Mercury (automobile)

Mercury is an automobile brand name of the Ford Motor Company founded in 1939 to market semi-luxury cars slotted between entry-level Ford and luxury Lincoln models. To this day most Mercury models are based on Ford brand platforms. Mercury was its own division at Ford until 1959 when it was combined with Lincoln and the ill-fated Edsel into the Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Division; with the demise of Edsel, it has been in the Lincoln-Mercury Division ever since.

Mercury, like the defunct Edsel, was created from scratch, rather than being a takeover of an existing company like Lincoln. Mercury's heyday was in the 1950's, when its formula of stretching and lowering existing Ford platforms was very successful.

The Mercury brand was used in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. In 1999, Mercury models were renamed as Fords in Mexico and Canada. As of 2004, Mercury's range is quite small and very similar to those sold under the Ford brand. Many industry observers have questioned whether Mercury will survive in the long term, but Ford insist that there is no intention of letting the brand die. Recent new model introductions would seem to bear that out. Its alliance with Lincoln has helped keep the brand alive; all Lincoln dealers also sell Mercury vehicles, and they desire some lower-priced vehicles in their showrooms.