Mercury Marquis: История Модели и Поколения

The Mercury Marquis is a model line of automobiles marketed by Mercury from 1967 to 1986. Deriving its name from a title of French nobility, the Marquis was introduced as the divisional counterpart of the Ford LTD; four generations of the two model lines were paired through rebranding. Initially slotted as the flagship Mercury full size range (above the Monterey), the Marquis would serve as the basis for the later Mercury Grand Marquis. The first three generations of the Marquis were full size sedans (alongside the Mercury Colony Park station wagon). For the fourth generation, the Marquis became the mid size Mercury sedan, following the 1983 split of the Marquis and Grand Marquis into distinct product lines. As Ford Motor Company expanded its use of front wheel drive, the Marquis ended production after the 1986 model year, replaced by the Mercury Sable (the Mercury counterpart of the Ford Taurus). As the Grand Marquis, the nameplate continued on until the closure of Mercury during the 2011 model year. For its first three generations, the Mercury Marquis was produced by Ford in Hapeville, Georgia (Atlanta Assembly), Hazelwood, Missouri (St. Louis Assembly), and Pico Rivera, California (Los Angeles Assembly); the fourth generation was produced by Atlanta Assembly and in Chicago, Illinois (Chicago Assembly).

The second generation Marquis was expanded from the previous two door hardtop to a full range of body styles, inheriting the four door hardtop from the Brougham and four door sedan and two door convertible from the Park Lane series. Under the 1969 rebranding of Ford and Mercury station wagons, the Colony Park station wagon became part of the Marquis line. Alongside the woodgrained Colony Park, a Marquis station wagon (without wood paneling) was introduced. For 1971, the Marquis underwent a revision of the exterior and interior; the convertible body style was dropped (along with the Marauder fastback). Distinguished by the elimination of vent windows and framed door glass (for sedans and station wagons), Mercury saw the introduction of the "pillared hardtop", a sedan combining a thin B pillar and frameless door glass (to mimic the appearance of a pillarless design). The revision also included the use of fender skirts and wraparound taillamps. The dashboard underwent a redesign, clustering the instruments and controls closer to the steering wheel. For 1972, the grille shifted to an egg crate design (with a similar panel between the taillamps). In line with federal mandates, the Marquis adopted seatbelt warning buzzers.

For 1973, the Marquis underwent an extensive mid cycle revision. Largely coinciding with the addition of 5 mph bumpers for the front and rear fascias, the roofline of the Marquis saw a complete redesign.). For 1974, the grille underwent a redesign (nearly matching that of the Lincoln Continental), shifting to a vertically oriented layout and eliminating the egg crate trim of the headlamp covers. Following their addition to the front fascia, the Marquis received 5 mph rear bumpers. In response to pending safety regulations, the four door hardtop was offered for the last time. For 1975, the front fascia saw several revisions, with a larger radiator style grille (with the "Mercury" block lettering replaced by a script above the left headlamp); in contrast to the Ford LTD Landau and the Lincoln Continental, the headlamp doors were revised with chrome border trim and a crest emblem. The rear fascia received padded vinyl trim (body color or contrasting) between the taillamps. While Ford and Lincoln added B pillars (and opera windows) to their two door sedans, Mercury retained its hardtop roofline. For 1976 though 1978, the Marquis saw few visible changes; in 1976, a Landau vinyl roof option was introduced for Brougham and Grand Marquis two doors, while all versions of the Marquis were marketed as "Ride Engineered" (promoting its successful ride comparisons against more expensive European sedans of the time). For 1978, the Marquis was given a redesigned grille, retaining a similar radiator style design. Alongside the 1978 Chrysler New Yorker two door, the 1978 Mercury Marquis was the final pillarless two door hardtop (with retractable rear side windows) offered by an American automobile manufacturer.

In 1969, Mercury adopted the Brougham name from the Park Lane series, continuing its use as the highest Mercury trim line. Following the discontinuation of the Monterey after 1974, all full size Mercury sedans took on the Marquis nameplate. the Grand Marquis became a stand alone trim line above the Brougham for 1975. From 1969 to 1978, the Colony Park was included as part of the Marquis model range, with Mercury also offering a non woodgrain Marquis station wagon.

