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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  Not built to last - 2006 Mercury Milan
  By yven7 - September 20 - 8:40 pm

  The car drove well at first with regular maintenance. After the first 100,000 miles there were problems with several hoses connected to the exhaust system and it became much louder. At 142, 000 miles it needs a new transmission and several boards. I trusted the brand after a mercury villager minivan that I drove for more than 260,000 miles but I wont buy another mercury vehicle.

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  2002, 4.6L V8 AWD model - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By av8r1x - September 19 - 11:52 am

  217,000 + miles and still going strong! original engine, original transmission. However, I get regular oil changes, change the air filter regularly, clean the engine once in a while, etc...my only complaints are 1) the engineers who designed this vehicle did not put a governor on the accelerator, and sometimes when you take your foot off and coast, the gears shift down with a "thunk," instead of gradually, but this doesnt do any harm to the tranny, and 2) i had problems early-on with the vent system in the rear (3rd row seats). it makes a clicking noise sometimes, like the fan motor isnt working.

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  Disappointed By Ford - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By FlatCat - September 17 - 10:00 am

  Bought the car new from dealer in 99. Had some minor problems at first with seat trim and a bad speaker. Dealer did a slopshod job with the fix and both problems recurred. Burned through the original set of brakes very quickly. Tires lasted about two years. Now that the car is almost 4 years old, its starting to disintegrate. Theres a persistent oil leak, the defroster vents have popped and wont stay in place when put back, carpet has some very bad "mystery" wear in spots that rarely get used, etc., etc.

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  Best in its segment - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By txhoser - September 15 - 1:13 am

  I like the size at 200" it fits into the garage much better than my F150. The ride is smooth but not at Cadilac standards. The sound system is good but could use a sub-woofer -- and an amp. Watch out of large bumps and dips. The wheele travel is short and bottoms out quickly. The seats offer good support but are by no means sport buckets -- more for comfort which they do very well.

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  Great Mini-Van for All Your Family Needs - 2004 Mercury Monterey
  By rrherman - September 14 - 10:30 am

  An all around great buy when considering all incentives and price paid for it. Great low torque power. VERY comfortable interior. In our opinion - the best looking Mini-Van out there. Fuel mileage is comperable to all other vehicles in this segment - which all could show improvement. 3rd row fold flat seat and tip up 2nd row seats provide plenty of seating and carrying options. We are very happy with it - 2 years later!! At 60 mph - we get 24 mpg on the highway. around town is around an average of 16-18 mpg. Had a few recalls - but those were fixed right away. no problems with the vehicle otherwise. HIGHLY R RECOMMEND BUY*ING IT!!

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  Dead at 175,000- not feasible to fix - 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By tom2002a - September 13 - 5:36 am

  I bought this new and never had any problems other than a cracked intake manifold which Ford paid for as part of a class actin settlement. Was hoping to get 250k plus - changed oil, trans and other fluids etc. Developed a brake leak and the brake lines are corroded from front to back - $1800 in labor alone to replace. I had noticed alot of the piping under the hood seemed to rot - electrolysis? If youre looking at one of these watch this - great car otherwise.

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  Just bought it - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By 2ltPaetz - September 11 - 10:00 am

  I just got this vehicle yesterday. I bought a 1999 honda passport 2 months ago and hated it. So far I really like the cougar. The acceleration is great, better then my 2000 VW GLX with the VR6. The VW has a hesitation when you give it gas before the power kicks in. The cougar responds quicker. I was supprised to see all the poor reviews,as I really like this car, so far. The only problem Ive noticed so far is when the ac is on the engine cuts out on power when driving at a constant speed. Like a power surge, but in reverse. This is a little annoying. I only wish it had a moon roof like the passport and jetta.

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  Best one yet! - 2005 Mercury Mountaineer
  By pop123 - September 9 - 6:30 pm

  this 2005 Mercury Mountaineer Premier is the best vehicle i had yet. Love the color "Silver Birch" in PREMIER, love the V8, Premier touches, Factory Remote Starter, everything else.

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  Buyer beware - 2005 Mercury Monterey
  By jim - September 9 - 5:56 am

  Hello,7 months ago I bought the van new since then it has had its wheel bearings and hubs replaced under a recall. The front brakes warped at 15000 (90% highway miles) and it was not covered under warranty.they cut the rotors to stop the vibration but because the rotors are so thin they warped again in 2000 miles.I took van to my own mechanic and spent 400 dollars on front rotors and brakes.Now the rear brakes are shot, there goes another $400. I am in sales for the last 15 years and have driven alot of miles on a lot of different vans and I have never had this many problems with any van this soon. BUYER BEWARE!!!! p.s the front windshield just got a stress crack.

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  EYE CATCHER - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By ALLEN - September 5 - 2:00 am

  BEEN A FUN CAR WITH NO PROBLEMS