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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  Mostly Satisfied Owner - 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By kurt gaus - September 7 - 11:30 am

  A nice large, comfortable, well styled sedan without a lot of high tech junk added on to confuse you while driving. It feels solid, secure, stable, and is a pleasure to drive on longer trips. Easy entry and egress for those with medical problems. Trunk is huge and deep, but the liftover height is too high. The spare tire is far back and hard to reach. Mileage is much better than I expected for this size and weight vehicle. Car starts and runs flawlessly in all kinds of weather. I also test drove a Lincoln Town Car and could not discern any difference, except in the substantially higher price fot the Town Car. See "Suggested Improvements" section for minor complaints and suggestions.

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  Amazing Car - 1998 Mercury Mystique
  By FastCars09 - September 4 - 11:06 pm

  Ive never had to put a dollar into repairing this car. It is absolutely amazing, I love the fuel economy, the pick up, the interior. Everything is in such amazing shape, and Ive had this car for three years now, its almost 10 years old, and it drives like its brand new! I recommend this car to anyone whos a Mercury/Ford Fan. This is one of the best cars they have ever made.

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  Reverse Cool (aka: Happy Motoring) - 2011 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By ejfudd - September 3 - 12:39 pm

  That some bemoan the Grand Mercury for being a poor handling automobile is unfortunate. The Grand Marquis was never meant to handle like a car half its weight, but rather this American chariot was meant to isolate its occupants from the bumps in the road and all the outside noises. When I think of the Grand Marquis, the engineering adages "Keep it simple" or "Simple is best" come to mind. Admittedly, theres not much current styling going on here, to the point that my teenage son calls it "reverse cool". Still the Grand Marquis achieves the classic Americana pitch & roll feel that will slowly fade as these classics dwindle on the roads. As for me, I just bought a used Grand Marquis 11.

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  Great Value - 1999 Mercury Villager
  By Northern Exposure - September 1 - 1:36 pm

  Bought van used with 60k, now have 80k miles. The styling is great, still looks fresh. This is a loaded Estate with leather seats, very comfortable interior with luxury look and feel, rides, drives and handles like a car. Mechanically there are some disappointments. Had the sticky throttle problem, fixed it with $2 can of carb cleaner and spray silicon lube. Gas mileage is disappointing at 19/24, had a 98 Dodge Caravan that got 28 on the highway. Replaced one CV Joint and both ball joints on front suspension, cost was reasonable though at $450. Nissan V-6 is best feature, good power, smooth, quiet, uses no oil. Wish the 3 row seat was removable.

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  Im happy - 2003 Mercury Sable
  By onom - September 1 - 10:00 am

  This is my 3rd Sable, They keep getting better. This is a great car at a very affordable price. The dealership is great!

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  A nice surprise - 2007 Mercury Milan
  By WarNM - August 31 - 1:40 pm

  I was replacing a car that I initially loved and ended up hating and wanted a car that I had no feelings about. I saw this slightly used Milan and had read some good things about it. It has won me over, it does everything well, gets very good gas mileage for a 6, and has needed nothing but maintainance in the 35000 miles on it. The looks have grown on me and I think it is one of the better looking cars in its class. I would recommend it to anyone.

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  Axles are soft, fuel pump is weak, lighting faulty - 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By SJ - August 31 - 9:40 am

  Pass on it. Ford put soft axles in them, faulty lighting control modules and other sub par parts (fuel pumps, coils, etc)

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  93 Marquis what a car - 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By 93 marquis - August 31 - 9:13 am

  I bought this car because I needed a four door due to 3 kids. Now we drive it all the time. The gas mileage is great for an older car but it runs like a dream. I cant even tell the engine is running. And passing power is amazing. State troopers use it, but there is a reason they do. Its pure fun to drive and comfy as a warm blanket on a cold night.

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  Nice Looking Car; lacks comfortable driving - 2009 Mercury Mariner
  By nikki626 - August 29 - 8:48 pm

  This car is really built nicely and it looks pretty but the drive is very forgettable. Cannot get Sync to work... will be trading in for something else.

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  My Sable - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By CLAREMORE BOY - August 27 - 12:00 pm

  Its been a decent car for the most part. Weve put over 80,000 miles on it in 4 yrs. The problems have been the cooling system, the brake rotors, and the heater core went out a year ago. And why Ford put independent rear suspension on it, ill never know, just extra struts to be replaced! The wind noise is right on the edge of being tolerable. However, I wouldnt be afraid to go cross country in her right now! A person could do worse.