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 car - 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By Barb - November 14 - 6:13 pm

  Just returned from a 3410 mile road trip. Included interstates (30, 10, and 59) and old state highways, average mileage was 32+/mpg. Kept up with the 18 wheelers on the nightmare that is 10 in Louisiana without a problem, "Little blue" did everything I asked. Cargo capacity was more than sufficient for two old boomers on a retail therapy binge. Parallel parking on a crowded street in old town Willimington was a breeze! After 4 1/2 months driving this car Im happier than I was when it was finally delivered! Did not get the on board navigation system, (I can read a map) just added leather seats to the standard Mercury package.

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  Used to have a chevy blazer - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By skipp98984 - November 13 - 10:00 am

  Driving this SUV is much better then the old chevy blazer, very roomy inside cabin, better gas milage then expected, even going from a V6 to the nice 4.6 V8. Great pickup, cant wait for the snow! Smooth ride, would like to take it off road, but the paint is still way too nice! Great build, check out the undercarrage.

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  Great SUV - 2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By JG - November 11 - 5:23 pm

  I wanted to wait until I got to drive this in the snow to give it a full review - and now I have here in New England. I have been very happily surprised in nearly every aspect of this car, from its handling and braking, to its fuel economy, to its overall comfort - in all of them it has excelled. The Navigation and Sync systems are outstanding and fun to explore, with easy-to-use podcasts and music and hands-free phone all projected through speakers, as well as real time traffic re-routing. And it does just fine even in deep snow.

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  my new Mercury "Milan" - 2006 Mercury Milan
  By Hans - November 10 - 4:40 am

  Love the Vehicle, Drives well, handles well, good Construction, quiet comfortable Ride. Only Thing strange to me, is the Location if the Brake / Clutch Pedal. Pedals should be further apart. I owned many Std Shift Vehicles, but the Location of the Pedals takes some serious " Having to get used to it". Only gripe about this otherwise great Vehicle. Congrats Mercury...Dealership is great. No Problems with Delivery. If the Reliability is as good as my last four Mercury Vehicles....It should be very good.....Just change the Location of those Pedals to make a TRUE Winner.

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  A good buy! - 2003 Mercury Sable
  By Selfer - November 4 - 2:00 am

  We like this car a lot. It is our 3rd Mercury and 6th Ford product. It rides smoothly and has some nice extra touches. I find, with all Mercurys and too many cars these days, that the standard passenger seating is uncomfortable. I do not like to ride with my legs stretched out and the floors are too shallow to do otherwise. Bend your knees and they are up under your chin, it seems. Also, we drove the car out of the dealership and it shimmied. Seems it came from the factory with a bad caliper. Is there no Quality Control anymore? But Mercury fixed it and the Sable rides well now.

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  Decent Family Car - 2003 Mercury Sable
  By owensry - November 3 - 10:26 pm

  overall this sable is a great family vehicle, and not too horrible on gas mileage, i have the 24 V Duratech engine with 200 HP great pep to the engine, very nice leather seats, and paint color combination.

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  The best car I ever had! - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By Cornelia Strohmeier - November 1 - 12:03 pm

  I am so glad that I chose the right car. I looked at several cars and did not like them. When I saw Silver Montego I fell in love with it and bought it right away. Still happy with it. Its 10 in rating.

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  So Much car for such a small price - 2006 Mercury Montego
  By ACE - October 30 - 8:00 am

  About 2 weeks ago i bought a Mercury Montego Luxury AWD i am very happy with my car it has many features that a Lexus ES 330 didnt even have and at about $7,000 dollars cheaper i like the way the car handles and rides its very smooth and quiet and acceleration is good but should be a little bit more powerful due to the cars size i am also glad the Montego has command seating which gives you a much better view of the road and the big side mirrors make it easy for getting in and out of tights spaces and so does the Parking Asst. and i like the black leather interior and the nice Silver Birch Paint Color and in my opinion this car should put Mercury back on track because it ia a wonderful car.

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  Fantastic Car - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By kjnewman - October 30 - 2:40 am

  I wanted to move up to an import luxury car and spent time looking at Lexus, Acura and Audi first. My last stop was the Lincoln-Mercury dealer. I drove the MKZ and then the salesman suggested I try the new Sable. I was reluctant but figured since I was there anyway I might as well try it. What a car! $20,000-40,000 less than the imports with all the bells and whistles. I was so shocked I had to go back 3 times to make sure. This car is a steal! The Sync system is terrific and the car is so damn comfortable I can hardly believe it. Ford has a winner here that appears to have been overlooked by the media and auto pundits.

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  The Hot Moms Minivan - 1999 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Nicole - October 25 - 12:36 pm

  I see it as a womans truck. It holds the kids, the gear and tows the boat. For camping we set up the tent as a storage closet and sleep in the truck. I love the rear controls, they come in handy to teach the kids how to work the radio and for the nights sleeping in the back, the temp and radio are at my fingertips. Looks nice, handles awesome, and is very fun to drive. It is a TANK in the rain. I have the V8, so it uses gas, but it is an SUV. Its a classy Explorer with lots of little added features that make it more luxurious.