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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  I see why these are so popular. - 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Jacque Montague - January 5 - 8:12 am

  I purchased one of these used, from the original owner, the car currently has 125,154 miles on it and still is in excellent shape both cosmetically, and mechanically. This car is very simple to maintain, and everything is simple to use, no fancy things like on modern cars, but isnt completely in the dark ages. Instrumentaion is plenty, and easy to read, stock radio is very good, and cassette deck is still working fine. The leather interior has also held up very well for being 15 years old and has no holes or tears, trunk space is absolutely massive! A perfect summer home rental for tourists! The 4.6L V8 is an excellent motor, and can get out of its own way when asked to, and I personally get about 18.5MPG in town and 26MPG out on the highway on 87 octane. Its been an excellent car, and I can see why they last so long, one of Fords highest reliability cars/platform! I would recommend one of these to anyone whos looking for a smooth car, with excellent reliability, cheap to service, but still doesnt kill the pocketbook on gas.

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  Really nice American Company Car - 2007 Mercury Milan
  By DeDe - January 4 - 2:50 am

  I just got this car and drove it some 1300 miles . The car ran very well and did all of the things that I expected for less money than some other AWD vehicles.This car is smooth and quiet on the road and comfortable to ride in. I bought this car to replace my AWD SUV and Im very pleased with the quality and performance.This car is very nice looking and has lots of eye appeal. I ordered the sport package with spoiler.

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  GIVE ME MORE POWER...PLEASE - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By Mike Meidroth - January 4 - 2:00 am

  Weve had the car for 4 months and thus far it has been problem free, no visits to the dealership or unusual gremlins! They notified me in July 02 that vehicles were in transit but I had decided to wait for the X100 limited production version. After seeing and driving the Marauder, we decided to go ahead and buy it and replace the daily driver. The admiring glances and thumbs up from other drivers has been a kick. My wife drives it most of the time and loves to tell people its her car not mine (she tells me she smoked a guy and his 4-speed El Camino from a rolling start the other day!).

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  Marauder Rocks! - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By robleyw - January 4 - 2:00 am

  Finally a full size sedan with performance. Simply awesome!

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  Good buy - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By Konrad 2002 - January 2 - 10:00 am

  I bought a year old Sable in 2003. I like the comfortable seats and well designed interior. Handles well on any surface. Good audio system and excellent radion reception. Good car for family or everyday driving. Had a misfortune of a battery going bad on a 2.5 year old car, and had to buy a new one. Other than that, so far, it has been a reliable and fun car to drive.

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  Fantastic Vehicle!! - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By pop123 - January 2 - 10:00 am

  this mercury mountaineer is a great vehicle to drive.... great features, powerful engine...and luxury package is the best! Thanks MERCURY!

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  Love my 2004 Mountaineer - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By wadeb95 - January 2 - 10:00 am

  I love my Mountaineer. This is the second one that I have purchased. Very good buy. My favorite car yet.

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  nice ride - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By carrol - January 2 - 10:00 am

  I made the purchase of my Mountaineer after test-driving quite a few other SUVs. The ride is much superior to others in its same price range. Cornering is so much more stable. I am quite impressed overall.

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  Upscale Musclecar - 2004 Mercury Marauder
  By Blue Marauder - January 2 - 10:00 am

  Great combination of performance and comfort for a daily driver. Low production figures. Frequent compliments given by total strangers.

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  GREAT MINI VAN - 2004 Mercury Monterey
  By TEC - January 2 - 10:00 am

  great vehicle - great NVH - GREAT FUEL ECONOMY - GREAT PERFORMNCE - GREAT SPACE FOR LONG TRIPS - GREAT FEATURES- INFO CTR.-FOLDING REAR SEAT- JUST A FUN TO DRIVE CAR