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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  Good purchase for the money - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By trbjfb - June 14 - 9:30 am

  I am overall pleased with the SUV. I have had a transmission problem, starting at 15,000 miles. Some other minor problems. I was in an Acura 3.5RL before and loved that car. It too was not perfect. I needed an SUV and thought this was a good priced purchase. I looked at many SUVs and decided on the Mountaineer. I have the AWD Premier V8. Tons of power and rides nice. We had a Navigator before and it rides better than the 98 Navigator. For the options this truck came with it was a good buy. I do not know if I would buy another one because of the transmission issue. After reading the reviews from others, I guess mine is not a normal Mountaineer.

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  Need more cars like this! - 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid
  By gr1nst3r - June 11 - 2:03 pm

  I bought this car because a) I wanted a 30+ MPG hybrid with leather seats & moonroof b) in bad economic times, I wanted to buy american c) I wanted to tell these american car makers what they are doing right (MHO). If this is you, this car is it! This is not a sports car but rather a smooth cuiser. It has plenty of power for me when I want it. I happen to like the Mercury stying. This car is loaded with terrific technology. Unless I gun it, I have to check the dash to see if the engine is running - its seamless. Im getting 38MPG combined, 48-50 on my 15 mi trip to work if I take the back roads. Ill get 600 mi/tank. This while sacrificing nothing.

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  Mercury Grand Marquis - Experiences - 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Julie - June 11 - 10:00 am

  Generally, this car has been very, very dependable and comfortable to ride on a daily basis. The down side is on a long trip, the seats do not give as much support as they should, resulting in back-aches. The car is very long, and the suspension is rather "floppy" in that it is "swooshy", and not tight like a more sporty model. The turning radius is not tight.

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  still happy - 1999 Mercury Villager
  By hinder customer - June 11 - 10:00 am

  we purchased the van used. we have had only one problem with the headlight wiring harness. the headlights would individually go out when driving over bumps. the problem was corrected by the dealer replacing the plugs at the end of the wiring harness. Over all, it rides/drives like a very controlable/predictable sport sedan. great for long trips. would buy another:)

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  Very Durable Performer - 1997 Mercury Sable
  By Rolling in Mississip - June 11 - 10:00 am

  We had our previous Sable (1986 wagon) for 240,000 miles and loved it -- great ride, room and comfort, plus 30 mpg highway. So we bought the 1997. Initially, I didnt like it much because the seats were firmer, the springs were harsher and the ride had too much "road feel." It also had less interior space. (And lower fuel economy (28 mpg highway). All that said, my admiration for the car keeps growing and growing. It is very dependable. Nothing has had to be replaced except for tires and oil, so far. This baby ought to go 300,000 easy.

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  Cougar - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By tweety - June 11 - 10:00 am

  I have had numerous problems with this car. The fuel pump has gone out three times and the starter has also been replaced. It seems to be sluggish on take-off and dosent perform like a sports car like I expected. I am very disappointed in this car.

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  Not Up to Par - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By vanz73 - June 10 - 11:10 pm

  This is an okay vehicle after 20K miles. My prior vehicles were a Ford Explorer and Expedition. I loved both of these. The Mariner is decent. Low priced compared to competitors (about $3K less than the Japanese models). Would I buy it again? No. The continuously variable transmission robs a great deal of power from the engine. It has had several issues that were covered by warranty except one that the mechanic has yet to fix (the gas pump keeps turning off before it is full even at the slowest setting). The vehicle often struggles trying to accelerate at highway speeds (40 to 70 mph range).

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  Update - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By Merlin - June 10 - 8:40 am

  Purchased the car ll/07 and immediately fell in love with it. However, after a few months and several thousand miles some chinks have appeared in its armor. Gas mileage is awful. 20 mpg in mixed driving and 24/25 freeway driving. Computer consistently shows 4 mpg more than car is actually getting. Also, car has developed an annoying noise in the front suspension that is worsening with time. Havent had a chance to get it back to dealer yet.

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  Gulf Coast Edition - 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By stgcret - June 10 - 7:26 am

  Historically, I have been a Lincoln TC man, but this Grand Marquis was so nice...! It looked like any car only a year or two new. 99% of the buttons in the interior looked as though they had never been pushed. Yes a 78 year old lady had owned it since new and had always garaged it and never smoked in. I bought it for my wife and she loves it (its red, LOL). Had to restuff the driver seat cushion & put shocks around. In another 1500 mi,Castrol Syntec Oil will get put in. Great for 11 years old. No odd noises, doesnt smoke or rattle & everything works. Have all books and records also,and something you never seem to get...2 keys and 2 remotes. Might install a oem cd player. Nice

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  It has its ups and downs. - 1998 Mercury Sable
  By Arah - June 8 - 10:00 am

  At first it was a great car. Then after a year little bad things kept happening. Window frames keep breaking, paint job flecking, windshield wipers goofy, parking brake light misbehaves, door sensors often wrong (had to remove interior light bulbs to save battery), hinge on front storage compartment broke, springs in change storages broke. Etc. On the plus side though nothing serious has ever broken. The only major failure after 160,000 miles was the bearing in the alternator went bad.