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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  Keeper - 2000 Mercury Sable
  By tmouse - July 21 - 10:00 am

  Ive had this car 4 1/2 years. Not one problem. Took 8000 mile trip and it behaved with style. Writers want hot rods and strange styling, but forget why we buy the car. The only competitive car when we bought it was $6000 more.

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  go mercury go! - 2004 Mercury Sable
  By mercury - July 21 - 10:00 am

  Second owned Mercury Sable and 3rd mercury in the family. Very good reliability and styling. Win buy another, 22mpg city needs improvement.

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  Get One Quick - 2005 Mercury Sable
  By GCB - July 19 - 11:50 am

  This car is fabulous! You could call it a sleeper. Sable is not well known by most people looking for a car in this class, but it sure beats all the imports. It has everything, looks, size, comfort, performance, price and quality. Ford has had alot of time to get the bugs out and refine this vehicle to where it is as near to perfect as you can get. Of course, then it has to be discontinued because it has been around too long and the name or the style isnt "cool" to some. I think it was way ahead of its time when it was first designed and is still a very nice looking, safe, comfortable and functional car. Better find one fast. Not many 2005s left. Dont get a "me to" import. Be different.

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  LoveThisCar - 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By LovetheCar - July 18 - 6:16 am

  This car has been on an excellent car. I have used for many different things, including moving, and many, many long trips.....it averages out at about 20 mpg in the city. My four cylinder accord only gets a couple more mpg than that. I love it, but had to sell it to a family member a couple months ago, it has been a great car for her as well. I will definitly have another Grand Marquis. This was my fourth. All of them have been wonderful. Great fit and finish. The car still looks good even though its nearly ten years old. It has held up very well with a timeless design

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  Comparison to Aviator - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By Mr. Heckmann - July 15 - 7:53 pm

  Main reason to switch from the Aviator was to get a high performance car that would get me more miles per gallon. Montego does just that from 10 mph to 21 mph city and 27 mph. Just the way one drives gets that. I did not want to give up many extras but are satisified with what the features have. The seating is quite comofortable and like the way the recliner is at best. Even my gas station asks me where Ive been so this definitely was a solid decision I made when selecting the car, also a Ford man. The smoothness with which the car performs is impressive to me. Firm and glides beautifully on the roads. Like the structure and more important the safety devices attached to the car.

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  Great SUV - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By dfstull - July 15 - 10:00 am

  I just bought this car and rally enjoy it. It has many great features that make it ride like a luxury SUV. With the rebates now it is a great buy.

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  My 2004 not a 2005 - 2005 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Frank Supiot - July 12 - 8:53 am

  Really the only complaint I have is with the fuel economy which doesnt quite reach 20 mpg. Last summer we went through the N/W USA to the Seattle area & returned through Northern Canada. This trip was for 7,776.7 miles and we averaged over 22.5 mpg. This vehicle is serving us well. We have less than 2 years remaining on the lease. Since all of our long vacations are history, we may go back to a Lincoln Town Car. Time will tell!

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  high tech car, low tech dealer - 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By hooverpilot - July 11 - 9:00 pm

  Quite a fun car to drive. Has reasonable power, good mileage, good handling. Big disappointment was that in spite of the fact that both the sticker and the website data sheet say the CD-player is MP3-capable, it isnt! Not even with the premium package! The salesmen said it could play MP3s, but later admitted he didnt know what an MP3 was - he was just going on the sticker. The service people were totally clueless and unwilling to help. I just HATE spending something like $1500 for a stupid radio and it wont even play MP3s. Dont rely on the dealer or the service people to know anything much about the electronics.

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  Best small SUV - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By Sarah - July 5 - 3:23 pm

  I shopped all around and almost bought a Jeep, and now looking back Im so glad that didnt work out! I tend to have a short liking to car and always look for change, but I love this SUV! It has great space, fuel is alright (after all it is a SUV) the only thing I would change is that there is no thermostat in the control center. Other than that I tell everyone to buy one!

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  Watch Out for Transmission - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Herb - July 5 - 2:03 am

  Loved the way it looks and drives. I have a V8 and pulled a camper with no problems. The AWD, 6CD Changer, Heated Seats, and Memory settings work well. The only problem is the transmission. Had it replaced after the warranty went out. Now its slipping again. Supposedly, later models improved the transmission.