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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  Mountaineer - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Brede - January 6 - 10:00 am

  Love the feel I have when driving this vehicle...just want to keep it washed and clean all the time. Sound is great. It turns heads.

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  Under the Radar - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By cred - January 4 - 9:53 pm

  The subdued styling, borrowed from the Grand Marquis and Crown Victoria allows the Marauder to be a true sleeper. Considering the weight of the Marauder performance is excellent. Handling is predictable, and can be pushed. Tail slide in hard cornering is likely in hard cornering or slick conditions, but the long wheel base and responsive steering allows a driver to push through it. On the entertaining side, when cruising on or slightly above the legally posted speed limit on the interstate, lines of brake lights will pop up and hearts will skip a beat as police cruiser clone pops out of traffic. Very reliable. I replaced a set of shocks, 18 oil changes, k&n air filter & drove it over 95k.

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  Liked the car - 2009 Mercury Milan
  By ep1 - December 27 - 3:15 pm

  The design of the car is what sold me as well as the reliablilty of previous model years As well as the excelant crash test scores.

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  Thrid Sable Wagon - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By Matt - December 24 - 7:13 pm

  Its now a trend. I have had 3 Mercury Sables in a row for a family car. Reliable, low maintenance and incredibly safe (I had a fender bender with a car full of kids). The style is a little stodgy, but its not a minivan. The 3.0 L engines are very reliable and the Duratec is the best of the bunch. Dont poo-poo the versatility of the Sable wagon vs. a SUV or van. It can handle enough people for comfort and excuse you from stuffing the whole Tee ball team in the same insane vehicle. Buy one, youll like it.

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  nice car - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By enforcerdfu - December 19 - 10:00 am

  Very fun to drive car.My wife has a C2 and the only prob. we have had is with the fuel gage and miles to empty.Right after we bought it the gage would take about 30 miles after filling up to go to full.Also agree that in acceleration it is not to great but top end is wonderful for those who drive fast on the interstate like me.

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  Big yacht-mobile - 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By King Norm - December 19 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car with 85K miles on it because I wanted size and safety. That is what I got. It has been very reliable so far, except the lighting control module went out. So, my interior lights go on and off all day by itself. I had to take all the light bulbs out of the interior of the car or my battery would run dead. Also, the keyless entry doesnt work. It gets exactly 18 MPG with combined city/hwy driving. Thats too bad considering gas is not $2.00+ per gallon. The car is very confortable, but score a "zero" in the fun factor rating. So, if size and safety is important to you, this is a good car for you.

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  nice car - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By joe t - December 16 - 10:00 am

  this is a fun car. gets a lot of looks. needs more power at low end. i plan to add a supercharger when available.

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  Its a toss up - 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Big Car Lover - December 11 - 7:46 pm

  I want to make a few comparisons between this and my 94 Gran Marquis. Same: Road/Wind noise is too high, especially the windshield when its raining. Odd huh? Suspensions: The 02 is MUCH stiffer than the old boat-like ride the 94 has. This would be personal preference for which is better. To me, the 94 is better for highway cruising. Interior: 02 is more stylish, but some of the items seem to be of cheaper material. I like the 94s button layout better. Exterior: 02 a bit sportier looking but I prefer the rims on the 94. 02s are very generic looking to me. Other stuff: Give me a real antenna! The built in one for the 02 just doesnt pick up the signal as well!

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  good family ride - 1995 Mercury Villager
  By RB - December 10 - 2:00 am

  bought used in 1997 with 27000 miles on it.. now has 107000 miles & still going strong..has been very reliable with only minimum maintenance & few repairs required... worst problem would be that rear AC unit went out & had to be replaced a couple summers ago..

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  good family ride - 1995 Mercury Villager
  By rb - December 10 - 2:00 am

  bought used in 1997 with 27000 miles on it.. now has 107000 miles & still going strong..has been very reliable with only minimum maintenance & few repairs required... worst problem would be that rear AC unit went out & had to be replaced a couple summers ago..