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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  High mileage Grand Marquis - 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Steve Du Bose - February 18 - 5:16 pm

  I have owned full frame RWD vehicles all of my life. That said, the medium sized Mercury GM is a delight to drive on a day to day basis. (I have owned larger and smaller full framed cars). I have been know to drive 800 miles in a day and not need bed rest for a week. Fuel economy has been 14mpg city and 24- 25 highway. Modifications include, duel exhaust with flow masters, K&N air intake system, computer recalibration, police shocks, Bigger sway bars, after market suspension bushings and Police pursuit tires. Over all reliability has been very good. Other than normal maintenance, the coolant runner in the front of the intake manifold has been the only issue. Just normal things

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  Head out on the highway! - 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By rsu11 - February 17 - 5:26 am

  Drove it from south Florida to North Carolina and averaged 29 mpg around 65 mph! Outstanding! A big comfortable highway cruiser for our occasional road trips. Ive since added dual exhaust, rear air shocks and replaced those awful plastic wheel covers with the cast aluminum laced wheels. Will also have to replace the original intake manifold (with plastic coolant passages) before our next trip. Only design flaws are radio and heater controls not in easy reach, wide floor sill under doors makes exiting the car a little clumsy. Power windows are getting slow, common for Fords.

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  1996 Grand Marquis - 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By grandmarquis - February 16 - 12:33 am

  My 1996 Grand Marquis now has 79600 miles on it and it still runs strong. No one would guess its age (especially since new ones look simliar). Good accelaration and pick-up, lots of power. I have had to have all the O2 sensors replaced, and the mass airflow sensor has been replaced twice. It still has its original battery. I have also replaced the spark plugs. I change the oil ever 3000 miles. Fuel economy is good for the engine size but still very expensive to use for city driving (I get about 16 mpg city/23 or 24 highway)

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  Pretty good so far - 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Martin - February 15 - 3:20 pm

  This is my first Grand Marquis and I have owned it for 14 months. I primary use it for work and recreational driving on the weekends. I have put on 31,000 miles and its been pretty reliable so far. I get about 21-22mpg doing both city and highway driving. I think it handles pretty well for such a big car. The traction control came in handy in the snow.

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  Not my best choice - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By Lyn - February 15 - 6:30 am

  3 months have passed since I bought my new Mercury Mariner. Not especially crazy about the vehicle. Somethings may not seem important but it is the little things that count. Do not like the hidden ignition. Very hard to find since there is no light to help find it, especially in a black interior car. I will put glow in the dark nail polish on the rim of the ignition. No lite under the hood. Car is very noisy. Could have used some sound insulation in the body of the car. The biggest problem I have had is the front end pulling to the left. Have taken it in 3 times. Have heard others with the same dangerous problem. Would I buy again? No!

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  Excellent Mini Van - 2000 Mercury Villager
  By Drew in MA - February 13 - 7:30 pm

  I have had this van for only 2 years, and bought it with 50K on it. Other than having to do brakes, the van has been great! Goes well in the snow with the Eagle LS radials, and the mileage is decent as well! I would buy another low mileage one f these in a New York minute! I am sure the Monterey is a great van, but the Villager Estate has the moon roof, and awesome mini-van option!

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  Bubbling and Peeling Paint - 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Great Dayne - February 13 - 10:00 am

  I have purchased Ford products for 44 yrs! From mustangs to Lincoln town cars! I own a 2001 Mercury grand marquis ls and a 2004 Mercury grand marquis gs! The problem is the bubbling and peeling paint on both my Mercurys! The 2001 is peeling in the seams around the back window and roof and have started to rust! The 2004 has the major paint problem! I have the same problem as the 2001 but, much, much worse! The roof paint is literally bubbling off the metal as it is around the back window! The weird thing is that I met a woman at the gas station (that has a 2003 marquis). Her gd marquis is peeling in the same places as mine! Rust is all over this car!

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  Well worth the wait - 2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By shoreRN - February 12 - 4:23 pm

  We have had the car for 2 weeks, and love it. The nav system and Sync work great. Ride is smooth and very car like, plenty of power when you need it, and great economy we are averaging 33 mpg so far. The park assist is great, wish it offered an led proximity display, and a back up camera. Plenty of room in the back seat for bigger guys, and cargo room is descent.

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  Bad Car - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By Bpkr103 - February 11 - 9:36 pm

  Ive had nothing but problems with this car since I purchased it. Had 40,000 miles when purchased and bought extended warranty ( thank God ) Had new transmission 2 months after I bought it and now the engine is blown. Dealer asked for receipts for oil changes after the car sat for 3 weeks. Poor services, so glad I got that extended warranty now ill see if they honor it !

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  Major Transmission Problems - 2009 Mercury Mariner
  By l_chicago - February 8 - 8:30 pm

  I bought my 2009 Mariner Premier V6 AWD last April. It was running perfectly--gorgeous looking car. 4 weeks ago the transmission was having "issues" brang it back to the dealership and they told me that the transmission has to basically be rebuilt. An issue that they are becoming aware of in the 2009 Mariner. They fixed the trans. Today I had to take it back in because the warning light for the powertrain fault came on. It took them 3 hours to tell me that the issue is a computer issue related to the transmission. They have to take the trans out to figure out why the "fix" didnt work, if they cant figure it out, they need to replace the trans! A 1 year old car shouldnt have trans problems!