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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  What a great buy for a great car! - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By Oregonian - January 22 - 2:00 am

  We have had no problems with our 2001 Cougar. It is VERY fun to drive and has a huge interior considering its exterior size. The styling jumps out at others and turns about 20 heads a day when we drive about 20 miles a day. The front and especially rear leg room is generous. Its sad that Mercury is discountinuing the Cougar for 2003, but this is your chance. We recommend this car to any buyer young or old, short or tall. And the price is right too. Normally, the price starts around $16,000. Now, since its getting discountined, you can get a new Cougar for way under $10,000 if that seems believable, but according to our local dealerships, its true.

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  Love My New Car - 2007 Mercury Milan
  By CMW - January 21 - 4:53 pm

  I just got my Milan. I chose the Milan hands down over the Chrysler Sebring. The Milan offers so much more for the money. I love the interior (I dont even have the fully loaded model) and am completely satisfied with the comfort. The only complaint I have is the gas mileage isnt spectacular for a 4-cylinder automatic. I am hoping it gets better once the car is broken in.

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  Great Vehicle! - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By RancidDelirium - January 21 - 8:43 am

  I have a 5 year old who loves it, and the ride is smooth. Its definetly a great pick for a first time SUV owner.

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  would buy this again - 2001 Mercury Sable
  By irishtoo - January 20 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car on the A-Plan, and have never regretted it for a second.It just turned 40k miles. I love this car! Id much rather drive it than my moms Grand Marquis. I can actually feel the road in my Sable. Ive owned imports before and loved them, but never like this! This car is very roomy, comfortable, quiet and performs well. I did have a little trouble with the transmission, but another dealer fixed it right up. Never had any problem with getting stuff done under warranty, either. The extended warranty is definitely the way to go! Ive had plenty of compliments on my car. My husband just wishes Id let him drive it more often!

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  beware....its a ford - 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By nveragain - January 19 - 2:53 pm

  purchased the car in 2007 with 10K miles on it. after 2 years, the "blend" apparatus required replacement. ( this is the little door that opens and closes to give you cool or warm air.) that was a 1K repair and after 2 attempts, have still not succeeded in putting the dash back together correctly. today I learned that one of fords most reliable models requires a new intake manifold. this vehicle has 92K miles on it. have read many forums about this problem however this was supposed to have been corrected in 2005. NOT!! so if youre planning on purchasing a ford or mercury with a 4.6L this will cost you around 1200. will be going back to Honda later this year......

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  Super Street Cruizer - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By SuperSleeper - January 16 - 2:00 am

  i own 1 of 2 blue marauders in cali, its the perfect sleeper! cant wait to drop in a new cat-back exhaust system, headers, intake, tb, and kenne bell s/c!

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  Great Little Car - 2007 Mercury Milan
  By patmass7 - January 14 - 4:00 am

  Im used to driving a luxury car but due to change in lifestyles I had to downsize. The Mercury Milan is a great vehicle to drive with just enough bells & whistles to make it comfortable. It has a large trunk that opens into the backseat so I could haul things. Nice leg room and rides smoothly. Would like to have more pick-up when passing but it does the job for a 4cyl. Sweet little car.

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  Just purchased - 2007 Mercury Montego
  By LaurelD - January 13 - 10:30 pm

  Just purchased a 2007 sedan and drove on a trip for 5,000 miles. Impressed with the interior comfort and ability to adjust the pedals as both my husband and I are rather tall. City driving is fine but accelerating uphill or to pass another car takes planning with the engine size. Back seat is very roomy but I wish they would have made the front seat go back farther for taller drivers and have the ability to adjust the steering wheel higher up to accommodate knees and high heels when entering the car. The rear auto-adjust mirror feature at night is great with the bright lights of vehicles coming up behind you. Overall good value with the quality and end of year price for us!

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  My Third Grand Marquis - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Dannydog - January 11 - 10:00 am

  This is my third Grand Marquis,Ive had a 1994, a 1999 and now a 2003. I am also a law enforcement officer and have driven the Ford Crown Victoria. They have all proven to be safe, reliable and a comfortable ride. Those cars I used during work took a real beating with going over curbs, hours of idling with the air conditioner or heater runnning and having mileage well into the 100,000s. They always continued to run well and comfortable not to mention the safety factor. (I also was an ambulance technician for over six years.)This is why starting in my early forties I started to buy the Grand Marquis and intend to continue to.

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  Reliable. - 1995 Mercury Villager
  By jaredh - January 10 - 12:33 pm

  Just rid myself of my old 95 Villager recently due to electrical issues that just werent worth the money for repair. At 17 years old I have nothing to complain about. This van has been reliable through out its life span. And the most major repair it ever saw; was a replaced water pump. Other then that this thing never saw any critical failures. The air vents for the back passenger seats gave out about 5 years in. But we managed with just the front ones. Heat was great, AC was great. But more importantly this van was sturdy. Even after being in a wreck a year ago it still ran like a champ. Im going to miss the old thing.