Mercury Medalist

Mercury Medalist
Mercury Medalist
	1956 Mercury Medalist 2-Door Sedan with optional "Flo-tone" paint combination of Niagara Blue over Classic White
Overview
Manufacturer	Mercury (Ford)
Model years	1956; 1958
Assembly	Main plant; Wayne, Michigan; (Branch assembly); St. Louis, Missouri; Pico Rivera, California; Metuchen, New Jersey
Body and chassis
Class	Full-size
Body style	2-door sedan (1956 & 1958) ; 2-door hardtop Sport Coupe (1956) ; 4-door sedan (1956 & 1958) ; 4-door hardtop (1956)
Layout	FR layout
Related	Mercury Custom; Mercury Monterey; Mercury Montclair
Powertrain
Engine	312 cu in (5.1 L) Ford Y-block V8 (1956 & 1958) ; 430 cu in (7.0 L) Ford MEL V8 (1958)
Transmission	3-speed manual; 3-speed Merc-O-Matic automatic; Touch-O-Matic overdrive
Dimensions
Wheelbase	119 in (3,023 mm) (1956); 122 in (3,099 mm) (1958)
Length	206.3 in (5,240 mm) (1956); 213.2 in (5,415 mm) (1958)
Width	76.4 in (1,941 mm) (1956); 81.1 in (2,060 mm) (1958)
Height	60.6 in (1,539 mm) (1956); 56.1 in (1,425 mm) (1958)
Curb weight	3,530 lb (1,601 kg) (1956); 3,875 lb (1,758 kg) (1958)

The Mercury Medalist is an automobile which was produced by Mercury for the 1956 model year and was similar to the Ford Customline in market segment.^[2]

The Medalist was introduced as a two-door sedan only in September 1955 as Mercury's low-price model.^[2] It was positioned below the Custom, Monterey and Montclair models and replaced the entry-level status the Custom previously held.^[2] A four-door sedan, a two door hardtop and a four-door hardtop were added midyear at which time the Medalist was given full series status.^[2] It was offered only with a 312 cubic inch V8 engine.^[2]^[1] The standard items included textured vinyl upholstery, rubber floor mats, and chrome front and rear window surround mouldings, and a rear quarter panel body side stainless steel trim. Optional items included a heater and windshield defroster, "Travel-Tuner" signal seeking AM radio, padded instrument panel, seat belts, power adjustable front seat, power windows, power steering, power brakes, white wall tires mounted on 15 in (381 mm) steel wheels and auxiliary road lamps.^[1] All Mercury's for 1955 offered a canted hood over the headlights previously introduced on the Mercury XM-800 concept car from 1954.

For 1956, Mercury introduced two types of two-tone paint combinations, offering the traditional approach of a roof color over a different body color, and "Flo-tone" where the roof and lower body were painted in one color and the upper body painted in another color. There were a total of thirty-one two-tone combinations and twenty-eight "Flo-tone" combinations.^[1] The listed retail price was US$2,254 ($25,260 in 2023 dollars ^[3]) for the 2-Door Sedan and 20,582 were assembled.^[1]

The Medalist was discontinued along with the Custom for the 1957 model year with the Monterey now the base model in that year's Mercury range.^[4]

The Medalist returned in 1958 once again as the entry-level Mercury as either a 2-door or 4-door sedan and no hardtop roofline was offered. Sixteen standard colors were offered, along with cloth and vinyl upholstery, full carpeting, an electric clock, and chrome window surrounding on the front and rear windows. Two engine choices and a choice of either a 3-speed manual or Merc-O-Matic automatic transmission with available Touch-O-Matic overdrive were available as extra cost options. Other optional equipment listed heater and defroster, air conditioning, AM-radio, tinted glass, 4-way power adjustable front seat, power windows, power steering, power brakes, and a padded instrument panel. Production records show a total of 18,732 2-door and 4-door sedans were manufactured with an average listed price of US$2,582 ($27,267 in 2023 dollars ^[3]), and was the last year the Medalist nameplate was used.^[1]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Flory Jr., J. "Kelly" (2008). American Cars, 1946-1959 Every Model Every Year. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-3229-5.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e John Gunnell, Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975, Revised 4th Edition, pages 515 and 516
^ ^a ^b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
^ J P Cavanaugh, January 28, 2019, Curbside Classic: 1956 Mercury Medalist – The Big M, www.curbsideclassic.com Retrieved 20 March 2022

[flory_50s-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Flory Jr., J. "Kelly" (2008). American Cars, 1946-1959 Every Model Every Year. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-3229-5.

[Gunnell-2] John Gunnell, Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975, Revised 4th Edition, pages 515 and 516

[inflation-US-3] 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.

[curbsideclassic-4] J P Cavanaugh, January 28, 2019, Curbside Classic: 1956 Mercury Medalist – The Big M, www.curbsideclassic.com Retrieved 20 March 2022

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