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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  great car - 2004 Mercury Marauder
  By rusty picks - September 26 - 10:00 am

  this car is effortless to driveall features

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  2002 Mercury LSE - 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By MichaelDavidon - September 26 - 10:00 am

  The BEST new and used cars on the market! The value, reliability, and driveablity of these cars is outstanding. Dont let the Edmunds review of "difficult to manuver and park" fool you. Its got power steering! What a joke. I guess if thats all they can come up with, it must be a pretty good car. Dont be influenced about a percieved "negative" image. All my 20 and 30 year old friends love both my Crown Vic and this Mercury LSE.

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  The Feel Of Luxury In A Mid Price Car - 2003 Mercury Sable
  By Mike Perry - September 26 - 10:00 am

  I have had my Sable LS since 12-02 and have fallen in love with it. I have had no maintenance problems. I feel that it offers superior comfort in a mid priced car. It is extremely easy to drive and has many features of cars more expensive.

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  Nice Car - 2010 Mercury Milan
  By JofPA - September 25 - 11:03 am

  Really like the leather interior and Sync feature. Got the 202a rapid spec and love the backup camera. Traded in a V6 and was a little worried about pick-up/power - but I am quite satisfied with that. Overall very nice car.

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  10,000 miles per month - 2009 Mercury Grand Marquis
  By LimoDriver - September 24 - 10:00 am

  I am a limo driver. We have a fleet of Linc/Mercs/Ford E350 vans and a Rolls Royce Silver Spur. The owner is religious on oil changes and tire rotations on these vehicles. They drive from Pa to JFK, Manhattan, NY, Newark, NJ and etc DAILY. That is 10,000/MONTH/vehicle! They are flawless, reliable, comfy and great mpg on the hwy. City driving isnt as good as hwy. Ive driven Gr Marquis in snow storms to JFK to pick-up passengers already. Stop beating these cars up. The trunk space is nearly big enough to haul 1/2 a house! Ford is making a terrible mistake dropping this car in 2011. I am very partial to them and have owned 3 Gr Marqs myself with NO REGRETS!

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  2006 Mariner Hybrid - after 3800 miles - 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By M. Tuxford-Hawkins - September 22 - 3:10 am

  Its comfy, fun to drive, handles beautifully. My previous cars being 2 Mountaineers, a Ford Explorer, & a sports car, in that order, it does seem small & car-like to me. It did very well last week in a close encounter with a large deer. Parks easily in the city, keeps up will with semis on the freeway (I drive 35 miles to work in the city & live in the country down a 1100 ft long drive.) It is an excellent utility vehicle; doesnt haul as much as a larger ute, but then it gets much better gas mileage & stills hold a lot of gardening gear & plants in the back. Very quiet drive; fit & finish is very, very good. (Yes, Id buy another one & recommend it to friends.)

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  A Ford Man Always - 2008 Mercury Sable
  By golfguy - September 21 - 5:43 pm

  Have 1,500 miles and love the car. Seem to get great highway mileage but city seems very low. Very comfortable seating and feel better than my old town car. Love all the light around the car when you open the doors. 7,500 service intervals is also appealing So far we love it. Door clicker on the key could use a "raised" spot or "dimple" to locate the Open button in the dark. Hard to feel the buttons. Difficult to find slot for key without bending around the steering column to actually look.

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  Loving Our Hybrid - 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid
  By Steen - September 18 - 9:23 pm

  Have had the SUV for three weeks and am enjoying the experience. This version of the Mariner is much improved, we had a 2005 FWD Premier that was totaled in an accident. Since my partner came out of the accident with no injuries we decided to stick with the Mariner but get the hybrid instead and we love it. The new look is a big step up and comes across as more classy than the precvious version.

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  SAFE CAR - 2002 Mercury Sable
  By keith fonseca - September 18 - 10:00 am

  my 2002 sable ls is well worth the money it cost, has everything a person could want and in an accident you would be surprised of how well it holds up.i had it for 3 weeks and was rear ended by a car doing from 65-70mph and her car was a complete loss nothing left and the sable was hit bad but took the bang rather than the passengers. the 5 star crash rating is true.would not be happy with anything but the sable

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  I Love My Cougar!!!!! - 2000 Mercury Cougar
  By fsugirl - September 15 - 10:00 am

  I have owned my Cougar for nearly 4 years now and I have never had a problem. I brought it in for a couple of recalls and I just had my brakes done at 35000 miles, which is all fairly normal, other than that I have had no problems with it. She drives great, looks great, and Im sad that they discontinued it.