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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  great car - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By Herb - March 29 - 8:16 pm

  This is a v6 fwd - not awd. Performance far exceeded expectations. Sync system is very good - hands free phone, and I have a cheap phone. Works with any bluetooth. Very quiet ride, and great stereo. I have auto climate, and fancy sony sound system. Driving in the city (Austin)stop and go at 100 degrees, AC working great - best Ive ever had. Manuel shift mode is fun - but harder on mileage than auto. This car begs to accelerate too. Too new for accurate mileage numbers. Have not taken highway trip yet.

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  Mercury Mariner - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By Brad Moats - March 29 - 6:36 pm

  We just bought this car and we love it. It is the perfect size for us, plenty of room in the back, the V6 engine is powerful. I would recommend it to anyone.

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  Great Car - Great Deal too! - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By CarLady - March 28 - 10:00 am

  Bought the base vehicle with the 2.5L Duratec, spoiler, and an Automatic Trans. Just $200 over invoice less $1500 rebate less $500 owner loyalty rebate as well. Love the way it drives. Has a nice secure feeling to it. Compares favorably to an Acura RSX but looks much better than the Acura and cost about $7,000 less after rebate. Pretty much a no-brainer I would think. Well... gotta go. My Mercury awaits me. Just looking at it makes me want to drive it.

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  Bad Replacement for the Sable - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By Mercury lover - March 26 - 12:13 am

  My 2005 Mercury Montego Premier is great it has great syling and performance and has a HUGE backseat and a HUGE trunk and i love the smooth quiet ride and the beautiful Norsea Blue Paint and those nice 18in rims and i love the HID Headlamps and The Chromed Trimmed LED Tail lamps and the Command seating gives you a much better veiw of the road and so does the HID Headlamps all in all the Montego is a great car but my wife has a 2005 Mercury Sable LS Premium and i like that much better because it has a much more richer and classy interior but i like my Montego just the way it is ...

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  Edmunds is wrong - 2010 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Martin/GA - March 23 - 8:10 am

  I see Edmunds has graciously given the GM a 6.5 where the owners have a 9.1. I will agree with the owners. Yes this car is outdated which caused me to keep looking. I kept coming back. It now has features no other car has, bench seats. All the newer cars have copied the Euros and the Japanese with bucket seats and hamster motors. These killed my back and I am not a senior citizen. My back does not hurt anymore and I actually look forward to going to work ( gliding to work). Flew to Las Vegas and road tripped it home at 27 MPG. I am getting 20.3 driving to work. My 08 Sentra only got 30. Edmunds, you keep your Acuras & Hondas with the narrow seats. My American bottom will be in an American car.

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  Awsome - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By RobbieG - March 22 - 10:00 am

  This car is an absolute delight to drive. It is the perfect combination of luxury and good old American muscle car fun. The more I drive it, the more I like it!

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  All Wheel Drive Power!!! - 2000 Mercury Mountaineer
  By AWDPWR - March 22 - 10:00 am

  After researching different types of mid-size SUVs out there and reading different reviews I decided to purchase a used 2000 Mountaineer/Premier in deep wedgewood blue at a dealership near me. I had an AWD/Turbo sports car before and the Mountaineer AWD with the 5.0/V8 has all the power that I need. This SUV exceeded my expectations! It has the most comfort features than any other mid-size SUVs out there and the ride quality is excellent. I highly recommend this SUV.

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  Love my Cougar - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By Nickt - March 22 - 10:00 am

  I bought my Cougar one year ago, and I love it. It has been a great car, and I am really surprised how good it is on gas. It has been very dependable, other than a broken hood latch. The ride is great, although the car is a bit loud. This car seems to get some bad press, and I dont see why. To me, the quality is very good, and the overall feel of the car is great. I also can not understand why Mercury is discontinuing this car. It could give the Eclipse/Acura NSX/ Toyota/etc. a ride for their money if Mercury would enhance some things.

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  Best car Ive ever owned - 2001 Mercury Sable
  By pumpkin5092000 - March 21 - 5:40 pm

  This car was given to me with 60xxx miles on it by my folks who bought it new. I LOVE THIS CAR!!! The only problem we ever had was with the coil springs. It has been incredibly reliable. I just recently gave it to my friends daughter. It has over 300XXX miles on it now and still runs like new. This has been the perfect car. I would definitely recommend this car to anyone!

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  2004 Mercury Mountaineer - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Hammonds - March 21 - 10:53 am

  A must have in economic SUV that offer style and comfort and power