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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  Fun to Drive - 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Bo - September 6 - 3:46 am

  Overall the 1993 mercury Grand marquis LS is very fun to drive and has good power it is reliable and starts first try.

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  A great vehicle - 2007 Mercury Mountaineer
  By iceout - August 29 - 1:20 pm

  This is truly a great SUV. It handles great is reliable and fun to drive but most important it is very versatile from carrying up to 7 passengers to haling a lot of stuff (84 cu.ft.) and I have done both. The high ground clearance makes back road travel a breeze without worry of going over a rock in the road doing damage.

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  Started off good - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By Drake2000 - August 23 - 10:00 am

  When we first bought the Sable (used July 09) we really loved it overall, big comfortable, good engine, power. But over the last year we have had in the shop 4 times for non-mechanical/non- engine failures, such as the truck hydraulics broke and it almost fell on my wifes head. Left steering linkage went bad and you could barely turn the car left while driving. The heated seat (drivers side) went out. Now currently some kind of air flow actuator motor (what directs the air flow from a/c) went bad. Not to mention the door trim molding (black rubber seal) has came loose twice and the 3 preset button of the radio is severly sticking. These are all annoying pesky things going wrong-not happy all

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  A good Upgrade - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Larry Muse - August 18 - 2:00 am

  We owned a 1998 Explorer for 5 years and we were very pleased with it. When it came time for a trade, we thought about a Mountaineer. The third row seat was one of the reasons we wanted to trade, and being standard was a plus for me. The in-dash CD changer is nice, frees up a ton of space in the console. I also like the independant rear suspension. The ride of the new Mountaineer is much smoother than the Explorer that it replaced. I love AWD.

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  02 Mountaineer nicely re-designed - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By MarkR - August 16 - 10:00 am

  Ive only driven my Mountaineer about 4,000 miles so far. Design wise its a heck of a lot better vehicle than my old 94 Explorer. The more I look at the outside, the more pretentious it strikes me. Still... Ive received alot of compliments on its looks. It handles great and has alot of those handy little storage spaces. I was a little nervous about going from 4WD to AWD but the thing was great in the snows of Vermont. It does occasionally knock slightly on regular gas but it seems like a good strong engine for a 6 cylinder. Overall Im very happy with it.

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  Overall its a very good buy - 1997 Mercury Sable
  By Mike B. Beats - August 12 - 11:46 am

  Bought it with 46K, put 100K on it. For $6500, I got low miles, several options including sunroof, dual exhaust, 6 cyl, 3.0L 200hp, and a super clean body. I had no serious problems with it until just this spring, New brakes needed at 145K, transmission needed rebuild at 146k but other than that, the car still drives great. I hate to see it go. I kept it clean, including undercarraige, and maintained the car somewhat well. Awesome heat/AC and it was a great drive on the freeway. It is very low key, as in it doesnt draw police heat, or really any negative attention. It cant be stolen. The key has a chip in it that has to be initiated to start the car. Killer return on ivestment.

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  Premier V8 w/2WD - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By J. Lowell - August 12 - 2:00 am

  Currently have 3000 miles with no serious issues at all. Vehicle is very quiet riding and very good acceleration. The memory seats are very convenient as is the automatic exit positioning of the seat. There is one problem with the sunroom. At lower speeds ~ 20MPH, there is excessive pressure build up in the passenger compartment without any side windows down. Lowering a window or closing the sunroof to 1/2 eliminates the pressure. Overall, I really like this vehicle and would recommend it to anyone.

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  Almighty Powerful Marauder! - 2003 Mercury Marauder
  By PMS - August 12 - 2:00 am

  The Marauder is NOT your average family car. Its HOT! From the initial engine throaty rumble eminating from the dual chrome exahaust pipes - you know it! I drive locally and on the Turnpike and have nothing but good things to say. Cornering is a breeze - no body roll - I can take most corners at 40 mph which is accompanied by the adrenaline-rush one gets on a roller coaster. Breaking is smooth and solid. Steering is very responsive -- the Marauder has serpentined many a pot hole here in PA this winter! This is truely a bad ass wolf in sportly styled sheeps clothing. I bought this as an early 40th bday present and love to drive it whenever I can.

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  2001 Mercury Mountaineer - 2001 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Robert Zell - August 11 - 10:00 am

  Having owned this for 6 months now, Im very satisfied with the SUVs performance and quality. The only drawback has been the gas mileage which is extremely bad (5.0 liter engine and AWD). The overall ride comfort is good even though you should expect that this will ride like a truck....because essentially, it is. Cargo room is sufficient for most needs and the leg room between seats is satisfactory. The climate control feature works perfectly and in this particular model, the rear seat area can even control the climate. The one question most folks want to know following a review is usually, "would you buy it again"? My answer: most definitely.

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  Just good transportation - 2003 Mercury Sable
  By geobar - August 11 - 10:00 am

  The Sable is still a comfortable and reliable sedan, with all the creature comforts in the LS. Its fine to tote around customers and the boss. If you crack it up or its stolen (Boston driving), you just go grab another one. For the money, its a good value.