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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  We like our Mountaineer - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By JimmyD - August 25 - 5:06 pm

  We traded in a brand new 04 Jeep Grand Cherokee for our Merc. Hated the Jeeps ride and lack of room. The Jeep left us with a backache on every trip. Glad to get rid of it. Looked at several other SUVs, but they were either too expensive, not roomy enough, or just plain over rated. We really like the Mountaineer. It has tons of room, and the ride is fine (for an SUV). Took a 9 hour trip recently without a backache. Mileage is average for a vehicle this size. Like all the bells and whistles, and got a good deal with a lot more value for the money. Salesman at Manuel Lincoln Mercury was really a nice guy, and we were happy with their treatment. So far, we are very happy with the car

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  Sable -$ fror $ = the best buy - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By M535i - August 25 - 10:00 am

  We are just about at 70,000 miles and never had any major repairs. The car is much faster than compatible modles and the LS trim makes the car look real sleak. Dont be afraid of buying as sable! However, never buy one with a trailer hitch as the tranmittions are not designed for towing. Stay away fromt the 3.8 Liter motor because of head gasket problems. I have leather seats, sunroof and climate control and a compatible Toyota Camry would have been a lot of thousands more. Why pay all that extra money.

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  The Good The Bad & The Ugly - 2007 Mercury Mariner
  By gtsfreak - August 24 - 7:41 am

  Bought this car used with 30K + miles on it from local Ford dealer. Although it has run pretty good for two years, I am now experiencing ABS light problem, but Im getting ahead of myself. This V-6 is extremely responsive. It fires up every morning... almost revs too much. Makes me wonder if the idle speed is set too high. But shes a mad banshee on the road. Smooth transmission. Seats are comfortable. Interior knobs and features are ok. Some things about this car are bizarre. (e.g. two ways to turn off heat controls. Cannot control direction of air conditioner - It comes out every where! Whats with that? Intermittent wiper decal diagrams are reversed.) Audio - OK. Brakes - suspect.

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  Mountaineer near you - 1997 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Webseer - August 23 - 10:00 am

  There arent too many vehicles that can keep up if you accelerate in the 30mph to 70mph range. While this truck is very fast, with its grip on the road, the only way to get rubber is by taking a corner too fast. If you are stopped with the engine running and the accelerator seems to be stuck, it is probably that your foot is on the brake and the gas pedals at the same time. Due to the closeness of these two pedals, I have had this experience a few times. It can be pretty scary because the harder you push down on the brake, the more the truck tries to lurch. (Because your foot is also on the accelerator too). This aside, this is my favorite vehicle of all time.

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  i got a 2000 cougar its really great! - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By cherse Fell - August 23 - 10:00 am

  i got mine a few months ago and while i was driving late one night i hit a raccoon and it really damaged my flood lights and the front end of my car around there and that was only a raccoon thats the only problem and its reallly expensive to get it fixed but i still will cause i love it its a really great car to drive and its confortable and its overall great.

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  Wonderful! - 2000 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Oki - August 22 - 2:30 pm

  This was my first Ford-based anything, and this has been nothing short of amazing! It came with the 5.0 and AWD, and was completely loaded! It even got me through a nasty blizzard here in Colorado and through 2 feet of snow and never got stuck! Even with temps as low as -15, the truck started up with no problems

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  Drive a lot before buying - 2009 Mercury Mariner
  By Not Pleased - August 21 - 8:03 pm

  This is my fourth Ford/Mercury I have owned and also the worst. The gas mileage is fine and was the reason I downsized from an Explorer. But the noise level inside this car is awful. My 10 year old Explorer was a quieter ride than this vehicle. The roads I tested it on near the dealership must have been very smooth. I will never buy another car without going over all types of roads, including bad ones. Please turn every knob to maximum level before buying. Turning heat/AC to anything above the lowest level is very noisy. The dealership says it is normal tire noise when I complain about the noise inside the vehicle. The radio has to be turned up loud to hear over the outside noise.

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  Good Car that Could Be Better - 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Roy - August 21 - 6:43 pm

  My experience with FoMoCo products is that they are good ideas poorly executed. My Mercury is a case in point. While perfect for people looking for a traditional RWD sedan that owns the road, this car lacks the solidarity and reliability its predecessors possessed. It handles well for its size in braking, acceleration, and cornering. It also is a good ride on the highway. But dont expect too much from it. The engine has mounds of torque but is noisy when pressed. The engine is a great performer, but you got to go light on the gas unless you (a) can afford speeding tickets and (b) are related to a Saudi prince and have inherited your own private oil well.

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  Exceeding Expectations - 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By Matrix D. - August 19 - 8:43 am

  Going from a Cadillac DTS to the Mariner Hybrid, I thought I might be giving up some creature comforts and settling for less, but Im not. The car handles well, its fun to drive, I love the visibility of being higher, and Im totally hooked on seeing how gas efficient I can drive. My husband and I are competing to see who can drive the longest for free in other words, driving just via the battery and with no gas. My regular driving habits are giving me about 30-31 MPG, a significant improvement from the Cadillacs 16-18 MPG average. Its been a long time since Ive felt this great about a new car!

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  Mercury Montego - 2007 Mercury Montego
  By montego - August 18 - 6:43 pm

  The first thing I noticed was the power.Getting on the freeway It is slow.Also the audio system sounds a little cheap.Be fore this car I drove a 04 Sable that was much quicker and the audio system was better. Other than that it is a nice car and my friends think it is too.So far I have had two small problems with the car. During a trip of 200 miles I was getting 28+ MPG.At 70 MPH