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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  old woman car NOT....... - 2004 Mercury Marauder
  By WHATACAR - July 19 - 10:00 am

  SOUND FROM MOTOR AT IDLE AND TAKE OFF ARE A DREAM.

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  grand marquis - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By ss513t - July 19 - 10:00 am

  a stiffer suspension would be nice.biggest gripe is the long hood and would like another 3-4 inches legroom for the back seat.

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  2003 ultimate edition - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By phil b. - July 19 - 10:00 am

  took it back to dealer one time for electrical prob. fixed.

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  Good Little SUV - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By Jeff - July 19 - 4:03 am

  I bought this vehicle to use as my company car. I needed five passenger capability and enough cargo room to hold several demo cases. I wanted somthing that looks a little classy to take clients out for lunch. I also wanted better gas milage that most SUV can deliver. I get a solid 21-22mpg with a mix of city and hwy driving. I am 6-4" tall and found the car big enough to suit me. The head room is excellent. I leather seats are soft and supportive, I will probably put 25-30K miles on the car a year and comfort is importiant to me. The small V6 performance seems a little weak to me because I am use to V8 powered vehicles like my F150 truck.

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  Cruising in style! - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By BriGuy - July 15 - 4:20 pm

  What a wonderful car. Great power. Smooth ride. Consistently getting 23- 25 mpg in a V8! 103K now and idles like new. One repair in all that time, big one though: transmission. Manufacturer defect once repaired shifted better than ever. This is my most recommended car I have ever owned or reviewed by far!

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  Gotta have Milan - 2006 Mercury Milan
  By Kirk S - July 15 - 1:00 am

  Wonderful car. Comfortable and fun to drive. Everyone loves the interior and exterior style. Highly recommend. Looked at Camry and Accord. The Mercury dealer was willing to deal.

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  This Ones a Sleeper - 2003 Mercury Sable
  By Richard - July 13 - 12:16 pm

  Bought this car used with 31K miles in 2005. Its more than met my expectations. Handsome, spacious, easy to drive, good build quality, comfortable for long trips. If you are looking for a performance car to push to its limits, look elsewhere. If you are considering this vehicle as a used car, take advantage of the weak resale value and enjoy it.

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  Horrible Transmission Problems - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By sin143 - July 12 - 12:50 am

  To anyone that is looking to buy a Mercury Mountaineer. I never ever buy domestic cars, but needed a 7 seater so decided to go with the Mountaineer. 2 weeks into purchasing the car, the wheel bearing went out, so that was replaced by Ford at no charge. 2 years later the transmission went out on me. I had to fight it thru corp to get the dealership to fix it thru the warranty. Its been 2 years since I had that replaced, the transmission is starting to stall at 20-30 miles again, so another tranny problem comes. There should be a recall on transmission on these cars. If I have to replace 2 already in 4 years.

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  So-so car - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By Zach - July 11 - 9:30 pm

  This was a very nice car. The first day we bought it off the lot we got ours brand new and havent had too many problems with it. Only a few things here and there. Car has a sleek design and it is fun to show off and just go for a cruise. The gas mileage is a little low but better than some of the new cars today. It was a great buy and soon it will be my sons car!

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  Mercury Money Pit - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By SD - July 11 - 3:36 pm

  I love the look of this car but it has been nothing but a nightmare. I had to replace the solenoid in the transmission at 38,000 miles. Apparently if your tires are the same size but have diff amount of tire life left to them it can total out your entire car. I got two new tires put on and because the circumfrance was different between the to sets it caused my rear differential and transfer case to go out. The estimated repairs from the Ford dealership is at 10k! My car is only worth 9k with 63,000 miles on it and its fully loaded. This has been a total nightmare. do not purchase a Mountaineer.