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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  Very Satisfied - 2007 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Vic - November 13 - 12:40 pm

  This is the third SUV I have owned and am very satisfied with its ride and reliability. I cant say enough good things about this vechicle. I would definitely recommend it!

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  Love My New Milan Hybrid - 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid
  By Deb - November 12 - 8:16 pm

  I have had my new Milan Hybrid for about 3 weeks now and I love it. Its replacing a 03 Acura TL (which I loved) and I wanted to buy an American hybrid this time. This is my first American car since the early 80s and I am very impressed. The interior is contemporary and comfortable; I love the styling. I drive about 200 miles a day and the Milan is very comfortable. I love the integrated BlueTooth and the free 3-month subscription to Sirius radio. The seats could be a tad cushier but other than that no complaints. Most of my daily driving is highway 65-75 mph and I am getting 34-35 MPG which is great.

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  I loved it so much I bought another one! - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By TiminCleveland - November 12 - 2:00 am

  My wife and I had always had minivans and thought we would try an SUV. We loved the Mountaineer. We bought a black Premier V8. We started posturing on who would drive it so I said to hell with it and bought her a pearl white Premier V8. The ride, room and comfort is great. The gas MPG could be better but oh well.

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  Love this vehicle - 2001 Mercury Mountaineer
  By kuhny - November 11 - 4:00 pm

  I just purchased my 2001 Mountaineer about 2 months ago, and I love it. So far I love the 5.0 V8 lots of power, love the leather seats, power moonroof, the way it handles, and just the overall vehicle. Mine has 55,000 miles on it and sure there will be plenty more fun miles. Tows my trailer and family just fine. Downfalls are the display on radio (easy fix) and the gas mileage, but you are driving an AWD SUV. Gets about 15 in town and 20-22 mpg highway, still better than my Jimmy (and it was a V6). I am very satisfied with this vehicle so far, will buy another one when time.

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  Great American SUV - 2001 Mercury Mountaineer
  By esch - November 10 - 10:00 am

  The SUV has a slight bit of wind noise that has been hard to find.

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  It is a perfect car! i love it! - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By Dally - November 10 - 10:00 am

  i thought it us a great car!

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  Awsome car - 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Tanner Peavler - November 10 - 10:00 am

  I absolutely love this car. Buy one, and drive the hell out of it. Its a fun car ive enjoyed the car very much

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  A Car with Character - 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By King Arthur - November 8 - 9:06 am

  Its surprisingly fun to drive and gets good gas mileage for a V8. The trunk space is huge and the bench seats comfortable. I took it on cross- country trips because its built for the highway and never had any problems in cold Iowa winters. The rear-wheel drive made it prone to getting stuck in the snow but it always started right up and heated up quickly. Now for the problems. *All four power window motors died, sometimes forcing me to take apart the door to get the window up. *1 door wouldnt unlock from outside OR inside *Power seat died *Gears stripped in the blower for the A/C & heat *A/C went out *Tranny started to slip *Had to junk it after 145,000 mi I still recommend!

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  got a great suv - 2010 Mercury Mariner
  By ronald mack - November 6 - 9:06 am

  overall great suv fun to drive good milage great room

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  new schools "old school" - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By petarvn1 - November 5 - 6:45 pm

  Im writing this review for a friend who recently got a V6 Cougar with 215K miles on it. Im writing the review since im the reason he owns it. I got this as my 1st car. We bought it off a sweet old couple who had it since new, and it was never driven hard. I owned it for a whole 2 weeks, before my friend bought it from me for exactly what i paid for it originally. it looks more expensive than it is outside, but the basic cloth interior is not too comfy or good looking. The engine, though is amazing! shame i had the auto, since i know that a manual would be much more fun. Great 1st car, and great sport coupe on a budget, since it is 14 years old now.