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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  Still wondering - 2006 Mercury Mariner
  By lake girl - September 10 - 11:10 am

  Nice looking vehicle. In 2 months of ownership have had a problem with CD player- reading no Cd when there was one in player. Turning vehicle off and on again luckily corrected the problem. Muffler seems rather loose, but service dept says free play is normal. Makes a lot of creaking noise when backing up onto the road- live on a hill. Gas mileage Ok for an SUV. Not the greatest on zip going uphill- got to put the pedal to the floor for some zoom.

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  Disappointed in new Mercury - 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By B. Haworth - August 27 - 6:36 pm

  I bought a new Mercury Grand Marquis Premium LS about 2 weeks ago. I had it up to Interstate speed earlier this week and discovered that the wind and tire noise are horrible. It is so loud that it drowns out the radio. I took it back to the dealer who claims to have test drove it along with another new Mercury. He claimed the other new car noise was as loud or louder than my car. His conclusion was that the noise was a design flaw and there was nothing he could do. I have a hard time believing Mercury would manufacture a vehicle with this much driving noise, but apparently they did. I cannot and will not recommend this vehicle to anyone.

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  Transmission Gone Wrong - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Grand Master - August 20 - 11:23 pm

  My 1999 Grand Marquis has had 2 rebuilt transmissions. It was a rental. Buyers beware because most 1 or 2 years old cars are rentals sold to various dealers. A good price can be had. The only thing is that in 30 years of renting cars most of them have had some kind of major defect.

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  No surprise here - 1995 Mercury Villager
  By KooolRider - July 21 - 2:00 am

  I wish I had reviewed others reviews before buying this van. Had rebuilt engine one year after purchase -- the extended warranty we bought saved us. Had to have the transmission repaired because started slipping. Now, of course, that the extended warranty has expired, the mechanic tells me the noise I have been hearing is a "valve tap"... just like the other reviewer said. And, of course, also no surprise, the middle, right-side window rattles and whistles like theres no end. Ongoing electrical problems. Tried to trade it in recently to get a Chevy Venture -- insulted me with the trade-in offer. Leave this van alone.

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  its too bad - 1997 Mercury Sable
  By john libile - July 21 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car with the hope that American manufacturers had actually started to put some quality control into the design/manufacturing process after a decade of being beat out by the Japanese; I was wrong. I bought this car for my daughter and I will never make the same mistake of buying American again. This car has had the transmission rebuilt twice, and it is once again failing.The engine runs poorly and is burning nearly a quart of oil a week; my mechanic tells me its due for a rebuild. The ergonomics are so so and the styling is lackluster. Now I remember why I should stick to Honda and Toyota.

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  Nice car if not for all the faulty "Bells and Wistles". - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By harleyguy2 - July 20 - 10:38 pm

  For the most part the car can well and drove nice. The interior and exterior quality was good. However, the Memory Seats, Power Seats, Heated Seats and Heat and A/C controls were problems from the very start. Each were repaired multiple times under the warranty. After the warranty expired problems with power seats and A/C occurred again. Ford would not peform the repairs under the 12 month 12,000 mile warranty as they said the parts that failed were not the same as the parts repaired the previous year, even though the symptoms of the problem were identical. Finally traded it in on a Foreign car. Cant afford a Ford.

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  5.0 AWD Common Problems? - 2000 Mercury Mountaineer
  By MsDarla - June 26 - 10:00 am

  I have 26000 miles on the Mountianeer and there is a lower radiator hose leak,Transmission lines at radiator are leaking,Front drive-shaft seal at pigtail leaks,Door seal is falling apart,Rear wiper works half the time,Back-up sensors stay on in a clear area when backing-up which happens more in warmer weather,Radio sometimes does not work. I looked at several other Mountaineer & Explorers AWD V-8 and alot seem to be leaking at the front drive-shaft seal at the pigtail and also leaks at the lower radiator hose.The V-6 vehicles do not seem to leak... Paint is fading near the door edges. In snow/cold weather I get 10-13MPG.

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  My first car - 1998 Mercury Mystique
  By nell523 - June 16 - 1:36 am

  When I first bought the car it only had about 80000 miles on it and I was only using it to commute to work and school. Within the first week of owning the car I had to buy a new battery because I was driving and the car shut off on me. In the end I think it was the alternator because this past summer I had to replace that when the car shut down on me at an intersection (btw I was 9 months pregnant with a small child in the back not the best experience.) Throughout my ownership I have had the routers done, the flywheel and starter replaced and the last thing was the alternator. In the end I donated the car I just didnt feel right selling it to someone with so many problems.

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  Mariner - 2005 Mercury Mariner
  By stephaniewesztergom - May 20 - 2:50 am

  It is a noisy drive. Extremely poor fuel efficiency. Uncomfortable. The rear seats are supposed to fold flat to make a larger cargo area. Good luck with this feature. The seats do not fold. They lean forward making the "feature" obsolete! I am 22 months into my 39 month lease and I am trying to find a way to get out of this vehicle. I am very disappointed as my previous expereince with Mercury made me try the Mariner. Not again!

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  Quality Not Job One - 1997 Mercury Cougar
  By Mike Harris - May 19 - 2:00 am

  Be aware of Fords 3.8L engines. They are widely known to have defective head gaskets. Recallled for 92, 94 & 95 but not 97. This includes Mustang, Thunderbird, Taurus, and Cougar. Premature failure, usually just after experation of Factory 3yr./36000mile warranty.