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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  Its a love hate relationship - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By smileybecca2005 - July 23 - 10:00 am

  Ive had my car almost 2yrs. Had 38K miles on it and now has 68k. Had new tires when purchased,need to be replaced now.immediate problems were with the fuel gauge (not accurate...resulting in NO GAS) and the radio, which goes in and out. I have had minimal problems with it (with regular maintenance and new break pads) until about two months ago. Since then i have had to replace the alternator and the fuel pump and have had more frequent squeaking in the car & the trunk release is tricky sometimes. I have loved my car and hate that it isnt as reliable as i need, as i have found myself on the side of the road at least 3 or 4 times from all this.

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  Reliable - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By Jeff - July 22 - 10:26 am

  The 4 cyl. is very reliable. But the same engine is reliable in its other platforms as well. Ive beaten the heck out of this car and it is still ticking away. Could use a tune up at this point in its life, but Ive had it since mile 4 and its been a great car.

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  Guidos Here - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Sean - July 21 - 1:10 am

  Overall I enjoy my 1999 Mercury Marquis LS. My only major complaint is the driver side seat is not very comfortable (for me) I am a fairly large guy 62 and over 280 lbs. I was hoping for better city driving mileage I average 18-20 mpg (without running the A/C)

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  white stallion - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By bill412 - July 17 - 10:43 am

  Very nice car. Rides as nicely as my old Crown Vic. Had a transmission problem that the dealer could not fix. The wiring harness was shorting out to the end plate. After 5 tries, they finally replaced it. No more problems of any kind since then. Gas mileage is great going under 75MPH: almost 30MPG on a road trip.

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  villager air conditioning system - 1999 Mercury Villager
  By valerina - July 17 - 10:00 am

  I am experiencing my first problem at 68000 miles and that is that the air conditioning system (which runs underneath the vehicle) has corroded. Unfortunately this is not an inexpensive repair. I was told by the shop that this is a common problem.

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  My G.Marquis - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Snowmonster - July 17 - 10:00 am

  Bought mine as a program with 16,000 miles I love this Car.It turns heads even to this day.I have a black 03 Ls and alot of people confuse it with the Maurauder.It is the premium model.I wouldnt change a thing except maybe 4 wheel drive for the Mountainous areas.Thank Goodness I live in the South and just visited Colorado for vacation.Hope to eventualy buy another.

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  Mercury Grand Marquise LS - 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Ken Roy - July 17 - 10:00 am

  The LS version with standard leather seating is very comfortable. Average mileage city and highway is 21.8mpg. Highway mileage averages 26 and has been as high as 28 where speed is limited to < 65 mph.

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  Just what I wanted - 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By Diane - July 16 - 5:10 pm

  Fortunately I bought this 10 months ago before gas got even worse. I love the car and being geograhpically impaired, I love the GPS navigation although I could have saved money and bought a hand held. Im nervous about ice and snow, so I got the all wheel drive version, but still the mileage is great (over 30 consistently). Ford has a winner here, and for the price, it is very competitive with some other crossover/SUVs I looked at. My husband now wishes he had one too.

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  I love my car! She has a name..Bessie or Dragonfly - 2009 Mercury Mariner
  By Meg Beshey - July 14 - 5:45 pm

  Ive had this car since 2009 when it made me buy it from across the parking lot while at a restaurant! This car has held up to hauling artwork, art supplies, camping gear, hauling college student things, dogs, building materials, oh and many people too! It is durable and has outlasted many other friends vehicles by far. Low maintenance car and has dealt w/ many unusual weather issues w/ ease. The back seats fold down to give you space for whatever you need to haul and is split/flexible too for those times when you need three seats and hauling things. Whenever she goes in for a trade, it would be a great first car for anyone. Just went on a major road adventure for family wedding out of state. Had to haul medical items for my father this time and it included a walker, wheelchair, their luggage, mine/daughters, bags up the wazoo let alone the coat bags/robe for the wedding (dads a minister). It was packed but the storage again in the back was amazing yet was able to see fine to drive and everyone in comfort. As we arrived, we went through a torrential downpour and heavy traffic in a metro area, the car handled like a pro and kept us safe when others were hydroplaning. Thankful for this car.

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  1999 Cougar - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By tricia2670 - July 14 - 2:00 am

  Tight suspension, well built, good pick up