Mercury Cars
Classic · 2 models
Mercury: Ford's In-Between Brand, 1939 to 2011
ClassicMercury was Ford Motor Company's brand of medium-priced cars from the 1939 to 2011 model years. Edsel Ford created it to fill the gap between Ford and Lincoln, and for most of its life it was half of the Lincoln-Mercury Division.
Mercury models we cover
Edsel Ford picked the Roman god's name from more than 100 options and introduced the Mercury Eight at the New York Auto Show in November 1938. The V8 car was sized between the V8 Ford and the V12 Lincoln-Zephyr, started at $916, and sold more than 65,800 in its first model year. From 1941 the Eight shared much of its body with Ford, a pattern that held for most Mercurys after it.
Mercury's longest-running nameplates arrived in 1967. The Cougar was built to sit between the Ford Mustang and the Thunderbird, and the Marquis went after sedans like the Buick Electra and Chrysler New Yorker. The Cougar could be a pony car, a personal luxury coupe, or a muscle car, and its Eliminator package offered a 428 Cobra Jet V8. Earlier, Mercury's 400 hp Super Marauder became the first mass-produced engine rated at 400 horsepower. Lincoln-Mercury dealers also sold the German-built Ford Capri from 1970 and the De Tomaso Pantera from 1972 to 1975.
The decline was long. After 2000 Ford stopped building Mercury versions of most new Fords, and Mercury sold 93,165 vehicles in 2010, nearly 265,000 fewer than in 2000. Ford announced the closure on June 2, 2010. The final Mercury, a 2011 Grand Marquis, was built by Ford of Canada at St. Thomas Assembly on January 4, 2011.
Frequently asked questions about Mercury
Mercury on the WhipJury blog
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