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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  Upscale Ford Escape...Very Upscale!!! - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By Jay - January 7 - 11:30 am

  Ive driven a Ford Escape and traded it in for this beauty. Excellent interior and exterior design althought I know its all Ford Escape within. I loved my Escape and didnt think it could get any better. Boy was I wrong!!!

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  More than happy - 2007 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By BARRI - January 7 - 11:23 am

  I bought my Marquis slightly used and at a huge discount. This car does everything right with a giant sized trunk, 6 passenger capacity and 21 mpg on average. Reliability has been perfect so far and I certainly appreciate the super low insurance rates. Being larger than average, the interior room is excellent and the safety rating is reassuring. This may be close to the last car Ill ever buy and Im only 42. I hear all the stories about sloppy handling. Those people should get a Corvette. This car is designed for cruising and does so very well. This is basically a lincoln town car with a $25,000 rebate. All those cops, taxicab drivers and government employees cant be wrong.

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  Environmentally Responsible SUV - 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By scott4370 - January 6 - 8:10 am

  My wife and I bought the Mariner a week ago. We have always had Toyotas and were skeptical at first. I have to say that this runs better than any other hybrid I have ever driven. The smooth transitions between electric and gas modes are amazing. The mileage is close to what the sticker says. The Mariner is comfortable and fun and Ford deserves a BIG pat on the back for developing this vehicle. I only wish they were not so hard to find. I also hope more people who need an SUV check this one out. It is truly amazing!

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  I love this car! - 2006 Mercury Milan
  By Heather - January 5 - 7:33 pm

  This is the first new car I have ever bought and I absolutely love it. I considered the Camry or the Altima, but the styling of the Milan really caught me. Plus I really wanted to buy American... so I did. I have been very pleased with the car so far.

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  Nice Ride! - 2009 Mercury Milan
  By Bhagen05 - January 5 - 9:06 am

  Ive had my Mercury Milan for about a year and a half now. I really enjoy how the car handles and the performance. Havent had anything replaced that was major. Only a few electronic things got replace, a roof molding and the driver leather seat started to crack. All and all the car is a great buy. I still get people who say that it is a nice looking car. especially with the metallic flakes in the paint!

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  Great car and very very quiet! - 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By Alex Dawson - January 3 - 12:56 pm

  My first SUV and I loved the car from the first moment, it is so quiet when you drive in town that you need to be extra aware of pedestrians who wont hear you. Mileage is very good to, so far its at 31 MPG and we have mostly driven on freeways. The weakness would be that it is not very strong and the engine needs to run on pretty high RPM (over 4000) going up the steepest hills in San Francisco.

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  Feels like a Luxury Car - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By New Jersey - January 3 - 12:16 am

  I traded in my 2005 BMW 3 series and the Milan is a much better ride. My biggest reason for test driving the Milan was because of its top reliability from Consumer Reports. I still cannot believe all the pluses that I did not expect. Most people think I paid over $30K. I paid $23K. The Milans less power than my BMW took some getting used to, but I chose the 4 cyl. because I wanted better gas mileage. Go with a 6 cyl. if that matters to you. The drive is smooth and the storage is huge. The test drive was better than the Camry and Accord with alot more features. The Altima was a sportier ride but Consumer Reports said its reliability was only average.

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  Its been a good car. - 2000 Mercury Sable
  By KO - January 2 - 10:00 pm

  I purchased this vehicle my soph. year of college (9/04) with 71k miles for $5,000 from an older couple. I put on new tires, bigger rotors and pads and drove this vehicle across the country a few times without a single problem. It now has 123,000 miles and its still going strong. Its a comfortable, and reliable ride for commuting. It has a lot of standard features, and the vulcan engines will easily run 300k- 400k with regular oil changes. If you can find one of these vehicles with a good service record, I would recommend buying.

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  Best car Ive owned to date - 2006 Mercury Milan
  By KeithM - December 29 - 8:50 pm

  Was planning on an 07, but the 0% financing was too good to resist. Milan Premier has good acceleration (not best in class, but good)Color is Satellite Silver & 2 Tone Charcoal & Tan interior. Test drove(over night) Lincoln Zephyr. Slightly better Leather/Stereo system and THX Navigation system(very nice)just dont add up to a nearly $10K increase in price. Lincoln was quieter and had a "softer" suspension. The Milan is definately the "sportier" of the 2 cars. I looked at the Ford Fusion. It was nice, but I liked the nicer touches (2 tone leather etc.)that the Milan has. I feel I made a good choice. If the Montego had the 3.5 liter engine (due in 08)Then things might have been different.

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  Loved it! - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By Tlover - December 28 - 10:30 pm

  Well this car was given to me by my parents as my first car. It was a great first car! Very sporty and got alot of attention. The only problem I ended up having with it was the sunroof broke and was going to cost a fortune to replace! Next problem...I dont drive it anymore is that I was rear ended at 50mph which in turn made me slam into the car in front of me. The car was absolutely crushed like a little can and guess what...no airbag deployment. Dont crash and the car is great!