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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  Love It - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By KEG - November 27 - 2:40 pm

  I just bought a used Cougar. The service engine light was on when I got it and after just a few hundred miles it the light started blinking and the car started acting like it was going to fall apart. Once the light stopped blinking, the car started driving right. I am going to get the car checked soon, but overall I love the car and it stills looks brand new and like some of the others say it gets looks and that is what I like. I have a Firebird and Xterra, but would rather drive the Cougar now.

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  whoo hoo! - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By bmmbells - November 25 - 5:46 am

  the interior was awesome as well as the sound system the kids love it and play in the trunk and

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  American Ride! - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By Wiking - November 18 - 10:00 am

  I recently moved to US from Sweden were Volvos is born, but NEVER owned one. Volvos are BORING even in Sweden. So I´ve driven many car brands such as Audi, BMW and SAAB. In USA i bought the most american car of them all, beacause: POWER! 300hp V8 is more than enough. COMFORT! A Benz S-Class might beat it. LOOKS! fast even parked. SOUND. Hey It´s a V8. I like V8´s. I love V8´s. HANDLING. When the road is straight it´s perfect. But you can´t cut street corners like a BMW 325. CONCLUSION: This might not be the best car I´ve ever owned. But it will be the most loved and rememberd.

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  got a great suv - 2010 Mercury Mariner
  By ronald mack - November 6 - 9:06 am

  overall great suv fun to drive good milage great room

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  new schools "old school" - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By petarvn1 - November 5 - 6:45 pm

  Im writing this review for a friend who recently got a V6 Cougar with 215K miles on it. Im writing the review since im the reason he owns it. I got this as my 1st car. We bought it off a sweet old couple who had it since new, and it was never driven hard. I owned it for a whole 2 weeks, before my friend bought it from me for exactly what i paid for it originally. it looks more expensive than it is outside, but the basic cloth interior is not too comfy or good looking. The engine, though is amazing! shame i had the auto, since i know that a manual would be much more fun. Great 1st car, and great sport coupe on a budget, since it is 14 years old now.

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  2000 Mercury Mountaineer Review - 2000 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Wildcat. - November 5 - 2:00 am

  Fun, reliable vehicle. Handles well. Comfortable and well-designed interior. Gas mileage average (17/23) for V8.

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  Great Used car Value with decent MPG - 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Mark - November 3 - 11:50 pm

  Seats 6 (not on long trips however) and averages 23 mpg. Great trunk space. Reliability is one of the best and even beats a lot of Japanese luxury cars as noted by consumer reports and JD Power surveys. Highway cruising is the way it should be. Beats SUV and most crossovers for mileage and mine has traction control for winter driving ( I dont really need 4 wheel drive on paved roads). I bought it used very cheap because no one wants a v8 right now. Great choice for the used car buyer! Everyone thinks its a geezer car (Im only 42 and perfect for my family). Radio isnt powerful enough (maybe made for geezers). Pronounced wind noise and steering vibration.

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  Good car - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By rgolde - November 1 - 8:56 am

  The Pros Handels and rides well, I4 has pleanty of power. The cons Poor visibility, you NEED camera and blind spot warning. My bluetooth system faild after 1000 miles

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  read before buying! - 2006 Mercury Monterey
  By jersey montery owner - October 30 - 4:30 am

  We bought our Monterey during the "employee Pricing" campaign late last summer. Since then we have had several minor and major problems forcing us back to the dealership and to try to deal with Mercury direct. During our first extended trip, the LR wheel valve stem (obviously defective from the start as we only had about 800 miles at the time) went and we fought to have the resulting tire damage fixed by Merc to no avail. Gas mileage is extremely poor and I believe Ford/Merc are the only ones w/o a 60/40 split rear seat. We are now fighting turn signal switch issues and had to have a leak in the rear hatch fixed twice! TaKe a long hard look before buying!

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  poor electronics and a/c motors - 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By j kelner - October 29 - 8:30 am

  the electrical are falling apart the A/C blendoor motor uses rubber and plastic parts it is placed in a difficult area to reach..cost to replace $ 700 this is a problem with over 10000 mercurys and who knows how many other ford mercury lincoln and they cannot supply the parts ford has a faulty motor and they just dont respond