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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  1999 Mercury Mountaineer - 1999 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Sammiam - April 9 - 10:00 am

  Have had this car for about 4 yrs. Havent had any problems until the past month or so. Everything electrical is acting up. Current probs: front/back sprayer, back wipers, brights, back left blinker, back right brake light, left rear window all do not work. This seems odd that all of these probs would happen at once on a car thats not that old. Anyone else have these sort of problems?

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  Pretty Good SUV - 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By arockcastle - April 2 - 7:49 pm

  I got this SUV because it met my needs perfectly. It got good fuel economy, had four-wheel-drive, and was still big enough for me to fit me and my stuff. Despite this, the car isnt always that comfortable. The ride is bumpy, and there is a lot of engine, wind, and road noise. The exterior styling looks pretty boring, and the interior materials feel cheap. So far, Im getting about 30 MPG in the winter and 35 MPG in the summer (mostly highway driving). Overall Im happy with this car, but I cant say I would recommend it. There are many cheaper cars that are more comfortable and get almost as good of fuel economy, like the Subaru Forester, Toyota RAV4, or even a new 2012 Ford Focus.

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  2001 Mercury Cougar 2.5L V-6 - 2001 Mercury Cougar
  By CelicaTuner - February 17 - 9:03 am

  I bought this car used with 71,000 miles in summer of 07. Looks really sleek. Has a fun look to it. Gas mileage is decent. I average around 24mpg city/highway. The transmission rotted through at around 80000 miles costing me $1,300. The sunroof failed to operate at around 82,000 miles. This car is a looker. Many compliments recieved. I wash and wax every weekend if possible.

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  Could be better - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By Audrey girl - February 13 - 2:00 am

  My car is a 1999. It was a year old when I purchased it. This car has been in the repair shop 9 times in the past 12 months. Everything from catalytic converter, fuel line problems,emission system problems and I had to replace the transmission at 52,000 miles. Its in the shop as I type this. This time for an engine oil leak. As far as looks, the car is great. The interior has a blind spot on the passenger side. I would not recommend this car. As soon as my car is repaired, Im trading it in.

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  Could Be Better! - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By Meo - January 25 - 10:00 pm

  Negatives 1.Windshield glare from front dash area (have tan interior) 2.Perreille tires good for 24k thats it 3.Rear door panels hold water 4.Service Bulletin rear disc brakes 5.Transmission rough when cold 6 HID front head lights heat to intense for internal yellow turn signal materials 7.Paint quality could be upped a notch 8.Rear bumper needs top external flange so to not scratch the bumper when raising the trunk. 9.Side Mirrors too larger can block visability 10. AC Weak (car is black)

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  The Life of a COUGAR - 1996 Mercury Cougar
  By Cougar Life - January 20 - 10:33 pm

  This car was the second Cougar I have bought in 3 months as a cheap replacement car I was hoping to own for more than a year. I had a 94 Coug which decided to one day have major engine problems with no warning.It had 120K miles on it. So I bought the 96 with 87k on it which seemed like a great buy for my price range.Within a week of owning I had to replace a couple of things which I think was due to not being well kept by the owners before me. After that, I noticed a major difference in how the car drove.It can really get moving with its powerful V8. I drove the car from Wisconsin down to Florida with no issues.As long as you get one that is well taken care of you shouldnt have any problem.

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  never buy another one - 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By anthony caggiano - January 15 - 2:00 am

  bought car new,had trouble with check engine light,transmission,front end,all before 25000 miles.Dealer on three returns was unable to fix check engine light.Dealer indifferent,as was manufacturer

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  Superficially nice but poor quality - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By sue - January 11 - 7:16 am

  I bought this car new, and loved the comfortable and roomy interior. It had a lot of "bells and whistles", like seat warmers, moonroof, leather, beeping back bumper, etc... Unfortunately, the exterior quality and engine quality are out of alignment. Ive had nothing but problems with this vehicle. Ranging from minor inconveniences such as the trunk latch not working and the brakes needing replaced after 30K miles (covered by manufacturer recall), to major issues like the a/c needing replaced and the transimission failing after only 63K miles. I would warn anyone looking at this vehicle to not let the outside fool you. This is a poorly made Ford.

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  Seats & other problems - 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Ron Rudge - December 3 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car as a 6 passenger sedan . No way! You cannot put 3 people in the front seat of this car. Noise in or about dash dealer cannot eliminate. Very disturbing. Head rest are a big pain. While backing out of driveway you cannot see to the right with these large headrests. The car has a tendency to drift to the right.

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  Well... - 2001 Mercury Sable
  By Don1090 - November 9 - 10:00 am

  I agree that 155 HP is not enough to move this tank thru town. Turning circle is pretty awful, but in principle fun to drive and provides plenty of room for the driver. Steering has its own ideas.