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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  Reliableness - 1998 Mercury Sable
  By saget222 - May 10 - 8:13 pm

  Great reliable car. When over 115,000 problems may start to occur, in my case anyway. Can really get what you pay for with this car. Bought with 80,000 and didnt have a single problem for over 4 years.

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  Never Again - 1998 Mercury Mystique
  By shortntall - May 9 - 10:00 am

  I fell in love with the looks of the sporty LS with the alloy wheels and spolier. The V-6 was very peppy and it handled suprisingly well. But my pleasure has not lasted long. My disappointment started off with samll things. First my head lamp brackets cracked. Light in my dash burnt out. My dome light fell out. os2 censor went out. Water pump went out. Cellunoid on the transmission went out. Then the whole transmission went out. The only thing that hasnt went wrong is the muffler bearings and blinker fluid. All this before I reached 100,000 miles. I still love the looks of the car and the performance. But it has cost me a bundle to keep up.

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  Big Cars are back - 2004 Mercury Marauder
  By carguy1ok - May 9 - 10:00 am

  I like large, safe powerful vehicles. People are overlooking these American luxury sedans and settling for gussied up compact imports with 1/2 the room. SUVs have outlived their lifespan,fuel and insurance is far too high and one can get as much space, comfort and far better mileage than a suv. I think the Marauder is a great option for a large car with many luxury comforts and true V-8 power.

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  Great Car for the price. - 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Broadus - May 7 - 8:16 pm

  Ive owned many cars. The Mecury Grand Marquis is a great car for the price. Although not a car for everyone, for long distance driving its comfort, speed and handling suits me.

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  Disapointed - 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Jim D - May 6 - 12:53 pm

  We have a 2003 Crown Victoria that we have loved. We just bought a 2008 Grand Marquis with the new 17 inch wheels and I hate it. The car seems to have a mind of its own when you are on the open highway. This is where the 2003 Crown Vic. is the most fun to drive but the 2008 Grand Marquis wants to drift all over the road. I think the problem may be that the front end is set up for the old 16 inch wheels and with the 17 inch wheels you are getting a wider bite of the road which causes it to want to drift. The high beams are also pretty useless. They do a great job of illuminating signs and trees but dont put much good adding light to the roadway. This may also be a 16" vs 17" setup issue.

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  My 3rd Grand Marquis! - 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Rob Hepler - April 28 - 4:57 am

  For the money, its difficult to beat. Very reliable, comfortable, handles well, not bad on gas, and repairs/parts are affordable. I highly recommend them.

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  Cant see - 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By mpeeb24 - April 26 - 2:00 am

  Great Car, but I cant see where Im going at night. The headlight beams are so scattered that they dont reach very far down the road. My old truck with sealed beams has better lights! Otherwise, the car runs and drives great. Having been a Japanese car mechanic for 20 years, I can honestly say that the overall fit and finish, mechanical quality and performance of this car is more than a match even for more expensive imports. My family needed a bigger car, and all it took was one test drive to sell me on this one.

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  sable review - 1999 Mercury Sable
  By stratamite - April 25 - 10:00 am

  It was fine, it could be more roomier. There are no cup holders in the back, not good you have kids. Otherwise I liked it. The car did very well on long trips. It has great power for passing on the highway.

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  This is a Sedan - 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By mongo - April 22 - 5:20 pm

  I have had this model for 15 months and it is still in the "teething" stage because of the low miles. So far, there have not been any major problems with this unit and rather enjoy the road-boat. I can zip-zip thru traffic, room permitting, as if I were in a coupe and not a full-sized sedan. The style is quite nice but rather chintzy on the inside and outside trim. The trunk space is partially taken up by a full-sized spare and think a smaller spare would be adequate. The gas mpg is rather low but will wait for the engine other components to "seat-in" and then see what the mpg will be with more miles on this car.

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  Still happy 2.5 years in - 2006 Mercury Milan
  By EJJMILAN - April 22 - 10:50 am

  I have loved my Milan from the start. I have gotten a lot of compliments on how nice and luxurious it is - it is hard for me to believe it is a moderately priced American car, it is so nice! I was in an accident where I was rear-ended on the highway - I barely felt the jolt, was perfectly fine - my Milan showed minimal damage - I cant say as much about the economy import that hit me - her car literally crumbled and had to be towed away! I loved the two years of free oil changes that I received! My only gripe is the brakes arent that good, and the paint job is not up to snuff. I had to have the roof completely repainted due to rust. Many chips in the paint on the rest of the body too.