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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  After 2 and a half years .... - 2000 Mercury Mountaineer
  By sdinnis - April 26 - 10:00 am

  ... I still enjoy driving my Mountaineer. The one gripe I have is that there seems to be a rattle coming from the passenger side when I go over bumps/tracks, etc. Dealer has looked at it several times and not been able to fix it (or recreate it consistently). But the ride is nice and comfortable and the V8 has more power than I would ever need even for towing small trailers. Makes me kinda wish I had gone for the V6 for better gas mileage. Its design both in and out is very appealing. It handles like a truck (duh!) which limits its fun factor to drive but if you wanted fun, you wouldnt be getting a big SUV.

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  Great van for the money - 2000 Mercury Villager
  By Mark - April 24 - 8:36 pm

  Ive owned my Mercury Sport for nearly 6 years and feel certian its a better choice over Chrysler or Ford products due to the Nissan Powertrain. I now have 110k + miles and it still runs as strong as the day I purchased it. Maintenance is key to long engine life! Brakes, tires and other replacables are only items put on our black beauty. I would highly suggest putting on a great set of tires to match engine zip. Im currently running yokohomos. OEM tires were,of course replaced after 30k seating of 5 is no problem especially on long trips. Did I say I also pull a 2,000 lb. boat? Great van, purchased with very few regrets!

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  Good to Go! - 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By Cone Maddox - April 23 - 2:26 am

  I sold my Hummer H-3 and purchased the Mercury Hybrid with 4-wheel drive. Twice + the mileage and I can see the other cars. Not too good off-road but a lot quicker than you would think on the street. The old black lab finds it easier to hop into the back. No problems whatever, so far. Got 30+ MPG last fill-up. Nice truck. It seems good to go!

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  Happy Mountain Guy - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Steve from Ohio - April 19 - 9:20 pm

  I bought my Mountaineer new in 2002. It was a perfect vehicle for the first two years, then as with all Fords, started riding rougher and rougher as the years went on. I have a family of 6 and am 65" myself. All of us fit comfortably in the SUV. I have the V8 4.6 and get 14/18. I just filled up today on empty and it cost $82 to fill the 20 gal tank. I agree with the others that the transmission is a weakness. I have 111,000 miles after 5.5 years and just took out an extended warranty for $1,700, which covers all major powertrain items. To protect themselves, the insurance company has a 90 day/1,000 mile waiting period before you can make any claims

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  Great SUV - Not for the big boys - 2006 Mercury Mountaineer
  By jtsull - April 16 - 9:23 am

  Very stable compared to the previous design. Great safety features and build quality. Love the V8 with 6 speed transmission. Here is the flaw. I am 62" at 215lbs. The drivers seating area feels like it was designed by engineers 55" at 155 LBs and drive with the seat all the way forward. If I place the seat back, it is uncomfortable to reach for the steering wheel (not telescoping). Also the seat is so small my legs begin to hurt. The padding is minimal so your sort of sitting on the outside frame of the seat. The seat is actually 1" more narrow than the 2003 focus we own! Very disappointed in the ergonomics. The awkward door handle eats up even more room. If I could return it ....

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  Nice vehicle - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Leather man - April 6 - 3:20 am

  Overall its a good vehicle. Great towing ablity, plenty of power, smooth ride, however lots of road noise. The gas mileage is terrible. At best we can get 14 to 15 mpg. With these high gas prices I would not recomend buying this type of vehicle.

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  Old reliable - 1998 Mercury Sable
  By Ron - March 31 - 8:20 am

  Bought new with 37 miles on it. Wife drives most of time. After 10 yrs. and 63000 miles it still performs much the same. Duratec v6 hard to beat. Plenty of power to spare and mileage is good for a large car. Car is much lower to ground than new 2008 model. I am 62 now and not as flexible as I was at 52 when I bought. This is now my biggest complaint as entering and exiting has become less convenient. New model probably better for this. In 1st 3 yrs had to replace every power window motor and antenna motor. At warranty end air went out but was repaired by dealer at no cost. Front leather buckets are only good for short trips. Killers for trips over 4 hrs. Trunk only good for groceries or flat items

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  My mercury - 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By ED CAMPION - March 31 - 2:53 am

  Great car runs well. Like style outside inside is old looking and needs new features, my toyota 2002 corola has interior and exterior tempertaure and compass. Why not here ???

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  The Cougar Curse is here as well. - 2001 Mercury Cougar
  By clayman - March 29 - 10:00 am

  Loved my cougar when I got it.Parents wanted a good car that could handle LOTS of miles for when I left for college(I drive back and forth from Norman Oklahoma (Go Sooners!),sometimes twice a month, the car is a little over 2 years old, and has 87,000 on it)At 11k, brakes where bad, 34k new transmission put in, week later the drivers side window stopped.CD player skips like mad.Trunk pop still does not work.At 60k ,transmission replaced again. 6 months ago,the door handle on the pass side broke.I constantly find nuts and bolts on the floor of the car, from diffrent places in the dash.

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  pain in the wallet - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By cpjones - March 29 - 10:00 am

  I was dating my future wife who wanted to buy a chrysler, but i talked her out of it, I wish she had not listened to me. I never thought of myself as a mechanic but thanks to this car I have learned alot about fixing cars(repairs are so expesive that i could not afford to have the dealer do them). To say that I dont like this car is an understatment. I feel that ford should be ashamed for even putting this car on the market. When I called ford about the electrical problem, they gave me the sorry about your luck speach.