Not like Toyota, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and other well known automobile names, Mercury is one of the silent brands in the market today. Mercury is a brand of the Ford Motor Company. In 1939, Mercury was founded to market near-luxury cars slotted between entry-level Ford and luxury Lincoln models, similar to General Motors' Buick (and former Oldsmobile) brand and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler brand. Today, all Mercury models are based on Ford platforms.
There are five current Mercury models in the market. These are the Mercury Grand Marquis, Mercury Mariner, Mercury Milan, Mercury Monterey, and the Mercury Mountaineer.
The Mercury Grand Marquis is a full-size rear-wheel drive sedan, which is manufactured at the st. Thomas Assembly Plant in Canada. It was also built in st. Louis, Missouri until 1985.
It is Mercury's flagship sedan and is essentially a slightly more luxurious version of the Ford Crown Victoria. It comes in five main trim levels: GS (base model), GS Convenience, LS Premium, LS Ultimate and the LSE. The trim level can be identified by the fifth, sixth and seventh digits in the VIN. A Grand Marquis GS is represented by "M74", while a Grand Marquis LS / LSE is represented by "M75".
Despite rumors to the contrary, Ford has announced that they will continue to produce the Grand Marquis through at least 2010.
The company does plan on redesigning it along with the Crown Victoria sometime in the future, likely retiring the Panther platform altogether and moving them to the Ford D2C platform used by the Ford Mustang. While Ford would likely replace the Crown Victoria name with something along the lines of "Fairlane", the Grand Marquis name could remain.
The Mercury Mariner compact SUV was introduced in 2005. It is similar to the Mazda Tribute and Ford Escape, although it is slightly more up market than the other two. Its engine is identical to the Ford Escape. It also includes stylistic differences, such as a two-tone interior, European-style turn signal repeaters, monotone cladding, and the signature Mercury "waterfall" front grille. The Mariner is Mercury's first car-based SUV, and is slotted below the Mountaineer in the lineup.
According to a website, since Mariner went on sale in September 2004, it has sold exactly 80,295 as of February 2007.
For the 2008 model, the Mariner is significantly updated with a new look. The changes will include a new grille, headlights, taillights, a new lift gate, a higher beltline, new doors and wheels. The interior is also significantly updated with higher quality materials and more refined features. The engines remain the same but the 3.0L Duratec V6 has been modified to reduce fuel consumption by 10%.
The first 2008 Mercury Mariner was unveiled at the Florida International Auto Show on October 6, 2006 and was tagged as a new direction for the Mercury Brand.
The model began its sale in February 2007.
The Mercury Milan is a front-wheel drive mid-size sedan based on the Ford CD3 platform. The Milan is an innovated model of the Ford Fusion, while being slotted below the luxury-spec Lincoln MKZ (formerly the Lincoln Zephyr) sedan.
As compared to Fusion, Milan features unique front and rear small yet essential designs, larger rear doors, LED taillight clusters, projector head lamps and fog lamps, modified suspension, and an upgraded interior. It served as the bridge between the Mercury Mystique in 2000 and the Mercury Sable in 2005. Milan is available in four packaged variants: Milan I4, Milan I4 Premier, Milan V6, and Milan V6 Premier. Both the Milan and Fusion, along with the MKZ, are derivatives of the Mazda 6 sedan, while only sharing 40% of its parts.
The Milan four cylinders come standard with a five-speed manual. It is available with optional five-speed automatic. All 2007 V6 Milans are equipped with the new six-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive (AWD) was added as an available option for the 2007 model year, but only for the V6 equipped vehicles. Also, a DVD navigation system has been added as an option.
A website depicts the Milan it has sold exactly 46,732 as of February 2007 since it went on sale in October 2005.
The Mercury Monterey is a full-size semi-luxury car introduced in 1950. It would later share the same body style with the slightly more upscale Marquis, and the Park Lane and Montclair. The Marquis-Monterey body was, in turn, shared with that of the Ford LTD, Ford Galaxie, and Ford Custom. In 2004, Mercury resurrected the Monterey nameplate for a minivan. It was essentially a re-badged Ford Freestar with added features and modified cosmetic features.
Finally, the Mercury Mountaineer is a luxury SUV. It shares many features with the Ford Explorer, and in terms of hardware, the two are virtually identical. Externally, they are styled somewhat differently, and the Mountaineer is positioned with a more enhanced interior. It was mildly redesigned for the 2006 model year due to a new frame, but looks very similar to its previous model.
The Mercury exhaust among these models varies. Despite the brand's silence in the automobile market, Ford assured that the Mercury exhaust system is at par with the competitive brands in the market today. 855