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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  Dissatification of Dealer Warranty work - 2001 Mercury Sable
  By DebKlensch - February 21 - 10:00 am

  The automatic transmission failed after 25,500. The dealership has refused to repair the transmission the car was abused. The car was damaged by putting the car in neutral and dropping it into gear and spinning the tires causing bald spots. I am a 48 year old woman who has never driven hazardously. Ive always kept my cars for approximately 5 years and trade them in when the milage gets to around 100K and have never experienced any major repairs warrentied or otherwise. This is the third Ford/Mercury I have owned. I intend to contact the Regional Manager.

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  Mercury Grand Marquis -- not perfect - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Charles32707 - February 21 - 10:00 am

  the accessories are very unreliable. My car has been back to the dealer about 12 times in the 3 years Ive owned. Bad speed control; bad keyless entry pad; bad AC (twice); windshield wipers have been worked on at least 6 times (replaced 5 times) and they still stutter across the windshield. Almost no storage room in passenger compartment. When drinks are in the drink holders, you cant access the AC controls. Rides rough for such a large car. Inadequate leg room in the back.

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  Sporty in looks, Tame under the hood - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By Vonlarl - January 29 - 10:00 am

  Looks great. Harsh handling in steering wheel. Excellent breaking power. Sluggish reaction to gas pedal. Needs more "getup and go", surprising for the horsepower of the V6. Almost think Im driving a V-Tech with the poor performance in low RPMs. Rigid body-nice for the turns. Poor stock tires, hard rubber that wears normally. Road noise excessive for the poor performance. If it was a true sports car, noise would be consistent. Replacement tires difficult to find and expensive(avg of $120 installed). Fit and finish excellent. Had difficulties with the hatchback trunk cover breaking repeatedly.

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  not great - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By jwdantq - January 22 - 11:50 am

  Needed brakes at 41k, door moldings are held on by double sticky back tape, car never has gotten gas mileage that was suggested by sticker, car is very noisy, would not buy another one. Have owned Ford products for over 20 years and I am going to switch to Japanese or Korean, maybe even German.

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  Powerful, unique, needs better quality.. - 2000 Mercury Mystique
  By Aaron - December 28 - 2:20 am

  i own the V6 LS model and it has ran great with minimal problems to this day. bought in 2001 and still own it today in 2009, very reliable, still attractive. love the LS features, preamium sound system, leather seats, motorized radio antenna. added a few things to it myself, like remote start and a better horn. few things have needed to be replaced but it seems that everything needs fixing at once now.... 1,000 dollar suspension estimate at belle tire. everything is luse in the front end. also had to repllace alternator at low miles. it has 151k miles now still good. needs new battery, it also makes this weird humming noise every now and then, doesnt seem to do anything major. left it alone

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  Down from an Olds 88 - 2003 Mercury Sable
  By Taffy2 - November 23 - 2:00 am

  I had hoped that buying the top of the line would get me some extras...not so! With all the indicator lights in the cockpit, the designers forgot about putting a light in the glove compartment. I am very disapointed in the hesitation when you press on the accelerator to go. There were cosmetic blemnishes in the paint that should have been seen by the dealer.

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  Transmission is Terrible! - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By sucker - November 22 - 2:53 am

  I love this SUVs design and ride. I HATE THE TRANSMISSION! Ive had it in the shop numerous times with transmission issues - bad sensors, replaced parts, etc etc. Now it shudders when shifting into overdrive and has started to shift hard when in first gear or going into reverse. Guess what? Just told by delearship that I need a new transmission! Ive had 3 Fords/Mercurys over the years and 3 Fords/Mercurys with transmission problems. I wont be a buy of theirs again. FIX YOUR PROBLEM FORD!!!

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  FRONT ROTORS PROBLEM - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By Steve Masch - November 16 - 10:00 am

  I drove the Cougar over 90K miles. Automatic transmission, still averaging 23.5 Miles per gallong. I usually cruise at 85-90 Miles per Hour. The car is still driving strong but it was not built as well as I thought and it started to fall apart. Minor things for the most but the biggest problem has been the FRONT ROTORS that KEEP ON WORPING. I do drive quite aggressively and brake accordingly but I had to bring the car back for rotors replacements twice and had them substituted twice till I decided to shallow out a few hundreds for high performance parts. The sunroot too is easily damageable, twice I had to have it fixed.

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  What a lemon - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By cougarhater - November 13 - 7:06 pm

  Bought this car my freshman year of college after my brother totaled my beloved 1991 Lexus ES250. Needed a car to go to and from work and make the 400 mile trek home once a month. This car has great looks, and a banging stereo. The problem is, I have put almost the $6500 I paid for it in repairs to this car. Beware the sunroof, parts alone to fix are $1600 :-0 Also performance wise, there seems to be a gap in the middle gears, its great off the line but struggles to get up to freeway speeds on an onramp. The A/C unit doesnt cool very well, and seriously hampers the engines power at freeway speeds. Beware repair costs for this unreliable vehicle.

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  Like other reviewers, loved this car...at first... - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By ms__brown - November 12 - 1:25 am

  I bought my Coug in 2004 with 50,000 miles on it. Ive had minimal mechanical "failures" but many mechanical problems. The headlights dim a lot and if I have the wipers, headlights and stereo on at the same time, it dies. Sunroof never worked. The car wont start for an hour after its been running in more than 90 degree heat, but the thing ALWAYS starts in the winter, even if its 70 below (bought in ND and never used a block heater). It now has 116,000 miles (I dont drive a lot) and it needs a new suspension, shocks, struts, etc. I recently replaced the front tie rod so I wouldnt die. Shaky after 65 mph. Not kid friendly. No hooks for child seat in the back, so trading.