Company type | Division |
---|---|
Industry | Automotive |
Founded | November 4, 1938 |
Founder | Edsel Ford |
Defunct | September 4, 2011[1] |
Fate | Discontinued[2][3] |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Edsel Ford, founder |
Products | Automobiles |
Parent | Ford Motor Company |
Mercury was a brand of mid-priced automobiles produced by American manufacturer Ford Motor Company between 1938 and 2011 with 1939 being the first model year. It stood as its own line within Ford until 1945, and thereafter formed half of Ford's Lincoln-Mercury Division. The brand was created by Edsel Ford in 1938 to bridge the gap between the Ford and Lincoln model lines.
In addition to serving as a combined sales network for Ford's two premium automotive brands, Lincoln-Mercury also represented the Continental (1956–1960), Edsel (1958–1960, formally designated Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Division), Comet (1960-1961),[4] and Merkur (1985–1989, forming Lincoln-Mercury-Merkur). Through the use of platform sharing and manufacturing commonality, Mercury vehicles shared components and engineering with Ford or Lincoln (or both concurrently), serving as counterparts for vehicles from both divisions.
Following an extended decline in sales and market share for Mercury, Ford announced the closure of the division at the end of 2010.[5][6][3]