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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  Yucky steering - 2007 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By WALT - May 1 - 10:00 am

  Totally disappointed in the steering characteristics of this automobile in its present state it certainly isnt intended to be a highway car. Its like a car with a poor caster setting. Requires full-time grip on the steering wheel to ensure a straight ahead track. Perhaps there is an adjustment that can be made but mechanics in my area are unaware.

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  Dont go to Village Lincoln Mercury - 2002 Mercury Cougar
  By Jelena - April 19 - 10:00 am

  Worst experiences with a new car purchase. Dealership very unprofessional. New car leaked when it rained,sprinkle,or a car wash.Service told me to “expect water leakage”, they weren’t able to fix it or come up with a solution.It was fixed when I had to take one of them with me through a car wash. Amazing that trained technicians can’t fix a leakage problem after the 4th try. Leakage since day one, air conditioner problem, and after driving past 2,000, you can really tell a difference in the performance. I couldn’t imagine that car lasting more than a year without any more major problems, if I would have kept it.

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  awful car, AVOID AT ALL COSTS - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By John_j_c8 - March 7 - 10:00 am

  From day 1, this car was plagued with problems. Defective radio, broken hood prop were the first things. Then alternators, AC Compressors, fuel pump, rotos, brake pads, alignment, tire re- balance, insulation hanging from the under body, fabric on the seats came apart, poor fit and finish and many more PROBLEMS. Avoid this car.

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  Shame on Ford Motor Company - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By budgie - February 20 - 1:50 pm

  I bought this car used for my daughter for college. It was fun to drive, sporty and she loved it. Two years later while on an internship 1500 miles away from home in Texas it stopped working. What a dissapointment! It started with a bad alternator, one month and three alternators later, we traded the car in at a significant loss. No one could fix it, not even experts in automotive electrical systems. Dont buy this car, and if you have one, trade it before you experience this problem; it is a safety issue. Bottom line, last Ford product I ever buy, too bad, I love the new Shelby Mustang!

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  ITS AN OK CAR, WEVE HAD BETTER - 1997 Mercury Sable
  By T MILLER - February 18 - 2:00 am

  WE HAVE HAD THIS CAR FOR 13 MONTHS. ITS AN OK CAR. WE HAVE HAD BETTER.

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  My third mountaineer and its a lemon! - 2008 Mercury Mountaineer
  By defectivemntnr - February 5 - 10:00 am

  Does Ford Motor Co care about losing a loyal customer?In my case the answer is no, not at all.I leased a 2008 Mercury Mountaineer 11/07,our third one.It was fine until 4/09 when it didnt start one day.Then it began to happen more frequently.My family ha been stranded countless times due to this problem. After several attempts at Ford Lincoln Mercury dealerships to fix the problem it still exists.The alternator,starter bad relay and battery have all been replaced yet several times a week I am left stranded somewhere with this defective vehicle that wont start.I have been in communication with the Ford Cust. Solutions team through two courses of repairs,a Special Ford Engineer was even sent

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  Ultimate - Not really! - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By Ham - January 25 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my Ultimate new in March of 2003. When I picked it up, the fuel gage didnt work right and it took until August to repair this - 3 different times. Then, the instrument panel "flashes" and that has been worked on 6-times now! Still flashes! And, had a sound like I was dragging a tin can. Turns out that the starter wasnt completely disengaging and the starter and flywheel had to be replaced! All this and not a year old and only 7400 miles! What next? I am not a happy camper!

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  my mercury mountaineer - 2004 Mercury Mountaineer
  By mswsdad - January 15 - 10:00 am

  In general I like the vehicle a lot..it has a few little problems, but seems to be working themselves out.

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  Not for what you think your getting!! - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By usarfilly - December 25 - 4:36 am

  I bought my car after my deployment to Iraq...and I wanted something sporty- Which I got, but not much else. Major issue is the engine build. Your engine light goes on for unknown reasons and after fixed comes right back on. Ive replaces the alternator once and now have had trouble with the starter and the fly-wheel. So my engine sometimes doesnt start. Labor on these cars is outragious due to the unaccessability to fix what should be simple things. No other major problems accept the trunk wont unlatch with just pushing the button in your car - you have to use the keyless entry and be sure you double click that button withing 6 inches.

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  has your mercury spit a spak plug latley - 2002 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Mike - December 23 - 4:20 am

  This vehicle was purchased used with 19k miles on it from a local mercury dealership, it has all the options, we bought this instead of the lexus rx300 big mistake, weve been ford people for 25 years, have had several ford vehicles but this ones been pretty much junk and the bad thing is that they know they issues with these vehicles but dont want to take the responsibility to take of there problems. This vehicle has had both rear wheel bearings replaced before the warranty ran out, constant transmission issues, rear axel leaking oil, rear coil spring broken, and it blew a spark plug out the head last week. Not to mention all the sensors replaced. We wont be buying this brand any more.