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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  New Montego - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By Scott - October 4 - 4:20 pm

  All in all i would say this a very good vehicle.Slightly underpowered but not sluggish at all.

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  A good ride - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By MIke - October 2 - 8:33 am

  A solid small SUV. Nice looking styling in and out. The only drawbacks (So far) are the high door sills and the very poor fuel economy, 15 city, 20 on the interstate, but a good 25 at 60 mph.

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  BAD CAR breaks down monthly - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By makemelaugh - September 27 - 2:00 am

  I have owned my cougar since 1999 and it has low miles but there is ALWAYS something wrong with it- engine light coming on for months, then breaks, then had to have switch on LIGHTS for 300 some $$ then broke down twice on vacation overheating and was towed for electrical problems again when we wanted to drive to Fla.! This things a BAD CAR.

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  Overall, a great suv. - 2000 Mercury Mountaineer
  By gregory wu - September 27 - 2:00 am

  Aside from the gas mileage and the noisy moonroof, the car is solid as a rock, reliable, and powerful.

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  Smooth ride, great pick up - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By sandb - September 22 - 10:00 am

  Drove the Ford Explorer first then drove the Mountaineer. I was sold. Basically the same car, but much smoother ride due to the different suspension system. Powerful engine, surprisingly easy to manuver. Only issue so far is once in a while when I start the car and dont let it warm up (even on mild days) I threatens to stall when I stop at the bottom of the hill in my neighborhood. It lunges forward and repeatedly reves until I shift into Park then back into drive a few seconds later. I need to get that checked. Overall, I highly recommend this smooth driving, fun SUV

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  Good Car - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Mark Noonan - September 13 - 2:00 am

  I bought my mercury Grand Marquis LS a year old with 25000 miles on it. It was our alternative to another minivan or SUV. So far it has been great. It gives an incrediable ride and performance is outstanding for such a large car. 0-60 in about 8.5 seconds. So far im very happy with my Grand Marquis except for one problem. After a hard rain, the car sometimes stalls unless at high RPMs.

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  Value for the Dollar - 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By virg - September 13 - 2:00 am

  After much shopping around looking at comparitable cars, I chose the Grand Marquis because of its size, V8 engine, and rear wheel drive. This car was thousands cheaper than comparable cars with the same equipment and platform. The car has plenty of smooth, quiet power coupled with a turnpike ride that suits my tastes. While it doesnt shine in fuel economy, it still gets much better milage than a 64 Dodge Dart I had with a 273 V8. Overall; I think the Grand Marquies and the Ford Crown Victoria are two of the best values for full size cars in todays market.

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  Pretty Good - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By BK - August 29 - 11:50 am

  I bought mine 6 years ago with 28,716, it now has 195,000. The tranny can be hard to shift when parked on a slope, but it has held up. The cars engine is solid and has been no problem what so ever. The wipers go off every so often. I have had problems for the past two years with the fan not blowing heat when on high, maybe crud in the lines again. It can really be hard to get anything in that trunk opening and folding mirrors would be nice also. The car has had its share of problems with stuff that has failed but never all at once and only a few hundred bucks, nothing that would break the bank. Junkyards, good auto repair shops, parts stores and plus any maintenance I do keep it running.

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  Fun to drive - 2001 Mercury Cougar
  By philly79 - August 28 - 10:00 am

  This car is loads of fun to drive. The pickup is lacking slightly but you can definitely get it cruising. The handling is excellent and the hatchback is key. I just hope that some of the horror stories Ive read regarding reliability arent true.

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  03 Grand Marquis Ultimate Edition - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By hjones4841 - August 27 - 9:03 pm

  This is my fifth Grand Marquis and wont be my last. Reliability is excellent, with one exception - at just over 36,000 miles the right rear wheel bearing started whining. I found out that this was a problem for 03 Crown Vics and Grand Marquis built prior to Jan 03, which mine was. Both rear axle bearings and the spindles were replaced. The car was out of warranty, but since I was a regular customer of the dealer, I got a pro- rated partial warranty payment. Fuel economy tops out at about 25 highway at cruising speed of 75 or so. Best ever fuel economy was on my 99 Grand Marquis on a cool morining, driving 70 mph - 29 MPG! Seats are comfortable,even with my wifes and my back trouble.