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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  good option - 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By hector fussa - July 25 - 1:50 pm

  good car for family transportation luxurious and very inexpensive, great car for real estate agents or persons that need to move around with other people on tow

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  My 2003 Sable - 2004 Mercury Sable
  By Shirley Blake - July 22 - 10:00 am

  When I first purchased my Sable, I noticed the poor gas mileage. (12mpg) I called the service department, and he said I needed much more mileage. When I had 2000 miles on it, I brought it in, and they ran a test on it. Brought back the results and said the car was fine. I was getting 14 mpg then. Went on to explain that the advertised mileage was only an "estimate." I got no satisfaction from them. I sometimes get 16. When I took a long trip, I got 24. That was the only time I got decent mileage.

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  SUV Lite - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By Ralph from Delaware - July 16 - 3:30 am

  Quality vehicle with nice features. We replaced a Ford Escape, moving up in amenities with the Mercury. But the full-time 4WD burns gas. We average 15-20 MPG around town, 20-25 MPG on the open road - much worse than the Escape [which allowed us to switch from 4WD to front drive to save gas]. Also the Mariner is noticeably heavier and slower than the Escape with the same engine and transmission. Wish we had opted for the Hybrid! The standard tires are cheap - yielding a rough ride with lots of road noise, contributing to the poor gas mileage, and handling is not the best. Ford could have spent another $50 bucks per tire for Michelins and would have had a much better performing car.

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  04 Mountaineer - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Mountaineer - July 1 - 10:00 am

  Bought this for my wife with 24k miles now it is up to 58k miles. Sure there have been a few things wrong but hey we got a warranty. I love the pwr and the ride this thing has when I drive it. It gives you a commanding feel of the road. It has road noise between 40 and 50. Also the rear window hatch cracked, you see it on a lot of Explorers and Mountaineers.

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  Seasoned Cat - 1996 Mercury Cougar
  By car lover - June 30 - 4:23 pm

  I bought a 96 V8 XR7 in sept. of 03 with 94652 miles on it. It is now June of 08 and it has 209231 miles on it with the original engine and no rebuilds! It always starts like a champ and still has the abilty to go buck! The transmission however is the only true drawback with its sluggishness to respond. There is a temporary lag when kicking down to passing gear and an uncharacteristicly poor throttle response. Once you learn to work around those details or modify to change them, the car is a ball to drive. Previous owner modified the PCM to generate more ponies but the change was made by the dealership and not by some shade tree mechanic!

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  2006 Mariner Premier - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By M - June 27 - 5:36 am

  Drives nice, will be even better when the dealership can balance the tires so that the tire warning will go off and the wheel wont shimmy at 55 mph

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  I love my cougar!!! - 1997 Mercury Cougar
  By vim - June 24 - 1:40 pm

  I love this car! Bought in 00 off of a lease.Never had one problem (beside manifold blowing up on christmas eve!- Recall i didnt know about!) Otherwise a beautiful car with great handling, acceleration and comfortability. I baby this car and can get a new car-but why? Eats a lot of gas but what can you ask of a v8. I wish they still made this model. I lucked out on this 30th anniversary edition it even came with tint! I do go through a lot of brakes...

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  Dont Plan On Hanging Up Your Clothes !! - 2008 Mercury Mariner
  By Country - June 21 - 2:46 pm

  Mercury has not designed the mariner for folks who like to travel. Too much daytime glare on the instrument panels and poor lighting contrast will leave you squinting to see the temperatures and your fuel economy indicators. Mercurys engineers left out all the interior entry & exit assist handles that made our mountaineer a delight to use. They claim its the side curtain airbags, but sit in a side air bag equipped, top of the line Lincoln and youll see plenty of handles to hang a clothes travel rod on. One stinking little pull out hook that will only hold 5 shirt hangers doesnt cut it !

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  So far so good in the Sable - 2001 Mercury Sable
  By Hans - June 19 - 9:26 am

  Ive had my Sable since November and so far it has been great. Im 23 so I cant say I love the car, but its done everything Ive asked it to so far. I bought it as a fill in until I can buy something I really like, and its been great. I occasionally drive about 4 hours to see my family and the Sable has performed wonderfully. I get roughly 27 mpg on the highway and between 17-20 around town. Mine is the base model with almost no options, but it performs great for what it is. Very solid, reliable sedan with room to spare.

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  Excellent Car - 2007 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Dieter - June 18 - 11:46 pm

  Silky smooth and fuel efficient engine. I get 20.5 in town around Boston and as high as 27 on the highway. Looked at BMWs, but they do not offer a proportionately better handling or ride for the value, plus they burn expensive premium gas. I still cant find a better car for the price. I put heavy sway bars on the car (rear end) for a couple of hundred dollars. Big difference. Suspension mods are easy and cheap. Cars design inside and out is simple, and uncluttered... but I like that. Only complaint, is that the rear seat does not fold down, and they dont make a roof rack.