make of ford motor company . for another defunct ford entry level luxury brand see merkur . for the defunct early 1900s car manufacturer see mercury cyclecar . mercury v8 redirects here . for mercury version 8 see mercury viii disambiguation . mercury former type division industry automotive fate defunct founded 1938 defunct january 4 2011 headquarters dearborn michigan u.s. key people edsel ford founder products automobiles parent ford motor company website www.mercuryvehicles.com mercury is a defunct american market division of automobile manufacturer ford motor company . created in 1938 by edsel ford mercury was an entry level premium brand intended to bridge the price gap between the ford and lincoln vehicle lines with the division forming half of the later lincoln mercury division . as similar brands buick and oldsmobile played a similar role within general motors while mercury competed against the namesake brand of chrysler following the cancellation of the desoto brand in 1960 . although the initial mercury eight was unique to the division to save development costs using rebadging to various extents nearly all mercury vehicles would share bodies with lincoln and ford vehicles or both ; during the development of the edsel several vehicles would derive common chassis underpinnings with mercury vehicles . in the summer of 2010 ford motor company announced the discontinuation of the mercury division as it consolidated its marketing and engineering efforts on the ford and lincoln brands production of mercury vehicles ceased in the fourth quarter of 2010 . 1 2 at the time ford sold mercury vehicles in the united states mexico puerto rico u.s. virgin islands and the middle east . the final mercury automobile a 2011 mercury grand marquis rolled off the assembly line on january 4 2011 . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 early years 1.2 1950s 1.3 1960s 1.4 1970s 1.5 1980s 1.5.1 merkur 1.6 1990s 1.7 2000 2011 1.7.1 last revival 1.8 discontinuation 1.9 sales figures 2 mercury in canada 2.1 monarch 2.2 meteor 2.3 trucks 3 brand identity 3.1 logo 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit during the mid 1930s despite the continuing success of its new v8 powered product line ford motor company was in danger of being left at a competitive disadvantage to both of its largest competitors . while general motors and upstart chrysler corporation both had a comprehensive line of brands in terms of price by 1935 ford sold only its namesake brand and the cars of lincoln motor company . aside from the cadillac v 16 and duesenberg model j the lincoln model k was one of the most expensive vehicles in the united states . as a solution from 1936 to 1939 ford began its own version of the companion make program introduced by general motors in the previous decade . to bridge the massive price gap between the standard v8 ford and the v12 lincoln model k the lincoln zephyr was introduced in 1936 as a competitor for the lasalle chrysler airstream and the packard one twenty . inside ford there was debate whether a medium priced car should be a ford model or a new marque entirely . eventually both approaches would be taken by the company for 1938 ford introduced the de luxe ford model line ; it was largely differentiated from the standard v8 ford by upscale trim and a distinct hood and grille . started as a distinct company in 1937 by edsel ford the mercury name was selected from over 100 potential model and marque names . 4 5 the chevrolet mercury was produced in 1933 becoming the chevrolet standard from 1934 1936 . the body designs of the new car referred to as the mercury eight were completed by e.t. bob gregorie . early years edit for the 1939 model year the mercury made its debut with a namesake vehicle line . an all new car sharing no body panels with any ford or lincoln the mercury was six inches wider than the 1939 ford with a 116 inch wheelbase four inches longer . to minimize production costs a 239 cubic inch version of the ford flathead v8 engine was used in place of developing an engine specifically for the division . over 65 800 cars were sold for 1939 at a starting price of 916 approximately 15 583 in current dollars . 6 7 mercury town sedan 1947 for the 1941 model year the mercury officially adopted the mercury eight nameplate used in sales literature . to lower production costs of the popular vehicle the mercury eight shared much of its bodyshell with the ford v8 but it sat on a four inch longer wheelbase . during the war shortened 1942 model year the mercury eight introduced the first semi automatic transmission liquimatic by ford motor company . following world war ii ford motor company dropped the de luxe ford sub brand and lincoln zephyr was absorbed into lincoln . in 1945 lincoln and mercury were combined into a single lincoln mercury division ; while functioning as one division the two brands kept their separate model lines . in 1946 the mercury eight was reintroduced for retail sale . although wearing the same bodyshell from four years before mercury designers freshened the car somewhat with a new grille much different than the 1946 ford . for the introduction of its first post war model line ford made a significant change to the mercury line that would influence it for the next decade . to position it closer to the lincoln brand to gain exposure for both nameplates the 1949 mercury eight would share its bodyshell with the 1949 lincoln with the headlights and grille distinguishing the two vehicles ; inside the two lines would feature separate interior designs . as before the mercury would still be powered by a higher output version of the ford flathead v8 . for many years after its production the 1949 1951 mercury eight most commonly in two door form would develop a following as a street rod making an appearance in several films . 