Mercury, a division of Ford Motor Company, was started by Edsel Ford in the 1930s as a way to reach the market of people who wanted something more than a Ford but less than a Lincoln. The idea was a good one, with their first car, the 1939 Mercury Eight, a huge success. Their growth continued in the 1940s, with the company starting to focus on a few areas of car design - style, performance and cutting edge technology. The brand really got a boost after an appearance in Rebel Without a Cause with James Dean.
In the 50s, Mercury continued to make a lot of technological advances, making them even more popular with a certain segment of the American population. In the 1960s, Mercury had a couple models become really popular. Toward the end of the 60s, the Mercury Cougar made its appearance, taking its place in the American Muscle Car history books. That was a marvelous time for high performance automobiles and Mercury definitely had their hat in the ring. In cities like Chicago all over the country, you could hear the load engines underneath the calm and classy exteriors (especially the Mercury Cougar.)
During the 70s and 80s, while other car companies were having problems because they had no models that targeted those who wanted good gas mileage instead of a lot of power, Mercury was charging ahead by bringing out new models like the Mercury Bobcat that targeted a market who wanted to get better gas mileage. This was extremely important in cities like Chicago at the time.
If you're looking for a great used Mercury, use the drop-down below to find one in or near Chicago.
