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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  ImpMauler - 2004 Mercury Marauder
  By FinishLine - December 26 - 10:00 am

  First thing first. This car can stamp out any Impala on the road. However, the Imp was built almost ten years ago and still is a worthy adversary. To me that doesnt make sense. This car should have been 360 horsepower more low end torque and equipped with a five speed automatic/auto stick. Then I would be able to understand Fords ingenious advertising scheme for this car (not!)Which we all know was no advertisement at all. Because you wouldnt have to advertise a car like that. But that didnt happen did it? And that is why this is the last year the beloved Marauder will be built. What a shame!!

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  Awesome SUV with some small issues - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By Sean - December 24 - 11:50 pm

  I love my Mariner. I bought it a week ago but I do regret buying it a little in the middle of this gas crisis... oh well. I have experienced some buzz/crackling with the speakers and the subwoofer is nothing close to the Infinity sub I have in my basement. However, the stereo sounds great when there is no distortion in the speakers. I wish Ford would update their plain and boring entertainment clusters. The rest of the car looks great. The suede insets on my seats are already a little marked up and I dont know how I should go about cleaning them -- if at all. The knobs on the roof rack were murder on my thumbs. Are those things meant to be turned? LOL Overall I am very happy with it.

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  Frank - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By Frank - December 22 - 7:33 pm

  I traded in a 2000 Lincoln LS for this Milan. The Milan is a great car. It is comfortable, gas mileage is good (27 - 30 mpg) highway. The Sync system is a great value, as is the 202A package, which includes the back-up camera feature and the blind spot light on the side view mirror. These are huge safety features.

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  Floats my boat! - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By rubleman420 - December 22 - 1:26 am

  Good solid comfortable car for the whole family. Im only 25 years old and people say that I drive an old man car but so what. With a V-8 that gets 25 mpg and all the power in the world, I cant complain at all. Smooth, smooth, smooth!

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  A Great Car - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By RJM - December 21 - 12:16 am

  I enjoy driving my Mercury Sable. It is a very well-built car and has a lot of room. The trunk is large. I receive compliments on it often.

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  Excellent Vehicle!!! - 2001 Mercury Cougar
  By Estranged - December 20 - 7:43 pm

  I got my custom V6 manual in Feb01. Its custom cause I got convenience package + ABS brks. Its very fun to drive (both the stick and auto). Transmsn is designed/made in Germany and it shows! A very european car, with a huge trunk. The biggest plus of this car is handling. It has a computer: "temperature outside", "average speed", "mpg", and best of all "miles before empty tank". Id also say that chicks dig the car - one made me roll down my window on the hiway to say how cool my car was.

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  Excellent Car! - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By Regs - December 20 - 7:46 am

  This is a large car, the fuel economy is excellent for a car of this size. Considered Toyota and Honda, but this one has better design and much better price. Very quiet, good view, huge trunk.

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  I love my new 2010 Mercury Milan - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By mj816 - December 20 - 1:53 am

  Overall, this is a great family car. I traded in my SUV for better MPG. It has a sleek interior (I have the two tone leather) and it is very luxurious. I have the sync system and Sirius XM radio. My car comes with ambient lighting which I think my kids enjoy more than I do. This car is the entire package and Im sad that 2011 is the last year for Mercury.

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  I love my mountaineer - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Cheryl Huff - December 18 - 5:13 pm

  I have driven a truck for almost 20 years and just love this suv. I wasnt really looking for an suv, but when I was looking at trucks saw this mountaineer and liked the looks. It gets good gas mileage. Looks great! Goes through snow or mud and handles on ice. The only problem Ive had was when I got so much mud on it that it clogged the windshield washer and the mud got in the door latch.

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  LoveD this car - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By seltz9 - December 18 - 2:42 am

  My parents bought this car brand new and gave it to me. They had no problems every, except that back hatch crack that is common, i get it and everything is wrong at 76,000. rain out of gas on I-80 recently because all of a sudden my gas gage doesnt work. my ABS light is always on and my cruise never works. my ac and heat do not work. back riper flew off, tranny is apparently going out, loud metal clinking, stereo bass and treble dont work, speaker goes in and out, leather had been cracked since day 1. i love this car cause i know what it was like brand new and have kept us safe but i offically hate it too