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:

• 

  Great SUV except - 2003 Mercury Mountaineer
  By suzie - June 21 - 1:43 am

  I loved this SUV, of course gas mileage stinks, but for an AWD it rides like a luxury car. Heated seats, 3rd row seating, great. Cons...wheel bearings. They all go too early, AC wires rusted out. I also knew 3 people who had the same problems, bearings and AC rusting out. Mercury knew this but never recalled the vehicles. Tires, I went through two pairs in three years. Other than that, a fine vehicle.

• 

  First Class Luxury! - 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Alex - June 14 - 2:00 am

  I was looking for an inexpensive car and ended up with pure luxury. It has good power and a great ride. The finish both inside and outside is superb with quality workmanship. Cant believe they sell them so cheap!!! I had a choice between a GS with 15000 miles or an LS with the whole works including dual exhaust with 27000 miles....I chose the LS.

• 

  a neat little suv. - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By chas wright - June 9 - 2:53 pm

  performance comfort and handling all excellent for a suv. cannot fault anything except fuel economy and size of fuel tank. I drove houston to miami shortly after purchase and it felt like I had to stop at almost every gas station. w/o a/c on the trip average was less than 21.5 mpg. this is considerably less than advertised.Otherwise a driver friendly super little vehicle with excellent ride.

• 

  Fun Driver, Sync is great, reliability? - 2009 Mercury Mariner
  By B. doyle - June 8 - 11:50 pm

  Fun vehicle to drive, great gas mileage gets 27.9 mpg highway on trips. 4 cylinder runs rough at idle due apparently to trying to maximize fuel mileage, the hood even shakes. Also had computer controlling the transmission break causing the car to downshift 2 gears on the highway, scary. Brought it to the dealer and was fixed the same day, had to reset the computer.(Dealer says its a common problem with 09s) The car now has 6,000 miles on it and I truly enjoy it but be careful. At high speeds the vehicle feels like it is going to tip over.

• 

  Good & Bad - 2001 Mercury Cougar
  By jm3115 - June 8 - 10:00 am

  Bought as my first NEW car right out of college - within a year lost the master cylinder while driving - NO BRAKES!! Lots of problems with 6 CD changer/radio too - replaced twice. Depending on terrain, mileage ranges from 15-26 mpg. Overall - satisfied 1st car. Wouldnt do it again if I had to do over.

• 

  Bad Tranny - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Tom - June 7 - 6:16 pm

  Nice SUV, the V8 is a must. Lots of power for towing. I had a 1997 with the 5.0 and the 4.6L is a much better engine. However the transmission is aweful. Clunks, and has troulbe shifitng. Had it in several time and the problem is still there. Looking to sell.

• 

  Cant Drive Hard - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By Burton22 - June 4 - 10:00 am

  I got the 2000 V6 Auto... And i am hoping it has alot to do with being an automatic but the trannie just cant shift fast enough when its needed. and when its at 4500 it likes to kick out.. Dont make it fun when you like to drive fast and hard..

• 

  Piece of Poop! - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By lambo - May 28 - 6:56 am

  Driving from SLC to Colorado, broke down - rear differential, tried again, broke down half way - front differential. Supposedly fixed, didnt feel right so I got it home took it into Mercury, they said both front and rear differentials were "fried". Took it apart, correct gear ratio. They dont know why it has been destroyed in 400 miles. Already paid around 3k, they say this repair will be 5-6k. Trying to fight with previous place that did repair, but appears to be a problem with the design of the drive train!! Do not buy one of these. Pure nightmare.

• 

  Great option for an all year vehicle - 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By Jon M - May 25 - 12:06 am

  I currently live in Wisconsin, so the weather can vary greatly between the snow and heat. I needed something that can get me through each season, which is why I chose a used Mercury Mariner Hybrid 2008 AWD. I also decided to put 22 inch rims on this vehicle, and they havent caused any issues. I successfully added my own receiver and mounted in under the gps receiver that comes with the car (which I spliced into the cigarette lighter power and ground), and added a 10 inch sub in the back. I can confirm this vehicle can power an extra receiver/sub/amp/ and the hybrid battery can handle rumbling from the sub even when the sub is directly on top of the compartment that the hybrid battery is in. In the winter time, this vehicle can get through snow pretty easily, and can handle ice with below 0 temperatures. In the summer, the car has not overheated in over 100 degree f temperatures. The interior is made with poor material but looks nice. The outside looks decent and has no rust, and the paint has survived 8 years and still looks decent. The speed limit where I live is 70mph on the highway, and when going 70mph I maybe get 23-24 mpg average. If I go around 65mph I get 24-26mpg average. So no, you probably wont get 29mpg as advertised on the highway unless you are going way under the speed limit. When in town, if you stop quickly or are going slow, (usually slower than 25mph) the hybrid battery mode will kick in, which just uses hybrid battery power and not gas. This also makes the car almost silent, however you have to be going pretty slow for the battery to stay on, otherwise the engine turns back on. in town if you are going fairly slow, you can achieve up 60mpg with the battery fully on. If you are varying slow and fast speeds, you should be able to get at least 25-40 mpg in town. The only issues I have had was my steering column started to fail, and it costed me around $1000 to fix. Also one tie rod needed to be replaced, and both of the front wheel brake sensor and tone rings needed to be replaced. Overall, for a used hybrid mini suv that also has AWD, this is a pretty great buy.

• 

  99 Mountaineer - 1999 Mercury Mountaineer
  By jas2 - May 21 - 10:00 am

  Overall excellent vehicle. I experienced a minor irritant with the top interior front door moldings. The passenger side clip broke a couple years ago, and I periodically have to re-secure it. The privacy screen objected when my dachshund climbed on it when it was deployed--but who would expect it not to? My husband got it to work again, but the retractor spring is weak.