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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  Mariner Premier - 2010 Mercury Mariner
  By Robert - January 19 - 2:03 pm

  Car rated as 21 - 28 mpg. Was initially pleased as I got 22+ mpg in town. Then I took a trip to Nashville (902 miles roundtrip). Was disappointed when this 4 cylinder returned a miserable 24.3 mpg. I drove the speed limit using cruise control for almost the entire trip. Went back to the dealer who stated they had a quite a few people commenting on the weak mileage. They stated it was because most gas had 1-10 percent ethanol added. Did not believe it as the SUV I traded in averaged 29-30 mpg for the same trip. It had the same HP engine and weighed only 100 lbs less. Of course there is a disclaimer on the window sticker stating the mileage may vary between 23- 33mpg. Guess Im stuck.

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  Heaven to Hell - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By JosieListens - January 18 - 10:00 am

  I got this car as my first car. It was bought with busted valve gasket (easily fixed, cheap). Beautiful car! Drifter body kit, engine mods, custom exhaust and muffler. 4mo after getting car Timing Belt crystallized (expensive, had to get tensioner too). 1mo later replaced vacuum line. Engine light has always been on. NOW, master cylinder blew. I loved this car in the beginning. Super fun, with 5 speed transmission, super quick. BUT, it JUST SITS more than i drive it. Expenses to get it fixed are just ridiculous!!

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  Sable for the win! - 2001 Mercury Sable
  By warthog11287 - January 13 - 11:33 am

  I have owned my Sable for over a year now and dont have any complaints at all. Most of my driving is done on the highway with my shortest trips being about an hour and a half. That being said, I still do a little driving in the city, so Ive been able to see how it performs there- flawlessly. Ive performed nothing but routine maintenance even with a couple off-roading experiences (I have the pictures to prove it), burning rubber and maneuvers that are usually only taught at police driving courses.

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  1998 Mystique LS - 1998 Mercury Mystique
  By mikef - January 12 - 10:00 am

  Bought this Mystique LS used. At that time it only had 17K miles, was still under warranty, and was loaded with every option except the moonroof. I now have 40K miles on the car and I am very pleased. The purchase price was $10,300 and I really doubt I could of found much more car for the money.

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  werferer - 1995 Mercury Villager
  By doe - January 12 - 10:00 am

  good

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  Grand Marquis - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Brian Nadler - January 12 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle provides a refined quiet ride. It is powered by a 4.6 liter overhead cam v8. This is the same engine which powered the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar up till 1997. Being a heavier vehicle Grand Marquis does not have the same level of pickup as 8 cylindar Thunderbirds and cougars of the 1990s. Performance may be imporved by added the performance package with dual exhausts. Finally, I would like to see Mercury add a Tachometer to the intrumentation. This is a very practical way to confirm the transmission is in overdrive and visualize low engine rpm at highway spped.

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  my review - 1997 Mercury Sable
  By riverrat - January 12 - 2:00 am

  good family and shopping car

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  great family car but after 10 years swap - 1999 Mercury Villager
  By KT - January 8 - 4:23 pm

  I have loved my Villager ever since we got it used ( with 17000) miles on it back in 2001. But this year has been a nightmare.It has 89000 miles on it now. Everything has gone wrong & we have dumped over $5000.00 in it over the last 8 months ( towed 4 times) and thinking that "hopefully this will be the last repair". My advise...when any car first produces a $1500. repair bill...sell it & get something else because chances are it will be the beginning of a long line of repair bills. cant afford it anymore but cant afford anything else either-ha !

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  Good and Bad - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By Paulyzz - January 7 - 2:00 am

  I love this car, the way it looks, and the way it handles. I have had nothing but problems with it though. Already on the third alternator, have had 2 shorts in the radio (which still doesnt work right), and the car would not start on me on several occasions. There are too many problems to list here. This car has been in the shop in excess of 25 times, and Ford had to give me a premium warranty because I was threatening to declare it a lemon. Love the car, but would never buy another one, which is a shame, becasue you dont see them all over the place.

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  Bargain, good all around car - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By TroyT - December 31 - 10:00 am

  First brake job @ 68K, oil changes every 4K, high mileage user, car keeps running like a charm. This is Sable #3 for me. This is the first to have problems, although under extended warranty. 2nd Transmission for some reason, never had problems with the others. Good gas mileage on the long trips, many times hauling a LARGE trunk full of "stuff" and 5 people of normal size. Great family car thats still fun to drive with 24V engine!