Ford reported that the Mercury name had a 74% decline in sales since 2000. Those are low numbers indeed, but the Merc label did retain some brand loyalty – the same company which gave us the Cougar muscle car and 1940’s Hot Rod Mercury Coupes.

The company began as a Ford offshoot in 1939 by Edsel Ford. “The All New Mercury” started off selling two-door coupes and large family sedans, all made without a huge influence from Ford design. During the muscle car era, Mercury became infamous with its sexy and fun to drive Cougar. That model continues into the late 90’s, before it (the last original Mercury vehicle) was laid to rest.

Mercury tried to re-imagine itself over the past few years – with sexy lady Jill Wagner (pictured above, shooting a Mercury Tracer at 500 rounds per second) selling you the Milan and Mariner. But alas – no one was buying. Why get a Mercury Milan when you can buy a Ford Taurus? Then the gas crisis came. Then the economic crisis came. Then…cash for clunkers. It was a no win scenario.

But why are we poorer for losing a non-original make like Mercury? Because it was American, it was iconic and patriotic. We have already lost Pontiac, a company that had potential, but none were brave enough to invest.

Like them, Mercury has plenty of ideas, they could have taken chances – when your back is against the wall all you have left are chances. But it is easier for the auto companies to close assembly lines, lay off employees and cut production – try to salvage any bit of green so their Christmas bonuses are fat. And in the end, we lose a bit of what it means to be a motorhead in America. That makes us poorer.

Originally posted on our sister site, Automopedia.org

Your average 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis was a two-door coupe with two-tone paint and a V6 or V8 engine. Don’t forget the sleeves over it’s rear wheels. Over the years, Marquis grew from a two-door to famous four-door passenger friendly vehicle – making appearances as taxi cabs and police cars, much like its Ford counterpart Crown Victoria.

Throughout the 90’s Mercury made the Grand Marquis even larger and more rounded – again taking design cues from the Crown Vic. Today, the car is a beast of an automobile. Large and in charge, the car still sells well and can be found (again) as livery cabs and even used in limo services. Also, first time drivers are still pretending to be cops when they buy a used Grand Marquis.

Mercury’s first Marauder hit the streets in 1963 as a two-door with V8 engine under her hood. This design remained popular until the end of Marauder’s first run in 1965. Its fastback roof design was typical of 60’s Marauders was used in the Ford Galaxie NASCAR racer, which brought the Ford/Merc team numerous wins during its ‘63 – ‘64 series.

Mercury brought the Marauder tag back in 1969 for a second round, this time in the form of a large two-and-four-door luxury model. You could pick up a Marauder with 390 cubic-inch engine or a Marauder-X with a more powerful 429 cubic-inch plant. Like the 21st century Marauders, its 1969 – ‘70 run shared many external design aspects with the Marquis. Inside, one would find bucket seats and a floor console U-shaped automatic transmission shifter. Ford/Mercury produced 15,000 Marauders for 1969 and a third of that for 1970 before canceling the second run.

2003 brought the Marauder back for a third run, building the larger engine into a stock Grand Marquis/Crown Victoria body and marketing it as a “high performance sedan.” Many of the suspension and brake features standard in this generation’s Mercury Marauder came from the Police Interceptor Ford Crown Vic’s. Marauder was also the only car before 2006 to have a factory standard tachometer. 10,782 Marauders were produced before production ended in late 2004. Now, if Mercury can get past a current sales slump, and history repeats itself, we may see a fourth generation Marauder further down the road.

Photos courtesy of Wikipedia