Mercury Monterey

Mercury Monterey
1972 Mercury Monterey 4-door hardtop
Overview
Manufacturer	Mercury (Ford)
Production	1952–1974
Assembly	Main plant Wayne, Michigan[1] (Branch assembly) St. Louis, Missouri Maywood, California Pico Rivera, California Metuchen, New Jersey
Body and chassis
Class	Full-size
Body style	4-door sedan 2-door sedan 2-door coupe
Layout	FR layout
Chronology
Predecessor	Mercury Eight
Successor	Mercury Marquis

The Mercury Monterey is a series of full-size cars that were manufactured and marketed by the Mercury division of Ford from 1950 to 1974. Deriving its name from Monterey Bay, the initial Mercury Monterey served as the top-of-the-line two-door sedan model for 1950 and 1951 to compete with the hardtop models of Oldsmobile and Buick. It came with a vinyl roof covering, upgraded upholstery, and other features. The hardtop was introduced for 1952. During its production, the Monterey would be offered in multiple body styles, ranging from coupes, convertibles, sedans, hardtops, and station wagons.

Over its 22 years of production, the Monterey served variously as the flagship, mid-range, and entry-level offering of the full-size Mercury product range. The only Mercury nameplate to be in continuous production throughout the 1960s,^[2] the Monterey was positioned above the Medalist, Custom, and Meteor; later, it was positioned below the Turnpike Cruiser, Montclair, Park Lane, and finally the Marquis.

Following the 1974 model year, Mercury discontinued the Monterey, consolidating its full-size range down to the Marquis and Colony Park station wagon. For 2004, the Monterey nameplate was revived, becoming the counterpart of the Ford Freestar minivan; it was produced through the 2007 model year.