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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  2008 Mercury Grand Marquis LS - 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Tom Stipp - April 26 - 10:03 pm

  Having owned and driven many late model cars, my 2008 Grand Marquis is one of the very best.Fuel mileage in the upper 20s hwy, extremely comfortable and roomy, excellent reliability, award winning safety record many years in a row. The so called experts would have you believe the body style is outdated and recommends buying one of the newer more up to date not so safe and not very comfortable boxie vehicles on the market they say is more stylish. Had you rather be in a not so safe stylish one or one that has won safety records years in a row if involved in a serious crash which could happen to anyone at anytime? I will stick to my Merc, its a great car.

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  Delighted to be driving a Montego again - 2006 Mercury Montego
  By Bob Dar - April 26 - 7:36 am

  Looks great, many compliments on style and appearance. Drives and handles great, short turning radius, positive steering. Sit tall front seats with excellent visibility. Extra roomy back seat and trunk (two couples or family with luggage should be able to travel together. Neat hooks in trunk to hold grocery bags upright. Side doors close quietly. Audio seat belt reminder.

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  Best bargain out there. - 2010 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By al - April 24 - 12:00 am

  The 19 mpg is a city rating. On the highway at 80 mph I get 25-28 mpg. Some friends make 30 mpg or better. It has sufficient power to smoke the tires from a start and more than enough acceleration all the way past 100 mph. When I bought the car I was planning to put in a tuner kit to add 100 HP, but decided I did not want more horsepower as it had enough for anything but the drag strip. It has room inside. The steering is effortless, the brakes are good. I feel safe if and when a foreign car were to destroy itself against my big Mercury and the insurance claims prove it. It is a great car for a little price tag. Yes, buy a used one, they are reliable.

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  My Mercury Mariner - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By Melody - April 22 - 10:13 am

  In April of 2005, my family purchased a Premier Edition Mercury Mariner. We love it. It is a fun to drive vehicle and is an easy keeper. It is roomy and has a plush black leather interior with all the bells and whistles, including a sunroof, premium sound system and heated seats. It is a joy to own.

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  So far,so good... - 2001 Mercury Villager
  By lawlady - April 21 - 2:00 am

  The only complaint I have is how hard it is to take out the seats, and that the third row seat does not fold flat--but that was not an option in minivans when we purchased this vehicle. The handling is great, and I love the way the interior looks.

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  I love comfort - 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By barbtex - April 19 - 8:10 am

  Always drove Crown vics, but bought a merc because moneywise it was a better value. Love the ride, Ease of driving, fuel mileage is good for big car. I like the rear wheel handling, was never happy with front wheel drive.

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  Best minivan ever! - 2000 Mercury Villager
  By john - April 13 - 11:13 am

  Love the comfort this van has to offer. Very safe for my children. My family really like the vehicle but we had to upgrade because of resale value. Great on long trips! We will miss this vehicle greatly. It has had its wear as we had bought it used also. Just afraid it will not last as long as we need it to. My children will miss this vehicle greatly.

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  AWESOME & RARE - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By kaylinda - April 7 - 8:35 am

  I just bought my 2010 Mercury Milan. I have wanted this car since I was little. Never thought I would have a opportunity to buy one. I absolutely love it. It is everything I wanted and more. I did my research before buying and it lives up to all the great reviews. I love that I dont see any in my neighborhood or anywhere really. My boyfriend has a Mercury Marauder so as you can see we like cars that arent seen on a daily basis! Merc Squad haha I would definitely recommend this car! Its beautiful and smooooooth!

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  2002mvilliager - 2002 Mercury Villager
  By stephen - April 7 - 2:00 am

  The Villager is an easy mini-van to drive. Plenty of room for kids and gear. Lots of options for the money. Needs the heat for the rear to be couple in eith the a/c controls. Vehicle is well laid out, all controls are easy to reach. Plenty of leg room. Good looking vehicle.

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  mercury villager - 2002 Mercury Villager
  By Levi - April 7 - 2:00 am

  This is my second villager purchase. My 93 with 85kmiles has never let us down. we decided tp keep it for my 16 year old son. The new villager with all the bells was only 18300 which I feel is a great deal for this van