Ford has announced that after 71 years in business, they will be closing the doors on the brand that Edsel Ford built, Mercury. This should come as a surprise to approximately no one, since Mercury has not had a bespoke car since the 2002 Cougar, and we all know how well that one went.
We honestly can’t even really think of a reason that Mercury has existed for so long, especially considering the whole brand has been a series of re-badges since the mid-80′s. Are there really people out there that want more than a Ford and less than a Lincoln?
The answer is yes, sometimes, but that number shrinks by the day. At one point, I was actually one of them.
In late 2001, I traded in my heavily modified 1994 Mustang GT for a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer V8 AWD. Philadelphia had taken its toll on the Mustang’s lowered suspension, and the New Jersey turnpike had trained me to hate all cars with three pedals (at least temporarily). The Mountaineer was the perfect college-mobile, with seating for 7, lots of storage space, and conservatively attractive styling. At the time, the new interior was a revelation, especially compared to the late-90′s Ford products, and it featured comfortable, two-tone seats and soft touch materials everywhere. I installed an amazing in-dash DVD system with TV’s in all the headrests and my car became the ultimate road-trip machine. In 3 years, I put 97,000 miles on that truck.
It certainly wasn’t perfect: I blew 2 transmissions in the first 60,000 miles, both replaced under warranty, and had issues with the trim pieces around the sunroof. A few buttons stopped working, and the truck got vandalized twice while parked on the street in Philadelphia, requiring two full repaints.
Nevertheless, I have very fond memories of my Mercury Mountaineer, and feel like I made a wise purchasing decision buy driving one for those three years.
The question is: why a Mountaineer and not an Explorer? Well, a friend of the family owns a Lincoln/Mercury dealership, and he offered me a great price. Plus, I like being a bit different, and while every soccer mom for a thousand miles was driving an Explorer at the time, the Mountaineer seemed to be a different (and better-looking) take on the same car.
Anyone else have a Mercury experience worth sharing? Will you miss Mercury? Or was it a lost cause from the beginning?
You know, badge engineering is a weird thing. I find it strange that Oldsmobile and Buick coexisted for such a long time, both seemingly identical in the niche they occupied to Mercury. Earlier on, when the Fords were all base model cars and Lincolns were luxury cars, Mercury was very relevant. Now that the top-of-the-line Fusion is hardly any different than the base MKZ, it's not so much.
In 2000-2001, was looking for a nice 2-door V6 with a manual transaxle. I was a GM devotee, but the General only offered slushboxes in their Grand Am and Grand Prix. There was always the Mustang and the F-body, but I'd never opt for a V6 of either of those (especially in 2000), and didn't want the Musclecar baggage anyway. There were no domestic cars that fit the bill except for the Dodge Stratus and the Cougar. I ended up with a 2000 Roush-edition Cougar, and still own it to this day. Although down on power, the handling is really over-the-top, and it really is a hoot to drive when the roads start to get curvy.
I won't miss Mercury – especially now that Ford seems to really have it all together. Now they just need to continue get Lincoln on the right track…
I've only ever driven a Mercury, but I didn't plan on buying one for my next car. My first car was a Mercury Tracer that ran like a dream, then I got my Cougar which has been all but a dream, but I love it still the same! I will probably keep my next car decision in the family though!
Mercury's been dead to me since they stopped making Marauders.
I don't have a Mercury story but I always wanted a Marauder.. why? I'm not sure. I guess in some weird way I had a fantasy of being a cop in a Marauder patrol car rather than a Ford interceptor, doing 100+mph on public streets in a undercover blacked out Marauder lights flashing sirens blaring.
Seemed like fun to me.. of course I was like 15 years old then. 03-04.
Matt – I remember that Mountaineer from your trips to Boston. I was still new to this country back then and yours was the first car I ever saw with that many screens in it. A true revelation for a French man. In college I drove limos to and from Logan Airport in Boston for extra cash. BEST college job ever since I got to drive around for free, learn awesome shortcuts and… well, I didn't have to wait on tables or shelf books at the school library. Anyway, our company had a fleet consisting of 80-90% Mercury Grand Marquis – which as you know are the same thing as your average police cruiser and/or NYC taxi, the Ford Crown Vic. However, the Mercury had a little edge: smoother materials as you said, and other little things made it a really nice ride, actually. To this day it is still the most comfortable car I've ever driven. I would spend HOURS in that thing, whether it was driving or waiting around for a call. Sometimes my shifts were a solid 10 hours during which I rarely left the car, since it was like 10 degrees outside. It was so comfortable. I had both the best drives and the best naps in that car! My only beef with it, and this was Boston, was that it absolutely SUCKED in the snow – being a boat-sized RWD monster. I got stuck a couple times but as far as winter handling it was, in my mind, better than the Lincoln Towncar that I drove on occasion too.
Side note to any college students out there – If you need a job, look into part-time Limo driving. You will also make GREAT connections for job/internship offers from the corporate dudes you are driving to the airport!
RIP Mercury.