Mercury Montego

Mercury Montego at a glance

Mercury's other models are in the Mercury history on 1cars, which follows the brand from 1938 to 2011.

Montego generations

The name first appeared for 1967 in Canada, as part of the Mercury Meteor line, before it became a model of its own in the United States.

The Torino's Mercury sister: 1968–1971

For 1968 Mercury replaced the Comet Capri and Caliente with the Montego, built on the same unibody platform as the Ford Torino. Buyers could choose a two-door hardtop, a convertible, a four-door sedan or a five-door wagon in three trims: Montego, Montego MX and the more luxurious MX Brougham. The performance version, the Cyclone, was sold as a separate line from 1968 and joined the Montego range during 1971.

Engines started with the 200 cu in (3.3-litre) six, replaced as standard by the 250 cu in (4.1-litre) six in 1969, and V8s of 302, 351, 390, 428 Cobra Jet and 429 cu in. For 1970 the 390 and 428 gave way to the 429, the 351 was replaced by a new engine of the same size, the wheelbase grew by one inch (25 mm) and the convertible was dropped. The MX Villager wagon, the wagon counterpart of the MX Brougham, joined in 1970. For 1971 the Montego received an egg-crate grille, and the 429 left the list, so the 351 Cleveland became the most powerful V8.

In NASCAR, the Mercury bodies of these years were a serious force. Wikipedia credits the nose of the 1968 Cyclone fastback as the main reason it was slightly faster than its Ford counterpart, and Cale Yarborough won the Daytona 500 in a Wood Brothers Cyclone. More of that story is told in the article on the Mercury Cyclone.

Body-on-frame and the Montego GT: 1972–1976

The 1972 Montego was redesigned with the new Ford Gran Torino. It moved from unibody to body-on-frame construction with a split wheelbase: 114 in (2,896 mm) for two-door hardtops and 118 in (2,997 mm) for four-door models and wagons. Pillared hardtops replaced the true four-door hardtops. The trims were Montego, MX, MX Brougham, MX Villager and GT.

The Montego GT of 1972–1973 was a fastback, the counterpart of the Gran Torino SportsRoof, and it replaced the Cyclone, which survived for 1972 only as an option package with just 30 cars built. Engines were the 250 six and V8s of 302, 351, 400 and, from 1974, 460 cu in; for 1975 the six and the 302 were dropped and the 351 became standard.

The new car was a success at first. Sales in 1972 rose 136% over 1971; the MX Brougham two-door grew by 897% and the four-door by 1,021%. After the 1973 oil crisis demand for large mid-size cars fell. For 1974 the Mercury Cougar XR7 moved onto the Montego's two-door body, and for 1977 the Montego itself was replaced by the fourth-generation Cougar, while the Torino became the Ford LTD II.

The full-size Montego of 2005–2007

The name returned after almost 30 years on a very different car. Production began at Chicago Assembly on 12 July 2004, next to the Ford Five Hundred and Freestyle. The new Montego used the Ford D3 platform, developed with Volvo, the first full-size Ford platform with front-wheel drive; all-wheel drive was optional. It was placed above the Milan and below the Grand Marquis, and according to Wikipedia its wheelbase was about two inches shorter than the Grand Marquis's while the car weighed nearly 500 lb (227 kg) less.

The only engine was the 3.0-litre Duratec V6 with 151 kW (203 hp). Front-wheel-drive cars used an Aisin six-speed automatic, all-wheel-drive cars a ZF Batavia continuously variable transmission (CVT). There were two trims: Luxury, with cloth seats and optional leather, and Premier, with leather, optional all-wheel drive and a sunroof. HID headlamps and LED tail lamps were standard, side-impact protection came from Volvo's SIPS design, and the boot held 21 cu ft (595 l). A raised "Command Seating" position gave a higher view of the road.

From Montego to Sable

For 2008 the car received a 3.5-litre V6 with 196 kW (263 hp) and a Ford six-speed automatic. Before production started, Mercury renamed it Sable, the name of the car the Montego had replaced, and the Ford Five Hundred became the Ford Taurus.

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