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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  Most comfortable and efficient Van - 2002 Mercury Villager
  By Kim - January 8 - 5:36 am

  This is the first minivan I have owned and am very pleased with the comfort and the fuel economy. I have gotten 23- 25 mpg highway miles. Also, the leather seats are very comfortable with a lumbar support for the driver. I have to travel long distances to work and the comfort is great since I have a bad back. The sound quality is great especially with the video system. The only compliant are the tires; Michelin Symmerty tires are already worn badly at 60,000 miles and are very rough. Overall this is the best car I have ever owned. Unfortunately they (Nissan) dont make this van anymore. It is basically a Nissan Quest.

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  Fine Car - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By Don M - January 7 - 4:06 pm

  Great car. I traded-in a 2007 Lincoln MKZ. This car is substanially less when equally equipped.

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  best car i ever owned - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By mkrawczyk - January 6 - 9:34 pm

  bought this car with 70,000 miles it now has 109,000 this is the best car i have ever owned have not had one problem with this car 18mpg city and 24 hwy it is like setting in a lazy boy driving this car.use no oil between changes i will buy another one when this stops running.

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  A great car - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By Ronald - January 6 - 2:26 am

  I have owned the vehicle for a little over a month and driven it over 3000 miles. The car runs great, has plenty of power, handles good and has lots of room. It is a very good car.

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  The way it should be - 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Tip of Texas - January 5 - 10:50 pm

  Before I bought my MGM, I test drove the baseline models of Lexus, Infinity, Cadillac, Jaguar and tried to test drive the Mercedes C300. They all felt the same and very much looked the same. Have to look close before I can tell them appart. Because of my job, I drive into Mexico every day; I need comfortable; feeling the road is not really desirable and with all these cars you actually feel the road. Went to the Opera recently and the wows my MGM got were not been given to the CTS and the Mercedes. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with old as long as it works well and looks great. What happened to distinctive US designs? Why do critics push for oriental clones?

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  Comfort & visibility - 2009 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Darrell - January 2 - 11:53 pm

  Ive owned fast cars, sporty cars, vans & crossovers. Im impressed with the comfort and visibility of this automobile. I have no need for fast acceleration off the starting line, the fuel economy is ok, and I dont have to lean over to see out of the car. For trips longer than to town, it is great. Styling may be old to some, but styling isnt my thing.

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  2007 Montego - 2007 Mercury Montego
  By Pat - January 2 - 7:26 am

  I just recently bought a slightly used 2007 Montego with 17K miles. It was a returned lease back that was in near perfect condition. I wanted a good quality larger American car that got good gas mileage. Im not your average Mercury buyer as Im 30 years old. So far I am really happy with the purchase. This car got such negative press since it first launched and I cant understand why? The engine is plenty adequate for every day driving. At 80mph Im only hitting 2,100 RPMs. This engine is really reliable as I had it in my Taurus and put 155,000+ miles on it with no major engine problems. Averaging 26MPG overall and usually 29MPG highway.

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  Monterey - 2004 Mercury Monterey
  By dnhollin - December 31 - 2:00 am

  A high quality and well built vehicle. Safety features outstanding

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  Honest real world opinion - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Thom - December 27 - 8:03 pm

  My driving and ownership experience. Hmm. Well all said and done, second too none. The MGM is by far the best car I have ever owned, inside and out. Ive given this car the highest ratings all around including fuel economy. I find though my research most larger cars as well as mini-vans or other family sized vehicles average around 20-25 mpg. I average about 25 mpg (26.7) to be precise with my Grand Marquis. Now factor the size and weight and power of the car and compare that on a scale to ANY small car or large car. You will find the MGM is the green or most fuel efficient car on the road. Outside of fuel economy, I rate the reliability five stars. MGM has a proven record and still holds it.

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  value for the money - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By due - December 26 - 10:00 am

  For a family car dont pass this one up!