Mercury Car Reviews and Road Tests

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Mercury Car Company


The initial success of the Ford empire was clearly due to Henry Ford’s decision to keep things simple, in design, application and model line-up. But by the 1930’s competition was forcing Ford to do a major re-think of this strategy, and a move to a more up-market offering would also require the establishment of a different division, a brand that offered clear differentiation from Ford. Lincoln catered to the top tier, but for the burgeoning middle ranks Mercury would take the lead.

In fact, the jump from the more humble Ford V8 to the Lincoln Zephyr was quite substantial, so Edsel Ford together with sales chief Jack Davis came up with the Mercury Eight. An overnight sensation, the car would sell over 70,000 in 1939 and make it a household name in the US. Taking the middle ground between Ford and Lincoln, it inevitably drew upon the enormous parts bin of both divisions.

The 1941 Mercury used a Ford body shell, then after World War 2 the Mercury Type 72 Coupe used a Lincoln body shell. The 1960 Comet used a Ford Falcon body, and the Cougar two door coupe of 1967 would become an almost direct competitor to the Mustang. The DNA would turn distinctively Ford, the Cougar really being a Thunderbird with slightly different sheet metal, and during the 1980’s and 1990’s the identity of the marque would become less prestigious.

Also see: Mercury History (USA Site)
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Mercury Monterey  

Mercury Monterey

1950 - 1978
IThe Monterey body was built on a longer wheelbase and had a longer body than the Ford LTD, Ford Galaxie, and Ford Custom. During its production the car served as the high-end, mid-range, and entry-level fullsize Mercury at various times throughout its run. It was the only Mercury to be in continuous production throughout the 1960s. More>>
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Mercury Cougar  

Mercury Cougar

1967 - 1972
In reality, the Cougar was simply a stretched Ford Mustang with permanent hardtop and a few luxury touches. But this did not seem to deter buyers, with over 150,000 being sold in the first year of release. More>>
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Mercury Lynx

Mercury Lynx

1981- 1987
Designated 'Split Torque' the then new Ford automatic used in the Mercury Lynx incorporated a complex series of clutches and planetary gears which gave a claimed mechanical torque ratio of 62 per cent in second gear, and 93 per cent in third - much improved figures over a normal torque-converter automatic. More>>
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