The Mercury Grand Marquis is an automobile that was sold by Mercury from 1975 to 2011. Introduced as the flagship sub-model of the Mercury Marquis, the Grand Marquis became a stand-alone model line for 1983, serving as the largest Mercury sedan. Subsequently, the model line would serve as the sedan counterpart of the Mercury Colony Park station wagon; it would later serve as the basis of the revived Mercury Marauder.
From 1979 until 2011, the Grand Marquis shared the rear-wheel drive Panther platform with the Ford LTD Crown Victoria (Ford Crown Victoria after 1992), and from 1980, the Lincoln Town Car. For over three decades, the two model lines were functionally identical, with two of the three generations of the model line sharing a common roofline. Offered nearly exclusively as a four-door sedan, a two-door sedan was offered from 1975 to 1987.
The best-selling Mercury line (after the Cougar), 2.7 million examples of the Grand Marquis were sold;[1] at 36 years, the Grand Marquis was the longest-running Mercury nameplate (the Cougar, 34 years). During its production, Ford manufactured the Grand Marquis at two facilities alongside the Mercury Marquis, Mercury Marauder, Ford (LTD) Crown Victoria sedans, and (later) the Lincoln Town Car: the St. Louis Assembly Plant in Hazelwood, Missouri (1979-1985) and the St. Thomas Assembly Plant in Southwold, Ontario, Canada (1986-2011). Though Ford announced the retirement of the Mercury brand during 2010, a limited run of 2011 model year vehicles was produced. On January 4, 2011, the final Grand Marquis was produced at St. Thomas Assembly, becoming the final Mercury branded vehicle ever produced.
1975-1978
For 1967, Mercury introduced the Mercury Marquis two-door hardtop as a divisional counterpart of the Ford LTD; in contrast to other Mercury two-door hardtops, the Marquis was fitted with a standard vinyl roof and upright rear side windows similar to the Cougar.
For 1969, the division revised its full-size range. The Monterey was retained as the standard-trim model, with the Marquis replacing the previous Montclair and Park Lane (a Marquis Brougham became the top Mercury in place of the Park Lane Brougham). The Marauder made its return as a fastback Marquis (replacing the S-55), lasting through 1970. Mercury cut its freestanding station wagon lines, with the Colony Park remaining as a Marquis-based station wagon.
The Grand Marquis name made its first appearance in 1974 as part of an interior trim package for the Marquis Brougham. In addition to a wood-trim steering wheel, the interior was fitted with leather-and-velour split-bench seats.
For 1975, all full-size Mercury sedans adopted the Marquis nameplate, as the division retired the Monterey (in use since 1950). To expand the model range upward, the Grand Marquis became the highest-trim Marquis (slotted above the Brougham). Bridging the price and content gap between the Marquis Brougham and the Lincoln Continental, the Mercury Grand Marquis gave the division a vehicle to compete against premium medium-brand sedans, including the Buick Electra 225, Oldsmobile Ninety Eight, and the Chrysler New Yorker Brougham. The Grand Marquis as offered in either a four-door "pillared hardtop" sedan or a two-door hardtop sedan body style; as with the Marquis and Colony Park (and the Lincoln Continental), hidden headlights were standard. The model line was initially fitted with a standard 460 cubic-inch V8. For 1976, in the interest of fuel economy, a 400 cubic-inch V8 became standard through 1977, with a 351 cubic-inch V8 becoming standard for 1978 (except in California where the 400 V8 was standard). Through 1978, the 460 V8 remained available as an option; all three engines were paired with a 3-speed automatic transmission. Shared with the Lincoln Continental, 4-wheel disc brakes were offered as an option.
Source: Wikipedia
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