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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  Love My Montego - 2007 Mercury Montego
  By Ndtish - July 21 - 7:20 am

  Bought this car with only 18,000 miles! I just love having factory warranty. I get 29 city and 33 highway, and on one trip that was 4 hours, I got 36 MPG. I even checked it at the pump against what the computer said, and they were both dead on! I live in the great white north, so on the cold mornings, the heated seats are a plus, and I have lots of heat. My last vehicle was a 99 Taurus, and I had to get the heater core flushed every year in order to have heat. My daughter has the same problem with her Taurus of the same year. The moonroof is awsome. I use the vent feature the most and it is open even on the cold mornings on my drive to work. This is an amazing car!

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  this is a great mazda (mercury) - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By poppy joe - July 18 - 2:03 pm

  this was a really great suv i hauled flowers and pottery for three years and never lost a days work easy to get in and out of small spaces with i would like to keep it

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  Mercury Grand Marquis Review - 2011 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By rickydee2 - July 17 - 2:30 am

  Edmunds review of the mercury Grand Marquis tells me they have never driven one or other Ford products like them. Such as the Ford Crown Victoria or the Lincoln Town Car The mileage estimates for all there are not accurate. I have owned all three of these cars and they all get at least 29 to 30 miles to the gallon on the highway and 19 to 20 in town. I owned a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria with a police interceptor engine, but had the highway geared rear end. It was personally owned by a police officer as his own car. I drove that car from Kansas City to Memphis and filled up when the fuel gauge was almost on empty. It took about 17 gallons to fill it up and I had drive 497 miles!

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  Dont believe what youve heard - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By Bud - July 13 - 8:16 pm

  Bought the Premier version, Merlot exterior w/ two tone tan interior. Car is a wonderful driver, there is plenty of hp for the everyday driver, maybe not for hp junkies. Very pleasant ride and is optioned out nicely. The HID lights are a plus at night. 18 inch wheels are attractive, but harder to clean with the multiple spokes. Getting a comfortable setting on the seats is easy and the available memory seat is great. A fine automobile, try it.

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  Montego - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By Linwood Farmer - July 7 - 6:40 pm

  drives well. very comfortable. looks very nice. taillights can be seen from far away, good safety feature

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  Love and hate relationship - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By C Rush - July 7 - 10:00 am

  I love driving the car and the look, but the car has a major fuel pump problem which is common in these Cougars. It had to be replaced twice on mine, and I also had a sensor go out very early on. The features are all great, but I hate having a problem every couple of months.

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  Premium Car, for real! - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By CTSteve - July 2 - 10:00 am

  I was somewhat worried when going to test drive this car, mostly about how it would accelerate. Turns out, its completely fine, I put it to the test on the highway and was perfectly satisfied. Great Interior design, Exterior design is where these cars shine, they look great from all angles. Handling is much better then I thought, feels smaller than it is.

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  Fun to Drive - 2007 Mercury Mariner
  By Tom Walsh - July 1 - 6:46 pm

  I love the truly keyless entry where you cannot lock yourself out of the car. It has great pickup when entering traffic. I also like sitting higher than my previous SW.

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  Grand Marquis Still A Good Car - 2009 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Marquis Owner - July 1 - 3:33 am

  I have owned a Grand Marquis for 23 years and just purchased my 7th one, a 2009. The care still rides and handles very well and looks good. I was disappointed to find they have removed the compass, the automatic parking brake release and the Home Link.

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  96 XR-7 Cougar - 1996 Mercury Cougar
  By Jason Barksdale - June 29 - 2:00 am

  We bought our cougar when it was a year old it had 20000 miles on it and now it has 92000 miles ive never had any trouble out of it and I love the car in every way,it has the same 4.6 motor as in the GT Mustangs so that means any proformanes parts for a mustang 4.6 will work on it, i had a hard time trying to find somone that would put true duel exhuast on it but i got it done, its very hard to find 18x9 chrome cobra R wheels for it but i did, it rides better that any mustang ive ever rode in, over all i say A+