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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  bad ass! - 1996 Mercury Cougar
  By fordpwnage - June 27 - 10:00 am

  man, i love this car! its so fast (4.6L) and people just dont see this car coming. its awsome when you tell people, i have a cougar and they think to the new ones. ;). this car makes the best sleeper. i had trouble getting into rear seats of other 2 door cars, but not this one! the quiet idle doesnt give away the v8, when i gun it, its to late for them. the only thing i hate is it needs more power. Im gonna fix that soon though... it would be bad ass if it could hang with z28s, or its brother, the mark VIII.

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  Nice SUV - 2001 Mercury Mountaineer
  By rylo02 - June 11 - 6:43 am

  I purchased my 2001 Mountaineer with used with 91000 miles on it. This was a 1 owner vehicle and i have not had any real major problems with it. The only thing that i have had to do was replace the ball joints at 103000. This SUV is great in the Winter time and I like driving it. I am thinking about upgrading this to a 2004. i would recomend this SUV to anyone who is looking

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  This Cougar LOVES her Cougar! - 2001 Mercury Cougar
  By alznwonderland - June 8 - 2:25 am

  I bought my Cougar in 2003 with 19,000 miles on it. 88,000 miles later, I have had to sink about $2,000 in her. But for me, she is worth it. I get compliments all the time about how cool looking this car is. I have replaced the computer, brakes, and most recently, the coil. I was having problems with surging, a gulping or missing action when I accelerated and my mechanic couldnt figure out what the problem was. I found that in 2004, the fuel module had been recalled and was effective to have it replaced until October, 2011. It was at that time the seviceman told me the coil is what was causing the "missing" affect. I had a friend replace it for $70.00. Runs like new again! I love this car!

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  3rd Mountaineer - 2005 Mercury Mountaineer
  By C A Vars - June 6 - 5:13 pm

  Excellent for grandkids, they love putting up third row seats. Used daily for construction management, frequently used for lugging small construction materials. Works great for golf gear also.

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  Love my 99 Cougar "big red" - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By se7enbender - June 2 - 12:16 am

  I got my 1999 Mercury Cougar 2 and 1/2 months ago for $500; was my half brothers before but wasnt well taken care of. Had to make numerous repairs to get it running and did some body work on top of that. Now, with almost 94000 miles (had 92k when I got it) runs like new. Would def. recommend to someone who wants a sportier feel

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  Doug Millers 2001 Sable Review - 2001 Mercury Sable
  By Doug Miller - June 1 - 2:00 am

  I have had my Sable for over 2 years and I am very pleased with my overall experiance. I have not grown tired of the looks both inside and out. Although, I wonder how I will feel when Ford decides to do a total make over. I have not had any service issues and I have it routinely maintained every 5K miles.

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  Loved my Mountaineer! - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By L - May 30 - 1:00 pm

  I loved this car! Very comfortable to drive and lots of room for 2 kids and their friends. Great for long distance traveling. Only things I didnt like were the poor fuel economy, I was forever filling up and a little road noise from the tires. Other than that, this is the best SUV around!

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  Not bad for the last of its kind. - 1997 Mercury Cougar
  By Rayro - May 28 - 8:13 pm

  This car is a cruiser. I love to take it on vacation or any time that I get on an interstate. Too bad it took Detroit until 2005 to start building solid RWD cars again, but we a glad that we had this Cougar to weather the void.

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  Cant beat it. - 2006 Mercury Montego
  By Marc - May 24 - 9:26 am

  Cant beat the Mercury Montego. AWD, spacious interior, comfortable, all the bells and whistles, loaded "to the gills" for around $30K. Its the poor mans Audi A8 but Audi doesnt offer 6 years with zero interest loans.

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  great lookin car for a costly price! - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By volcomchik04 - May 23 - 4:04 am

  Bought this car back in 2003 from a family member it was runnin great for a while, but since about 2005 i have had to have multiple alignment jobs done,multiple new tires,a new radiator,radiator hoses,new power steerin hoses,new batteries, a new transmission, new motor mount, multiple alternators, new mass airflow sensor, new spark plugs, just recently had to have the o2 sensors replaced and the egr valve fixed, and my catalitic converter needs to be replaced (fyi just for the catalitic converter alone its gonna be $300)...all in all its a good lookin car and has lasted me a long time but im definately ready to get rid of it!!...It has cost me a lot of money!!