For all former chairman Alfred P. Sloan's rhetoric about cars for every price and purpose, the main reason General Motors has a surplus of middle-class brands is that it started out that way. General Motors was originally formed as a conglomerate of other, existing automakers: Buick, Oldsmobile, Oakland (the predecessor of Pontiac), and Cadillac were all independent automakers before becoming part of GM. The same was true of Chrysler's Dodge Division; the Dodge Brothers were selling cars long before the formation of the Chrysler Corporation.

While Ford's Lincoln division was originally a separate company that Henry Ford had acquired in the early twenties, Mercury was created out of whole cloth in the late thirties. It was founded at the urging of Ford Motor Company president Edsel Ford, Henry Ford's only son, who had been concerned for several years about the vast price gap between the most expensive Ford and the cheapest Lincoln. Henry Ford, whose interests lay almost entirely in the low-price field, wasn't particularly concerned, but Edsel recognized that the company was losing a lot of middle-class buyers. Customers who wanted something bigger or fancier than a Ford, but who couldn't afford a Lincoln, were simply leaving for Pontiac, DeSoto, or other middle-priced rivals.

Development of the first middle-class Ford began in July 1937, led by engineer Larry Sheldrick and Ford design director Bob Gregorie. It was in almost every respect a bigger version of the standard Ford; its chassis, suspension, and running gear were nearly identical, and it used a bored-out version of Ford's familiar flathead V8. Edsel even wanted to call it the Ford-Mercury, but Gregorie and the Ford sales organization eventually convinced him that it was better to brand the new model as a separate entity.

The first Mercury bowed in October 1938 as a 1939 model. Although its obvious Ford origins earned it some derision, it was reasonably popular, selling about 69,000 its first year, more than 81,000 in 1940. Its bigger engine, with about 10 more horsepower (7.5 kW) more than the regular Ford V8, made it particularly popular with hot-rodders, and postwar Mercurys became a favorite of customizers. By 1949, it had topped 300,000 sales a year.


The 1948-1950 Mercury coupe was a popular basis for "lead sleds" and other customs, particularly in 1949, when its flathead V8 was stroked from 239 cu. in. (3.9 L) to 255 cu. in. (4.2 L), raising rated horsepower to 110 (82 kW).

TURNPIKE CRUISER

Mercury sold well through the mid-fifties, which inspired Ford management to add a new mid-price division, Edsel, in between Ford and Mercury. Mercury, in turn, moved upscale; rather than using an enlarged Ford body, it got a new body shell shared with the upper-series Edsels. There was also a new top-of-the-line model for 1957, the Turnpike Cruiser.


Mercury sold very well in 1955 and 1956. This is a 1956 Montclair hardtop, with the 312 cu. in. (5.1 L) Y-block V8 with up to 225 gross horsepower (168 kW).

The Turnpike Cruiser had originated as a 1956 show car called the XM-Cruiser, styled by Don DeLaRossa under Mercury studio chief Elwood P. Engel. Its most novel feature was an unusual roof treatment Mercury dubbed "Breezeway." Possibly inspired by the contemporary Packard Predictor show car, it had reverse-slant C-pillars with a rear window that could be opened for ventilation. The Breezeway roof gave the Turnpike Cruiser a unique silhouette, and it allowed both excellent ventilation and fine headroom for rear-seat passengers. The big Lincoln Continentals of 1958-1960 offered a similar roofline.

Unfortunately, the big Mercurys, like the Edsel, had the misfortune to arrive at the same time s the 1957-1958 Eisenhower Recession. Even if the public had loved their styling and features, which they evidently did not, all mid-price brands were hit hard by the economic downturn. Mercury's sales fell from almost 328,000 in 1956 to 153,271 in 1958 and just under 150,000 for 1959. The Turnpike Cruiser died quickly, and by 1961, Mercury had returned to its traditional niche as a plusher Ford.

BREEZEWAY MARK TWO

The Mercury line was all new in 1963, although it still shared the body shell of the big Ford. For reasons now obscure, Mercury stylists decided to revive the Breezeway roof. We're not sure why, since neither the Turnpike Cruiser nor the 1958-1960 Continentals had been particularly successful. It appears that the styling of the '63 Mercurys was originally intended for the 1964 Fords, so it's possible that the designers intended to use the Breezeway roof on the full-size Ford line, creating a styling 'trickle-down' effect. For whatever reason, the Breezeway ended up a Mercury exclusive. It was offered in four variations: two- and four-door pillared sedans and two- and four-door pillared hardtops.


All big Mercurys in 1963-1965 had a standard 390 cu. in. (6.3L) V8, with 250 gross horsepower (186 kW) from a single 2-bbl carburetor. With well over two tons (1,900 kg) of curb weight, progress was best described as 'stately.' With the base engine, 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) took around 12 seconds, with a top speed of around 105 mph (169 kph). Three-speed manual was theoretically standard, but the vast majority had three-speed Cruise-O-Matic.

If nothing else, the Breezeway roof did serve to differentiate the Mercury line from the big Fords. However, that distinction was muddied midway through the 1963 model year when Mercury added a more conventional-looking Marauder hardtop to the line, sharing the sleek "slantback" roof of the 1963-1/2 big Fords. The slantback roof had been introduced for the benefit of Ford's NASCAR racers, and its appearance on the Marauder was intended to support Mercury's own return to racing in 1963. As a result, the slantback Marauder was far more heavily featured in Mercury advertising than the Breezeway, even though the latter accounted for the bulk of Mercury's full-size sales.


The center section of the window can be lowered electrically, allowing good ventilation with less wind noise than driving with the windows opened. Thanks to the roof overhang, it can be opened even in light rain with little fear of rear passengers getting wet.

