Where did Mercury come from? You see them all over the road, yet have you ever wondered how they go there? Because we want you to get familiar with all things automobiles, we will now highlight some of the history of Mercury. Hopefully you find it interesting, and you learn something that you may not have known before.
The Birth of Mercury
Mercury was created by the Ford Motor Company in 1939. This car was done with a purpose though, not just to be a new car. It was done as a “near” luxury car, for someone who wanted something a bit fancy then a regular Ford, but did not want to spend the money required for a full fledged Lincoln model. These cars were still based on original Ford cars however.
Ford kept Mercury separate until 1945, when they complete a division merger with Lincoln, the Lincoln-Mercury Division. This was to help people associate Mercury with Lincoln, more than they would with a standard Ford. They hoped it would help its sales. With that in place, Mercury tried to jumpstart their new look with a radical new style in 1949. They called this change a move to “junior Lincoln” status, and a move away from being a gussied up Ford. That distance was widened during the 1950s through the 1970s. It saw sales peaked in 1978 at 580,000.
This was shorted lived because Mercury once again became known as Ford in the 1980s, and they saw their sales drop significantly. 1993 was one of their final monster years in which they had 480,000 sold. In recent years they have only sold approx. 200,000. A revamped style, such as the Mercury Cougar, is looking to spike sales once again and return it to major status.
The Mercury Logo
The very first Mercury logo was done after the Roman god Mercury, which is its namesake. But that was dropped in the 1950s, for just an “M,”, or as they liked it to be called, “The Big M.” But even that was dropped in the 1960s and a cougar was used all the way through the 1980s.
But the stylized “M” came charging back in the 1980s and it is still being used today. They have nicknamed it the waterfall “M” to set it apart from was the “The Big M.” They hope that this new logo will help them and their revamped styles. Their main goal to get back to the status they had held in the 1960s to 1980s. Anything less will not be tolerated. The Ford Motor Company will see to it that prestige is brought back to the Mercury name.
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