In conjunction with its downsizing, the 1979 redesign of the Ford and Mercury full size lines transitioned towards increased parts commonality between the Mercury Marquis and its Ford LTD divisional counterpart. Along with sharing a common wheelbase, the two model lines shared nearly their entire bodyshell; many non visible components were shared with the Lincoln Continental/Town Car and Continental Mark VI. The Marquis was offered in a two door sedan (replacing the previous hardtop), four door sedan (replacing the pillared hardtop sedan), and five door station wagon (as a wood trim Colony Park or body color Marquis wagon); each body style used its own door design. Though sharing the same body as its Ford counterpart, the Marquis was externally distinguished by several styling elements carried over from the previous generation. While the LTD was styled with an egg crate grille design, the Marquis received a vertically oriented grille (similar to the 1978 Marquis and the 1980 Cougar XR7). The front parking lamps were styled similar to the 1975 1978 Marquis (hidden headlamps were abandoned in favor of quad rectangular headlamps); full width taillamps (in contrast to the square taillamps of the LTD) returned, now bordering the license plate (relocated from the rear bumper). Instead of the rear vinyl roof used on LTD four doors, the Marquis four door was styled with a full length vinyl roof (standard on all but base trim examples, where it was an option). Similar to the Mark V and Mark VI, the Marquis was styled with non functional) fender louvers behind the front wheels (and vents in the front bumper). For 1981, the vents were removed from the front bumper (for 1982, they were deleted from the fenders). Alongside trim and badging details, the full size Ford and Mercury sedan interiors were styled with their own dashboard designs; the previous two spoke steering wheel was replaced by a four spoke design. While the LTD received a horizontal full width speedometer, the Marquis received two square pods for the instrument panel (with white face instrument bezels). For 1982, a digital trip computer was introduced as an option (replacing the analog clock in the dashboard).

The third generation Marquis carried over its trim nomenclature from the previous generation. Alongside the standard Marquis, Mercury also sold the Marquis Brougham and the top trim Grand Marquis. The woodgrain trim Colony Park was trimmed as either a Marquis or a Grand Marquis (dependent on options Along with its Ford LTD counterpart, police use versions of the Marquis were fitted with a model specific speedometer

For 1983, the fourth generation Marquis was introduced as Mercury shifted the nameplate to the midsize segment to replace the slow selling Cougar sedan and station wagon. Within Mercury, the Cougar XR 7 was replaced by a redesigned two door Cougar, with all full size Mercury sedans adopting the Grand Marquis nameplate. Effectively downsizing the model range for a second time, the 1983 Marquis shed nearly 9 inches in wheelbase, nearly 16 inches in length, and up to 900 pounds of curb weight (dependent on powertrain and bodystyle). As with previous generations, the fourth generation Marquis was the Mercury counterpart of the Ford LTD (in 1983, rebranded to replace the Granada). Coinciding with the design change, production of the model line shifted from St. Louis Assembly to Chicago Assembly (Atlanta Assembly adopted production of the fourth generation Marquis). Ford Venezuela marketed the Mercury Marquis (under slight trim revisions) as the Ford Cougar from 1983 to 1985. As Ford transitioned its car platforms to front wheel drive, the Marquis was replaced by the Mercury Sable, with Mercury selling both lines for 1986.

The fourth generation Marquis was produced as a four door sedan and as a five door station wagon (the two door was discontinued, with the Cougar becoming the sole Mercury mid size coupe. Sharing its entire bodyshell with its Ford LTD, the Marquis was distinguished by its own grille, taillamps, and parking lamp lenses. For the 1985 model year, the Marquis underwent a minor exterior revision; along with revised taillamps, Mercury lettering in the grille was replaced with a centered crest emblem. The interior of the Marquis and LTD was largely shared between the two model lines (with the exception of the interior door panels). To save development costs, the Marquis retained the dashboard design of the Cougar XR 7 coupe (mixing wood and silver trim), adopting its electronic instrument panel option. Adopted from the full size Marquis and the Cougar XR 7, the Marquis continued the use of an electronic trip computer.

For the 1986 model year, Mercury introduced the front wheel drive Mercury Sable, replacing the Marquis as its mid size model line; both models were sold concurrently through the 1986 model year. The final example was produced by Atlanta Assembly on December 13, 1985 and by Chicago Assembly on January 3, 1986. Originally introduced as the third generation Marquis in 1979, the design of the Grand Marquis was produced nearly unchanged through the 1991 model year. After an extensive redesign (though retaining the Panther chassis) for 1992, the Grand Marquis remained in production for 19 model years, becoming the final vehicle produced for the brand in January 2011.