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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  Quality is back into American cars! - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By Tony - September 18 - 9:50 pm

  Always a die-hard Japanese car owner until now. Bought the car based on all the good hype its cousins, the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKS are getting. This car is amazing. Came with every option imaginable. Everyone taken for a ride is astonished by all the electronic gadgetry. Owned for three weeks and getting 29mpg combo city/hwy so far. Impressed with the peppy 4 cyl and acceleration. The ride is superb and glides over bumps compared to my previous Japanese cars. Cornering is good, too. Steering has a bit too much play, but acceptable. Hey, Guys...Give American cars a chance again! You will be pleasantly surprised.

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  I Love My Mountaineer - 1997 Mercury Mountaineer
  By hancock1119 - September 18 - 2:00 am

  I love my Mountaineer. It has been a great vehicle and I highly recommend them to anyone who asks my opinion of SUVs.

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  Dont waste your money - 2001 Mercury Villager
  By WASTE OF MONEY - September 16 - 7:23 pm

  We were initially intrigued with the Villager because it is basically a cheaper version of the Nissan Quest, but it has been the worst investment of our lives. We have had nothing but repairs season after season, year after year. We thought we got if for a bargain, but the cost of the repairs makes this vehicle worthless. I hate this van and would not recommend it to anyone. It is noisy, has brake issues, ac issues and has slow acceleration. It eats gas as if it were an truck. Very very disappointing buy. I am looking for a replacement now. I would never recommend this van to anyone. It may be cheap in price only because it is cheap in quality.

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  Finest Car out there - 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Michael J. Salter - September 16 - 6:30 am

  I am 16 almost 17, and this is my first car, and it is awesome. I am the only one at my high school that drives a Grand Marquis, and all my friends that drive Mustangs and foreign cars are just in awe of this car. For a car that weighs 5,237 lbs it does an excellent job. I normally gets 22-25 MPG around town, and 27-35 MPG on the highway. The ride is just as good if not better that a Cadillac, because it just floats down the road. And as far as performance and handling it does really good. It has a 16V 4.6L V8 that produces around 233 HP stock. And the traction control is rather nice on icy mornings, beacuse I just put it down in first gear and its like there is no ice. This is a great car!

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  My Cougar - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By tmccli3 - September 15 - 11:16 pm

  Fun to drive. Not very many aftermarket parts available but I am doing what I can to make it a part of who I am. The 4 cylinder has next to nothing for performance upgrades. I dont have a v6, so it is a struggle to add performance. I trust the reliability to drive it anywhere. I had it for about two weeks and took a 2500 mile road trip when it had 167,000 miles on.

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  Continuing Mercury - 2007 Mercury Milan
  By forthesakeof - September 15 - 1:23 am

  The little Sable (Taurus) that I last bought, made in Chicago, was what i was looking for in reliability. I know the story of the Taurus (why stop?), and I see these new Tauruses on the road. Absolutely beautiful. I loved my sable so much, after only owning GM my entire life, I went to a Ford dealership for another used venture. I found this sweet little demon, oh boy. I saw this baby, next to a silvernother. Mine is AWD, smoke/purplish. Beautiful. I am old enough and experienced in Michigan snow enough to know what AWD means, I am curious. Sound system is superb. Extra trunk room, excellent, easy everything. I am anxious to see what this baby has in store for me. Certainly has the spunk.

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  Its too soon to tell, but so far .... - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By Leo Grachow - September 14 - 3:46 pm

  I have been driving the Montego for almost 4 weeks, and it has yet to disappoint. Although most automotive rags dissed the engine as too small (should be an "8") I have found that with the CVT (transmission), the car flows nicely in highway traffic, and couldnt be smoother in the city. No problems there! The only problem I have encountered to date is the "rain spotting"; for some reason, the windows do not release water droplets well, and it is necessary to squeegee them after a rainfall, especially the rear window (which could probably use a wiper). Overall safety impression is positive due to volvo platform and higher stance (to counter SUVs, etc.). I give an A+ overall.

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  2002 Mercury Sable LS Premium - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By Jaybee - September 13 - 12:53 pm

  Great driving experience with this car, and gas mileage is good and the engine has lots of power. I am tall and fit comfortably in this car, which is more than I can say for the Camry which is built for people under 5 4".

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  2nd marquis LS limited - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By tbones - September 12 - 11:26 am

  rented a marquis in 99 in seatlle and fell in love - bought a new 2000 in nov 2001. current is 03man, these vehicles are the best thing on the road - maybe a LTcar might do better??? - i am disabled and carry a scooter lift w/auto air lifts, all told about 300 lbs on a 2 inch tow - both gave me so much comfort and ease of being able to get around n the pleasure of driving - i feel like its power is more then enough - i drive at 70-80 on trips n have hit 90 enroute to las vegas - this car just cruises! its just a smooth - mpg arent the best, but most cars dont carry what i do - even with the lift, scooter, baggage etc, ride is smooth n performance is great - i love my marquis..

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  3rd Marquis - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Roverbear - September 12 - 10:00 am

  after 2 prior Marquis which did not offer service, I really was hesitant to buy this 2003...the updates it afforded allowed me to chance it once again...Gas mileage seems less than the prior 95 which was repurchased by Ford due to many things wrong, and 96 LS with air suspension, that lasted 69000 and blew 2 cylinder heads...2003s rear end whine needs to be explored by the dealer..handling is far superior to prior models and wind noise is still annoying..has only 4000 miles at present.