**Mercury** is a defunct company founded in 1938 producing a wide variety of automobiles in the United States. It was originally a division of Ford Motor Company, just like Lincoln. The company went defunct in 2011. Mercury was originally competing with Buick and Oldsmobile before tracing its roots back to competing with Ford and Lincoln vehicles.

History
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### 1930s and 1940s:

Mercury was created during the late 1930s in 1938 by Edsel Ford when Ford needed another division to match its competitors (General Motors, Chevrolet, Dodge, etc). The starting price of the Mercury was approximately $916 ($19,558.71 in 2023 dollars), which caused Mercury to be a success, with over 66,000 vehicles being sold for the 1938 year. This caused Ford to discontinue the DeLuxe Ford, make all Lincolns come from the Lincoln-Zephyr, and Lincoln to retire the Model K. During the 1940s, Mercury went through several redesigns for its cars, especially for the Mercury Eight (1939-1951). The Mercury Eight shared its body design and chassis/performance with its Ford variant, the Ford Deluxe. In order to distinguish it from the Ford Deluxe, it had a longer wheelbase, different grille, interior/exterior, and taillamps. It was the first ever company to release a woodie station wagon. Unlike most of the models made by Ford, they were fully assembled from the River Rogue until 1952. The company went further changes in September 1945 due to the rise of Henry Ford II. The first change was that Henry Ford II combined both Mercury and Lincoln into one company, thus, creating the Mercury-Lincoln/Lincoln-Mercury division. Then, in 1946 (Specifically, November 1, 1945), the first 1946 Mercury vehicles, which was visually changed but not functionally identical to its 1942 counterpart. In 1949, Ford launched post-war designs for Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln with a drastically different body design, altered front and rear, along with altered interiors and exteriors.

### 1950s and 1960s:

The redesigns for Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln were extremely successful. This did not only cause it to increase sales dramatically to six-number figures, but also make them in the top 10 of the most popular companies in the United States (Mercury was the 6th most popular automobile brand in the United States). Mercury still made the Mercury Eight the sole model line compared to companies like Chrysler, General Motors, Nash, Hudson, and Packard.

In the 1950s, Mercury sold another model on/for the model line, the Mercury Monterey (1952-1974). The Monterey was created to compete against the hardtop coupes produced by divisions of General Motors, the release of the Monterey also caused Mercury to denote special two-door coupes. It was slotted above the Mercury Custom (1952-1956) (Renamed to Mercury Medalist). In 1951, Mercury made its Automatic Transmission for sale since the 1942 Liquamatic called the "Merc-O-Matic", which was a 3-Speed Automatic. In 1952, Mercury also sold its One Millionth vehicle during the time. In 1952, Mercury redesigned their vehicles again for the second time. In 1953, Mercury's expansion was successful, but decreased two ranks to Eighth Place in terms of most popular American automotive companies. Mercury then redesigned for the third time 3 or 4 years later in 1955, adopting the three-model range of Ford Motor Company/Lincoln and introducing the Mercury Montclair (1955-1960 and again from 1964-1968), which was again successful, causing Mercury to reach its peak sales. For the fourth time a year later in 1957, Mercury redesigned its wheelbase to 122 inches (3100 millimeters), discontinued the Medalist, and released the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser (1957-1958), Mercury Commuter (1957-1962 and again from 1964-1968), Mercury Voyager (1957-1958), and Mercury Colony Park (1957-1991). In 1958, Ford revisied its structure to make a company out of Mercury, Edsel, and Lincoln (M-E-L). Mercury also introduced the Mercury Park Lane (1958-1960 and 1964-1968).

In 1959, Mercury was again redesigned for the fifth time to a 126-inch (3200mm) wheelbase. Mercury then produced an original body/chassis due to Edsel going defunct/discontinuing. However, in the late 50s (1958-1959), many medium-sized brands, including Mercury had a heavy hit in sales, decreasing by 60 percent. It was so bad that the total sales of 1958 and 1959 were nearly close to the sales in 1957.

The 50s Recession caused Lincoln-Mercury to lose around approximately $60,000,000 (Approximately $611,952,577.32 in 2023 Dollars), which nearly caused Mercury to discontinue in the 60s and Lincoln to return to the Lincoln Continental segment. In 1960, Mercury introduced the Mercury Comet (1960-1977) a year before Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac. In 1961, Mercury introduced more full-size automobiles for this year, shifting to the chassis of a Ford Galaxie / Ford XL (1958-1974). The Mercury Meteor (1961-1963) was also introduced for the year. Then in 1962, Mercury revised its model line for the sixth time to make it closer to Ford (e.g. Ford Fairlane [1955-1970]) along with introducing cars with an "S-[Number]" option to indicate high-performance models. For 1967, the popular Mercury Cougar (1967-2002) and Mercury Marquis (1967-1986). The Cougar was a counterpart of the Ford Mustang (1966-Present), while the Marquis was a variant of the Ford LTD (1965-1986). For 1968, Mercury redesigned its model range for the seventh time, while also introducing cars like the Mercury Montego (1968-1976 and 2004-2007) based on the Ford Torino (1968-1976) and the Mercury Cyclone (1964-1971) and the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II (1969-1969). For 1969, Mercury gave its full-size cars a completely original/new body and chassis.

