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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  too many problems - 2001 Mercury Sable
  By 2nd sable purchased - October 5 - 10:00 am

  list of problems before i reached 20000, miles. The fuel pump broke 3 times. Once while I was on vacation stranding me in the middle of no where. The second time in rush hour traffic. The rotors had to be replaced after 10000 miles, the drivers side power window and side view mirror also broke. Once the dealership fixed all of these problems i have not had one since. Fords service did take care of all of the problems but it still was a major inconvenience. I will be looking more at imports for my next vehicle.

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  Not Satisfied - 2007 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Meg - September 30 - 2:30 pm

  This is the 3rd explorer/mountaineer in my family, and I am very disappointed. The first two were fabulous cars, hence I bought another one. It is 2.5 years old, 42,000 miles, and Ive had the following replaced (accident-free): tires, rims, shifter, radiator, intake fan, and belt. A new car should not need so many repairs especially when it is well maintained.

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  Should have bought the extended warranty - 1999 Mercury Villager
  By lkbdczy - September 28 - 10:00 am

  Although most like this van both my wife and I are very dissapointed. since the warranty expired, we have replaced - Struts, Strut plates, 1 fuel injector, rear A/C, ball joints, breaks and Throttle plate. all Ford had to say was that we were on our own. WE will not buy from FORD again.

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  what a junk - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By melina - September 21 - 10:00 am

  ive had my cougar for a while now and till this day it gives me problems. the second day i bought i took it through a car wash and the side mirror broke. and ive had problems with the engine too. i dont think that car is worth $23,000 thats how much i paid for it cuz it was a special edition but man its not worth it at all that why my ex drives it now cuz just like the car hes not worth it.

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  Wish I hadnt bought it - 2000 Mercury Sable
  By winterstar - August 11 - 2:00 am

  We have owned the Sable for three years and it is constantly in the shop being worked on every month. It has had numerous problems with the Air Conditioner,that have never been fixed. Along with some very scary experiences with the brakes locking up. Not to mention the number of recalls as well. It was the worst car purchase we have ever made.

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  So Sorry I Bought One - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By SoSorry - July 25 - 10:00 am

  I bought my car right off the showroom floor with 6 miles on it. I absolutely love this car but has been nothing but a nightmare since I got it. I have had the motor pulled twice because it keeps blowing the pan gasket seal and every time I pick it up from the dealer it goes out before I am out of town. The headlights dim, when you run the A/C and the headlights you might as well forget about power and being able to see. I also agree with the tire situation they are expensive costing on average $175 per tire. The cup holder is a joke also it may not be important to some but when you are waring your drink its funny!

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  Got Pounded! - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Jose - July 23 - 2:36 pm

  Bought this SUV and within three months the battery died, this made passive alarm go off. After 3 DAYS and $300 the dealership finally made time to rekey it and get it started! 23 months later the tranny goes out with a minimum price of $2,400! Wish I would have saw these reviews sooner.In this economy who can afford to take this kinda loss? Yet after reading all these reviews, I cant afford to keep this thing without a government bailout. Im going to take a loss and by me a Honda.

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  Mercury Money Pit - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By SD - July 11 - 3:36 pm

  I love the look of this car but it has been nothing but a nightmare. I had to replace the solenoid in the transmission at 38,000 miles. Apparently if your tires are the same size but have diff amount of tire life left to them it can total out your entire car. I got two new tires put on and because the circumfrance was different between the to sets it caused my rear differential and transfer case to go out. The estimated repairs from the Ford dealership is at 10k! My car is only worth 9k with 63,000 miles on it and its fully loaded. This has been a total nightmare. do not purchase a Mountaineer.

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  Love this car, but am concerned ........ - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By JerseyJeff - June 28 - 4:23 pm

  Bought this car with 12K miles on it 10 years ago. Now has 120K miles on it. Overall, I am satisfied however my concerns are, the cooling system needs tobe flushed every 18 months to clean out the heater core, the windshield wipers come on buy themselves, the cruise control works sporadically, and the ABS light comes on when it is very cold out. The really big issue was when the brake lines rusted out last summer while my 19 year old son was driving. The brakes failed and he ran into the car in front of him. I thought the car had been well maintained, but it seems no one had checked the brake lines. I understand rusting brake lines are a common Ford issue.

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  Terrible Ride - 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By carb711 - June 20 - 8:13 pm

  I bought this car new, after having test driven one and renting one for a week. They were fine. Mechanically this car is great. However, the ride quality has been slowly deteriorating ever since day one. The amount of wind noise makes normal conversation difficult. Rear passengers almost need a kidney belt due to the stiff ride. The dealership says both problems are normal. How do they justify that it keeps getting worse then. I had beaters in college that rode better. Ive owned one in the past and also own a Mercury Cougar. Neither had these problems. Going out shopping this week for a Toyota and Im sure Ill get poor trade in value.