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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  luvnit - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Bill J. - April 9 - 10:00 am

  I bought the car new and its been the best car Ive ever owned. The car now has over 55,000 miles on it and has only been in for warranty service ONCE and that was for a minor repair to a headlight lens cover. It gets 29 mpg on the highway and averages 24 mpg overall. Its quiet, powerful and rides well on all types of roads. Nice going Ford, its a terrific car.

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  Wife calls it the big boy - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By finnman - April 9 - 4:46 am

  Had a 1964 Marauder back years ago had to have another like the car very much has 60,000 on now with not a problem the tires are a pain to buy every 25,000 miles but I put 4 255 55r 18 nexen tires on it the car handles great and wear like iron

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  Comfortable and excellent handeling car - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By Tony - April 8 - 6:46 am

  Car has been flawless during the first 4500 miles. Excellent gas mileage, smooth ride, and very comfortable ride. 4 cyl. and 6 speed transmission provides more than enough power on highway. No creaks, rattles, or any issues at all with this vehicle.

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  2000 Mercury Grand Marquis LS - 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Jon - April 8 - 1:27 am

  This is a great car, comfortable, great ride for road trips, reliable as long as you perform regular maintenance as with any car. I get 31 MPG on HWY and 22 to 25 MPG city with the 302 V8,

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  My Cougar - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By Chassidy - April 6 - 1:50 pm

  I love my little cougar, it gets me where i need to go with no problems

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  Nice vehicle - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Leather man - April 6 - 3:20 am

  Overall its a good vehicle. Great towing ablity, plenty of power, smooth ride, however lots of road noise. The gas mileage is terrible. At best we can get 14 to 15 mpg. With these high gas prices I would not recomend buying this type of vehicle.

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  2009 Milan is a great value - 2009 Mercury Milan
  By Jim - April 4 - 1:23 pm

  I traded in a 2003 Honda Accord EX for my 2009 Milan VOGA. The Milan styling is unique and the VOGA in white suede turns many heads. Many have said they didnt know Mercury made such a nice looking, sporty sedan. Ive had many compliments on the looks and the car is just as fun to drive. I was also looking at a Chevy Malibu, but with the incentives and discounts I got more options for less money with the Milan. I have the 4-cly. and I range between 30.4 and 33.6 mpg. and I dont even have 4000 miles on it yet. Im anxious to see what kind of mileage I get on a trip this weekend. I suspect Ford is going to give the imports some serious competition with this model.

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  Excellent upgrade - 2003 Mercury Mountaineer
  By weiber26 - April 3 - 10:00 am

  I traded up from a 2000 Mountaineer for this vehicle. The ride and apperance of the vehicle has been greatly improved. Overall had a very pleasant experience at the dealer.

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  love/hate relationship - dont buy it! - 2005 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Lu - April 3 - 9:03 am

  I love all the bells and whistles on this SUV, but it is not worth the trouble. My first one was traded in under lemon law due to a sulfur smell that could not be fixed. My second one has been in the shop 5x after it keeps stalling/dying. (It currently has 26,000 miles on it.) At 20,000 it needed a new $1200.00 torque converter. It still stalls, they cannot find out why. It is outright dangerous. DO NOT BUY THIS SUV - you will love the features and not want to give it up, but it is NOT worth the grief.

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  Affordable Luxury - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By Slider - March 31 - 8:30 am

  We test drove a bunch of vehicles including the Chevy Equinox, Isuzu Axiom, Honda CR-V, and the Mitsubishi Endeavor. Being in our late 20’s, my wife and I didn’t ever think that we would be looking, let alone buying a Mercury, but we did. We fell in love with everything from the two-tone leather to the “waterfall” grill. My wife is 4’10” so the larger SUVs were out of the question. The seat had more than enough adjustment to suite her needs. The Mariner is far from a cloned Escape. It is definitely in a league of its own.