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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  My 99 Sable - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By adriene09 - December 7 - 2:00 am

  First car I bought new when I was just out of college. very impressed that I could afford leather and a moon roof for $23,000- tax, title, license all included--- and 0.9% financing to boot. test drove a pontiac grand prix and couldnt see out of it Sable is a good buy for what you get. Good on tires- first set went to 65,000 miles... got the same mileage out of original brakes as well. Would recommend car to anyone looking for a good used car (provided the original owener took good care of it, of course).

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  Great Car - Very underrated - 2007 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Great Car!!! - December 6 - 6:20 pm

  Just purchased this car 2 weeks ago. Reluctantly traded in a 2005 Mustang with only 26K. But my Grand Marquis is everything I hoped for and more. Its comfortable, holds the road well, incredibly safe and it gets 19-20 MPG in a blend of around town and limited parkway. This is the same mpg my V6 Mustang was getting. The kids have plenty of room and were even taking my car instead of our gas guzzling TrailBlazer. No one wanted to ride in the Mustang. Theres a lot to be said for big American cars, especially when an Accord or Camry are 1/2 the size and may get 2 or 3 miles better (with a 4 cylinder). Finally, this was a Ford Company car with 10,800 miles and I paid just under $15K!

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  great - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By davisjim - December 5 - 10:00 am

  Nice car - a little small for anyone over 6 foot tall.

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  Im enjoying it - 1998 Mercury Mystique
  By khankins - December 1 - 2:00 am

  I have had constant catalytic converter problems, however they are covered under manufacturers warranty up to 75,000 miles. Good visibility. Love the sunroof that can open or pop up (moon roof) Roomy trunk.

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  Its much better then a Jeep - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Tivler - December 1 - 2:00 am

  This is the 4th suv I have owned since 1990. The first two were Explorers which I loved. The next one was a Jeep which I had only for two years. I hated it. I could not stand going anywhere in it. I now own a 2004 Mountaineer. I love it. First of all it has a lot of room, its big but not huge. It is pretty easy backing into parking spaces. The turning radius is great. Another feature that make it worth the money is the all wheel drive. The only bad thing is that I noticed it uses more gas then my other 4 x 4s did. So far I have almost 3000 miles on it and I love driving it. I cant wait to take it on a road trip.

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  Awesome 04! - 2004 Mercury Marauder
  By mercmarauder - December 1 - 2:00 am

  The Marauder is even better for 04 - with new colors, a beefier transmission, and more agressive tune! Sweet!

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  Grand Marquis LS - Best Car Ive Driven - 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Noe - December 1 - 2:00 am

  Im a loyal Ford/Mercury driver. This is the best Mercury Ive ever driven. The comfort (leather interior)is beyond compare. You must be prepared to drive a big car. Cant say enough good things.

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  1997 Sable GS - 1997 Mercury Sable
  By kain1 - November 30 - 10:00 am

  Vehicle has a chronic shudder in the front end while driving at highway speeds. Replaced CV shafts twice and still has not fixed this problem. May have been a good vehicle when it was new, but has not aged well. Should consider buying its cousin, the Ford Taurus. Although they are basically the same car. Feel the Taurus may be more reliable and less troublesome.

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  The Most Fun to Drive of All - 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By Lawsonp - November 27 - 8:13 pm

  I love driving the sports car like handling Mariner hybrid that didnt force me to give up an ounce of day-to- day practicality. Im public speaker that travels two large NM counties and carry a lot of audio visual and training equipment I fold the back seats down to open up 65 cubic feet of room. (The small car truck and back seats) of other Hybrids would not work. The Mariners stylish interior is great for my needs. I look forward to driving on long trips (even with gas at $2.89 plus a gallon). If you take a Mariner on a test drive, you will not want to give it back. The heck with MPG this thing is FPG - Fun Per Gallon. Perry D. Lawson

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  best car I have ever had - 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Roberta - November 26 - 5:33 pm

  I have owned a 2003 model but I dont beleive it was a good as the 2004 I own now. The 2003 burnt up bearings in the rear wheel. Except for the bearing I have no complints about Grand Marquis. the 2003 had 50,000 miles on it when the bearings went bad. My 2004 has not given us any problems. it is very dependable. The gas mileage is great 25 to 28 miles a gal.