only hold 5 shirt hangers doesnt cut it !

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  Great Car, Great Value. - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By MBrash - June 19 - 10:00 am

  With the great incentives offered, this car turned out to be a real bargain. The performance and handling is great. Plenty of room and comfort, great for road trips.

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  great car - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By lbeezie12 - June 19 - 10:00 am

  make no mistake about it, this car IS comfortable(very in my opinion for a performance sedan). The ride is great, and i cant wait to open it up on the highway. The car is also loaded with features too. Inside and out, this car is simply awesome. My only gripe with it is the bottom end grunt. It just isnt enough for this type of vehicle. But once it gets going, it moves! Other than that, this is an awesome vehicle that is a great replacement(and better) for the 1994-6 impala ss. One test drive and i believe that you will agree.

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  Mountaineer is great - 1997 Mercury Mountaineer
  By gail - June 19 - 10:00 am

  Great vehicle, would buy again

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  So far so good in the Sable - 2001 Mercury Sable
  By Hans - June 19 - 9:26 am

  Ive had my Sable since November and so far it has been great. Im 23 so I cant say I love the car, but its done everything Ive asked it to so far. I bought it as a fill in until I can buy something I really like, and its been great. I occasionally drive about 4 hours to see my family and the Sable has performed wonderfully. I get roughly 27 mpg on the highway and between 17-20 around town. Mine is the base model with almost no options, but it performs great for what it is. Very solid, reliable sedan with room to spare.

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  Excellent Car - 2007 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Dieter - June 18 - 11:46 pm

  Silky smooth and fuel efficient engine. I get 20.5 in town around Boston and as high as 27 on the highway. Looked at BMWs, but they do not offer a proportionately better handling or ride for the value, plus they burn expensive premium gas. I still cant find a better car for the price. I put heavy sway bars on the car (rear end) for a couple of hundred dollars. Big difference. Suspension mods are easy and cheap. Cars design inside and out is simple, and uncluttered... but I like that. Only complaint, is that the rear seat does not fold down, and they dont make a roof rack.

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  BMW Must Be Overcharging. Milan $23Gs? - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By Ron Jerdon - June 18 - 5:33 pm

  Germans are gonna get hammered trying to compete with Mercury Milan or Ford Fusion. These cars are truly outstanding. Steering and Braking are way above expectations! 22 MPG City! Very happy!

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  Excellent after 100,000 miles - 2008 Mercury Mariner
  By shihchi - June 17 - 10:26 am

  Bought my Mariner new in June 2008, trading in an 02 Escape w/ 150,000 miles on it. Now at 100,000 miles, the Mariner has had no problems. Avg. 26-29 mpg. "Hassle" of folding down back seats is nonexistent: requires 30 seconds. No big deal. Replaced noisy OEM Continental tires with Goodyear Assurance tires, and little, if any, road noise can be heard. Like the leather seats and moonroof. 1st gen. 4-cylinder, 4-spd auto trans. work well; I dont miss additional cubes or gears. Pop-open rear window very handy. Upscale ambience nice. Never experienced trans.-coolant leakage; recalled before any problems experienced. Seats very comfortable for all-day drives between Dallas and St. Louis.

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  always something going wrong - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By Mike - June 16 - 9:16 pm

  It had 118,000 miles on it when I bought it in 2004. In one year I have replaced the battery, steering pump, back brake calipers, rotors, tires, spark plug wires, O2 sensor, coolant over flow bottle, rack and pinion $900, and the engine light is on now and the car surges because another sensor has gone bad and its like having a car payment every month. My Windstar was worse. My family has owned Ford cars for more than 50 years and they all had electrical problems. Once the engine light comes on it never shuts off. Ive had it!!!

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  Good Sable Stuff! - 2004 Mercury Sable
  By Mike Jacobs - June 15 - 6:43 pm

  I bought this car in 2007 with 21000 miles on the odometer. I was the third owner. The car had been on a Red Carpet Lease and then sold as a certified car and those owners liked it so much they bought a new Sable. I average around 20 MPG around town and after a 6000-mile trip last summer averaged 27.5 MPG. I have been very happy with this car. A year has gone by and its time for another 6000-mile​ road trip. The oil has been changed, a new serpentine belt and 4 new tires and were ready to go! I should crack the 100K mark somewhere on the way back to Washington State. A mile mark​ for a great car!