### 1970s and 1980s:

Mercury during the 70s entered the subcompact version of the automobile market with the Mercury Capri (1970-1994) (Which was a rebadged Ford Capri [1968-1986]) compact sports car, which was the first car to sell a V6 engine from Ford Motor Corporation. In 1971, Mercury removed most of its performance automobiles. Then, all Mercury cars 2 years later in 1973 have been given 5-mph bumpers issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) In 1974, the Mercury line was redesigned for the eighth time, where cars like the Mercury Cougar went on a redesign from the Mustang Chassis to the Torino/Montego chassis. In 1976, the smallest part of Mercury's line was expanded to include the Mercury Bobcat (1975-1980), which is a derivative of the Ford Pinto (1971-1980). The Mercury Capri was also redesigned and renamed to Capri II. It was also the second best-selling imported car, behind the Volkswagen Beetle (1938-2003). In 1977, Mercury made vast improvements to its model range to increase sales (Specifically, for the Mercury Cougar). It was a success, since the Cougar sales tripled after the revision. In 1978, Mercury introduces the Mercury Zephyr (1978-1983), which is a derivative of the Ford Fairmont (1977-1983). The Mercury Brand during this time has reached its highest, at 670,000 cars sold.

In the 1980s, the entire Mercury line has been redesigned for 4 years from 1978 to 1982. In 1980, the model overlap between the Mercury Marquis and the Mercury Cougar has ended, causing negative reception and less than one-third of the original sales in 1979. For 1981 to 1983, Mercury heavily revised the design of their models. In 1981, the Mercury Bobcat was replaced by the Mercury Lynx (1980-1987) along with using the "GS" and "LS" trims for some specific vehicles. In 1982, Mercury's first one-seat vehicle, the Mercury LN7 (1981-1988), a derivative of the Ford EXP (1981-1988), was introduced. 1983 was one of the biggest revisions for both Ford and Mercury, one of the cars included the Mercury Cougar XR7, the Mercury Grand Marquis (originally introduced in 1975) was a separate model introduced as a derivative from the Ford LTD Crown Victoria (1979-1991), the Mercury LN7 was replaced by the Mercury Topaz (1983-1994), which is a derivative of the Ford Tempo (1983-1994). 1985 was redesigned for the tenth time, specifically for the Cougar. 1985 was also the start of another division of Ford called Merkur, which was a failure due to automobile rules at the time and low sales. In 1986, the Mercury Sable (1986-2009) (which is a derivative of the 1986-1992 Ford Taurus) was introduced as a replacement for the Mercury Marquis and Mercury Montego. 1987 was a move upmarket, which also included another redesign for the Cougar. For 1988, Mercury caused models to go through many revisions for all of its models, examples including the Grand Marquis and the Topaz. 1988 also introduced the Mercury Tracer (1986-1999), which is the first Mercury car with no Ford equivalent. 1989 was when Mercury turned 50 years old, causing the Cougar, Sable, and Grand Marquis to have commermorative editions.

### 1990s to 2010s:

In the 1990s, Mercury has began to do its own major and original transformations throughout the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s, causing Mercury cars to look a lot less like than cars produced by Ford and Lincoln. 1990 was the introduction of Mercury's first side airbags for the Sable and the Grand Marquis. For 1991, Mercury strengthened in the compact section with its returning Mercury Capri, which was competing against the Mazda MX-5 (1989-Present). It was also the return of the Mercury Tracer, which was based on the Mazda 323 (1963-2003). For 1992, Mercury released new generations for each of its separate selling models. An example would be the Mercury Grand Marquis' styling to be more stylish than the Ford Crown Victoria (1992-2011), increasing sales of the car to make it the best selling Mercury of the 90s. In 1993 was Mercury's first Minivan, the Mercury Villager (1992-2002). It was also the only Mercury model to have roots from a Nissan vehicle (Nissan Quest, 1992-2002). 1994 was the end of two of Mercury's iconic models (Mercury Topaz and Mercury Capri). 1995 was the introduction of the Mercury Mystique (1992-2000) with roots tracing from the Ford Mondeo (1992-2002). 1999 was the year of major product changes, especially the Mercury Cougar, gaining a sportier appearance with more powerful engines while also being produced for 3 years from 1999 to 2002.

However, the 2000s was the beginning of the once-beloved-and-praised Mercury. One reason is the 20-gap average buying age and the average age of people in a showroom. This caused Mercury to attract to buyers under the ages of 40-60. During this period, Mercury was bringing back vehicles that were discontinued in the middle to late 20th century. Notable examples were the 2003-2004 Mercury Marauder competing against the 1994-1996 Chevrolet Impala SS, the 2004-2007 Mercury Monterey, 2004-2010 Mercury Mariner, and 1996-2010 Mercury Mountaineer. For the middle to late 2000s, Mercury has made significant changes to all of its vehicles during that time until 2009. For 2009-2011, the Ford Taurus was developed without a Mercury Counterpart, Mercury introduces its first and last hybrid, introduces changes to the exterior of the Mercury Milan (2005-2010), and the last ever car was produced in January 2011. The final model was a 2011 Mercury Grand Marquis.

Models
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### Discontinued

* Eight.
* M Series.
* Monterey.
* Custom.
* Montclair.
* Medalist.
* Colony Park.
* Commuter.
* Turnpike Cruiser.
* Voyager.
* Park Lane.
* Comet.
* Meteor.
* S-55.
* Marauder.
* Cyclone.
* Cougar.
* Marquis.
* Montego.
* Capri.
* Bobcat.
* Grand Marquis.
* Monarch.
* Zephyr.
* Topaz.
* Sable.
* Tracer.
* Lynx.
* LN7.
* Villager.
* Mystique.
* Mountaineer.
* Mariner.
* Monterey.
* Milan.

Related Pages
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* Ford Motor Company.
* Lincoln.
* Edsel.