Mercury buyers weren't blown away by the looks of the Breezeway, and Mercury's total 1963 sales were down nearly 40,000 units from 1962; the compact and mid-size lines outsold the big Breezeway cars by a significant margin. Sales were little better the face-lifted '64s, which deleted the four-door hardtop Breezeway in favor of a four-door version of the Marauder hardtop. Business rallied a bit for '65 and '66, but model-for-model sales of the full-size cars were depressing; only the four-door sedans broke into the five-figure range.


This is a '64 Montclair sedan, the most popular body style, although that meant only 15,520 sales. Base price was $3,116. It's an enormous car: 215.5 inches (5,474 mm) long on a 120-inch (3,048-mm) wheelbase, tipping the scales at around 4,500 pounds (2,040 kg).


The big Mercury had nautical handling, even by the standards of its time. Brakes, 11-inch (279-mm) drums all round, were also barely adequate for its ponderous weight. In consolation, build quality for Fords and Mercurys of this vintage was excellent, and survivors are surprisingly solid, particularly given their age.

At various times, Mercury had had a reputation as a fairly hot car, but the Breezeway cars were not particularly fast. A handful of '63-'64 big Mercs were ordered with Ford's 427 cu. in. (7.0 L) V8, in either single-quad (410 hp, 306 kW) or dual-quad (425 hp, 317 kW)) form, which trimmed the big Merc's 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) times to less than 8 seconds and gave it a top speed of over 130 mph (210 kph), but the 427 was rare, expensive, and finicky. It was definitely a specialist engine: it could only be ordered with the optional four-speed manual, and it couldn't be had with power steering, power brakes, or air conditioning -- the belts wouldn't stay on at the 6,000+ rpm engine speeds of which the 427 was capable.


Big Fords and Mercurys in 1964 still used Hotchkiss drive in the rear, a live axle on multi-leaf springs. The springs were softened for a smoother ride, which led to poor axle control and a sea-sick quality on rough pavement. '65 cars adopted a three-link, coil spring suspension instead.

WITHER MERCURY?

Mercury dropped the unusual roof style after 1966, although they continued to offer a less dramatic version of the retractable rear window for a few more years. It was obsolete by the late sixties, since the same effect could be achieved with a good flow-through ventilation system -- something Ford pioneered in the U.S. on the 1964-1966 Thunderbird. By 1970, Mercury was back to being a fancier big Ford.


By 1968, Mercury had reverted to more conventional roof lines; this is a 1968 Marquis hardtop.

Since then, Mercury has made occasional stabs at offering unique products, usually "captive imports" like the European Ford Capri, the Nissan-based Villager, and the Australian Capri roadster, seldom with much enthusiasm. Ford seems to lack either the will or the resources to seriously distinguish the division from its Ford mate.

Why Ford keeps Mercury alive is an interesting question. It does not appear that re-badging Fords lets them sell more cars -- at this point, any additional prestige the Mercury name might have carried is long gone, and it's unlikely that anyone is buying a Mercury who wouldn't buy the same thing with a Ford badge. A more significant reason is that Mercury is paired with Lincoln. Having products to sell other than Lincolns helps to keep those dealerships afloat, particularly given the ongoing "die-off" of Lincoln's traditional buyers. Still, one may question the logic of offering multiple, badge-engineered variations of cars for which buyers seem to have only mild enthusiasm to begin with.

Rumors have been flying for the past few years that Ford CEO Alan Mulally will finally pull the plug on Mercury, but Ford has yet to issue a definitive statement one way or the other. It appears that in the corporate mindset Edsel Ford's original logic holds true: Mercury may not be a great brand, but it fills a gap they think needs to be filled.

If we must have Mercury, though, maybe a little genuine wackiness wouldn't hurt. Where are those Breezeway windows when we need them?

Our sources for this article included the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, "1963-1968 Mercury Breezeway" (20 August 2007, HowStuffWorks.com, http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1963-1968-mercury-breezeway.htm, accessed 23 August 2007); the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, Encyclopedia of American Cars: Over 65 Years of Automotive History, (Lincolnwood, IL: Publications, International, 1996); Michael Lamm and David L. Lewis, "The First Mercury & How It Came to Be," Special Interest Autos #23 (July-August 1974), Michael Lamm, "Gizmobile," Special Interest Autos #15 (February-March 1973); and Tim Howley, "1964 Mercury Marauder: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Car," Special Interest Autos #162 (November-December 1997), reprinted in Richard A. Lentinello, ed., The Hemmings Book of Mercurys: Drive Reports from Special Interest Autos Magazine (Hemmings Motor News Collector-Car Books) (Bennington, VT: Hemmings Motor News, 2002); "1963 Mercury Monterey," Automobile Topics, October 1962; Wayne Thoms, "Mercury Road Test," Motor Trend, March 1963); "Mercury 427 Super Marauder S-55," Car Life, April 1963; Jim Wright, "1964 Mercury Road Test," Motor Trend, October 1963; and "Mercury Park Lane and Monterey: A Career Girl Emerges with Manners and Taste," Car Life, January 1965, all of which are reprinted in R.M. Clarke, Mercury Gold Portfolio 1947-1966 (Cobham, Surrey: Brooklands Books Ltd., 2006).

Further information on the birth of Mercury came from Benson Ford Research Center researcher Dave Crippen's 1985 interview with Bob Gregorie ("Reminiscences of Eugene T. Gregorie," 4 February 1985, Automotive Design Oral History Project, Benson Ford Research Center, University of Michigan, http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Design/Gregorie_interview.htm (transcript), accessed 20 August 2007).

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