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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  Pleasure to Own - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By Display name - January 18 - 6:40 pm

  Roxy as I like to call her, was mine preowned at 22,000 miles in 2002, now with 67000, there is no end in sight. No you will be winning any drag races with the Cougar, but it can throw you can in your seat when in the mid RPM-band. Plenty of leg from for driver, I am 6-2 and I could not drive if seat was all the way back. Backseats are buckets, neat to sit in, hard to get out of, and hatchback provide low headroom, I still love them. Have gotten over 35 MPG on the highway. Not taxing around city either, probably 27 or 28 with built in MPG calc. Have replaced fuel pump, a few fuses, trunk actuators. Great sound, no blown speakers. No broken head or tail lights after 67000.

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  1998 Mercury Mystique 2.0L 5 Speed (Perfect College Car) - 1998 Mercury Mystique
  By thecptamerica - January 10 - 12:08 am

  Got this car for college for $1600 back in August with 117k on it. It now has 126k and I gotta say I really am impressed with this car. Very spacious upfront, huge trunk for how small the car appears to be, the 2.0L with the 5 speed is an absolute blast, transmission is pretty responsive, the independent rear suspension adds a responsive handling characteristic that makes the car quite good in the corners, the mpg is incredible (rated at 21 city, I usually get 24-26, hwy rated at 32, driving 70 mph I get 35, 80-85 mph I get 32). Grew up driving camaros, f150s, expeditions, Datsun/Nissan Z cars, SRT4s and I gotta give props to this little car for the amount of fun it is.

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  A great car that his highly undervalued! - 1998 Mercury Mystique
  By mylespiper - January 8 - 10:00 am

  98 Mercury Mystique bought w/ 82,000km in Dec. 02 and have driven it over 60,000km (38,000 miles). Interior - well-built, attractive - nothing worn, broken, or faded - after cleaning, interior looks new - no rattling due to solid constuction - excellent seats for comfortable long- term highway driving Exterior - not the sharpest car but overall is attractive - paint is durable and still shines Overall - car performs very well - plenty of power - great highway driving - sport-tuned suspension provides a smooth ride with little roll when turning Have not had one mech. problem with this car. Recommend to anyone looking for a reliable, comfortable vehicle

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  DECENT CAR - 2001 Mercury Sable
  By KIRBY - January 8 - 10:00 am

  This is a great car for the money.I bought it used a little over 2 years ago with 18000 miles and now have 37000 on it. no mechanicle problems at all very comfortable to drive. city mileage could be better but not bad on the highway.

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  Great Car - 2005 Mercury Montego
  By Robert Claus - January 6 - 5:03 am

  The Montego is a great car for the money, it has all the options you want included in the price. The car handles great in town or on the highway. Gas mileage in the twenties . Power seat on passenger side is only two way. No key lock for the trunk. Side veiw mirrors are large, already have broke one. Visibility is great front and rear.

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  GIVE ME MORE POWER...PLEASE - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By Mike Meidroth - January 4 - 2:00 am

  Weve had the car for 4 months and thus far it has been problem free, no visits to the dealership or unusual gremlins! They notified me in July 02 that vehicles were in transit but I had decided to wait for the X100 limited production version. After seeing and driving the Marauder, we decided to go ahead and buy it and replace the daily driver. The admiring glances and thumbs up from other drivers has been a kick. My wife drives it most of the time and loves to tell people its her car not mine (she tells me she smoked a guy and his 4-speed El Camino from a rolling start the other day!).

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  Love my 2004 Mountaineer - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By wadeb95 - January 2 - 10:00 am

  I love my Mountaineer. This is the second one that I have purchased. Very good buy. My favorite car yet.

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  nice ride - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By carrol - January 2 - 10:00 am

  I made the purchase of my Mountaineer after test-driving quite a few other SUVs. The ride is much superior to others in its same price range. Cornering is so much more stable. I am quite impressed overall.

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  Problem Kitty - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By tony_from_ny - December 30 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car new. Loaded, and with discounts and incentives it only cost $18,500, well below sticker. It has been a disappointment. 9 visits under warranty for a lot of little, nagging problems. Some I fixed myself after giving up on the dealer who was clueless. Now that the little stuff has been taken care of, its not bad. Fairly comfortable on a trip, although the sport suspension (an option) is a little rough on bad roads. The 170HP rating is optimistic. Probably closer to 155 in reality.

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  Mercury Sable LS is a High Quality Sedan - 2003 Mercury Sable
  By d. gearey - December 29 - 3:56 pm

  We purchased a lease return Sable LS with 50K miles. It looks and drives like a brand new car. Leather interior is beautiful, sunroof and climate control systems work perfectly. Installed new Goodyear triple Tread Tires, drives like a dream, very quiet with precise steering and ABS brakes. I cannot understand why american auto magazine reviewers give excellent U.S. made cars like my Sable such a bad rap. We rented a highly touted japanese car while on vacation and we found it to be slow, underpowered and tinny, with excessive road noise. We were glad to get rid of it at the end of the trip. Our Sable is a much better built car, quieter,with a more substantial structure,and much better power.