1950s edit 1954 mercury monterey sun valley hardtop coupe 1956 mercury montclair 4 door hardtop since its 1939 introduction mercury had consisted of a single vehicle model line ; many of its medium price competitors had begun to expand their model ranges . as a response for 1952 the mercury lineup would double in size . borrowing a name introduced on a sub model of a mercury eight coupe in 1950 the monterey and custom were all new vehicles . while still sharing a body with lincoln the mercury custom and monterey were powered by a higher output ford engine . for 1954 the long running flathead v8 from 1932 was replaced by an overhead valve y block v8 . in 1955 the mercury lineup was expanded to three adding the montclair to the top of the lineup . as before the body shared much of its styling with the standard lincoln . for 1956 the custom was replaced by the medalist as the lowest trim model . in following with ford mercury split its station wagon line into a distinct model line for 1957 with the introduction of the base model commuter mid price voyager and woodgrain colony park . 1959 mercury park lane convertible coupe the end of the 1950s marked the beginning of increased differentiation between the lincoln and mercury product lines . for 1957 mercury was given a redesigned model lineup ; for the first time since 1948 the division did not share a common body with lincoln . while the lower end medalist was discontinued mercury gained a distinctive flagship in the turnpike cruiser . the pace car of that year s indianapolis 500 the turnpike cruiser stood out in a crowd with its gold colored fin trim and its reverse slant retractable rear window . alongside their ford counterparts mercury station wagons became a distinct model line commuter voyager and wood grain colony park . in 1958 the lincoln mercury division underwent major changes with the addition of the edsel brand . to make up for the discontinuation of the continental division lincoln was moved upmarket introducing unibody chassis cars unique to the division . positioned as a second mid price division the seven vehicle edsel range shared its three station wagons with ford ; its lower priced sedans were ford based while its higher priced sedans were mercury based . in a decision that would prove fatal to the future of the division the edsel range overlapped the entire mercury division in price with exception of the flagship mercury park lane . for the first time since 1948 the mercury line did not share its body with the lincoln having its own body for the first time ; its chassis underpinnings were shared with the edsel citation and corsair . as the largest vehicles in the mercury lineup were approaching a curb weight of 5000 pounds ford introduced its first big block v8 engine with its super marauder v8 an option in all vehicles becoming the first production engine sold with an advertised 400 hp output . for 1959 the edsel division discontinued its mercury based vehicles leaving the 1959 and 1960 mercury product lines with a body and chassis unique to the division though its engine its shared with lincoln . while the turnpike cruiser was discontinued the body of the park lane would be adopted by the rest of the mercury line in different wheelbases ; the voyager was dropped from the station wagon line . 1960s edit 1963 mercury monterey 2 door hardtop with breezeway rear window the economic recession of the late 1950s hit all mid priced car lines of american manufacturers . coupled with the recession the heavily marketed edsel division overlapped mercury completely in price ; the adoption of unibody construction by lincoln proved expensive to produce . several ford executives led by ford president robert mcnamara proposed ending the losses by streamlining ford motor company down to its namesake division . by the end of 1959 the edsel division was discontinued . after mcnamara joined the kennedy administration to become secretary of defense lincoln mercury gained a reprieve with major changes made to the model lines . the continental became the sole model for lincoln much smaller than the its predecessor . for mercury the division expanded into several model segments while returning to its roots based on the full size ford for 1961 . for 1960 a year before buick oldsmobile and pontiac mercury introduced its first compact car the mercury comet . a ford falcon with its wheelbase stretched to 114 inches the comet was sold with a 90 hp inline six becoming the first mercury ever sold without a v8 engine . originally developed to become the entry level vehicle of the edsel line the comet was sold without divisional badging until 1962 similar to the original valiant from plymouth . when the full size mercury sedan line switched from the mercury edsel platform to a ford platform for 1961 the sedan line was trimmed to the monterey . a second full size car was added the mercury meteor priced between the comet and monterey . as with the comet the meteor was stillborn edsel model that was put in production as a mercury ; effectively the 1961 meteor was the last edsel . 1964 mercury comet for 1962 mercury re organized its model line to be closer to that of ford . as ford introduced the ford fairlane mercury shifted the meteor into the intermediate segment as it was reintroduced as the counterpart of the fairlane . the division also started remarketing an image of high performance features in all of its models with s sub models of all three mercury vehicles . the s 22 comet s 33 meteor and s 55 monterey all featured high performance powertrains along with full length consoles and bucket seats