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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  Bad transmission(s) - 2009 Mercury Mariner
  By 09mariner - July 2 - 11:00 pm

  Overall, the worst car weve ever owned. With 26,000 miles, its already on the second transmission, and this one is not right. Its been in the shop more than 60 days so far this year. My wife is scared to drive it, as its sometimes in the wrong gear at the worst possible time (other transmission issues too). There are others online (and in person) with transmission issues also. As nice as the other features are, none of them make up for this aweful experience. My suggestion is to wait a year for Ford to figure out the transmission before taking the plunge on this car.

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  2nd Village a disappointment - 1999 Mercury Villager
  By Phydo - June 29 - 9:16 pm

  After a phenomenally dependable and satisfying 97 Villager, my 99 Estate model has been a real lemon. In one year, $600 in suspension parts, $800 to replace throttle body, $1100 to repair A/C, and there are several switches not working. No sticky accelerator though. I am dumping it after 1 year for a Honda or Mazda.

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  Bad car - 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By George - June 5 - 5:26 pm

  This car is junk! This car has terrible brakes and wheels. The car rattles so much. The leather is cheap and there is no leg room. This car is outdated! The engine is a V8 with only about 225 HP. Cheap! Everything in this car is a piece of junk! Cheap! Cheap! Cheap! Well, its good if you play bingo This car eats gas for terrible pickup. I recomend this car to teens, not adults with families.

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  I dont know what I was thinking - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By nikki - May 29 - 11:23 am

  The car drives great when it drives, tires expensive, After 85,000 miles I had to replace the transmission. Built like a Honda or Toyota, I dont think so.

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  Keeping my fingers crossed - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By Riff - May 28 - 10:00 am

  Up side: low key, helpful dealer; right size; plenty or convenience features; feels tight Down side: Badging crooked Door didnt fit Wheel bearing goes @ 1k mile

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  Not Exactly Pleased - 2006 Mercury Milan
  By Hayley - May 25 - 3:10 pm

  Loved interior & exterior at purchase. Too bad it didnt last. The window control panel on the drivers side door pops out each time you close the door. I feel like the car is straining when I accelerate. Then when the car had about 25,000 miles on it, it began to hesitate when I tried to accelerate. It got to the point where the car would not respond when I pushed the gas pedal, it would hesitate and then eventually would go, but when it did it would shoot my RPMs up high. This was dangerous, especially in an intersection. The car was under warranty at the time, and they ended up replacing the coil packs (?). This corrected the problem. Im not impressed with this car & would not recommend.

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  Mountaineer - 2006 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Wayne - May 22 - 1:23 pm

  The vehicle I have drives well, but chugs when cold. It only runs well on high octane gas. The V6 pulls my boat with no issues. Gas mileage is about 11-12 city.

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  Villager Pros & Cons - 1995 Mercury Villager
  By BertBert - May 15 - 2:00 am

  The good thing about the early Villagers is that they all have the same shortcomings so when something goes wrong, its easy to diagnose. We have 104,000 miles on it, so we cant complain too much, but every couple months it needs some sort of repair.

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  transmission woes - 2006 Mercury Mountaineer
  By larry hancock - May 7 - 8:00 am

  I loved the car at first, smooth ride, nice looks and then about 30 days into the affair her true nature appeared. It started with downshifts, then went to pausing between shifts as the motor raced. The downshifting problem continued after to trips to the dealer, and now Im on my third trip to the dealer today. Might I suggest you not be fooled by her beauty and go to the internet for some facts. the dealer says there are no problems with this transmission... buyer beware.

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  old stylr - 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By jjajijic - April 10 - 2:00 am

  This car does have the leg room that my 99 Taurus Wagon, which has 120000 miles and no problems. The back seat leg room is very small compared to the Chysler Concode which have rented severa times The car is not exciting. I have always had a car that was different and I can say this has it. From 51 Riley to Cadillac limos, 61 Lincon Conv. I am looking forward to some thing that is not a old mans car. I am age 76 and still like sports cars, etc. \