The Mercury Colony Park is an American luxury full-size station wagon that was marketed by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company between 1957 and 1991. Distinguished by its simulated wood-grain paneling, the Colony Park was marketed as either the premium-trim or the sole full-size station wagon offering of the division. Following the 1960 demise of Edsel, full-size Mercury vehicles shared bodywork with Ford; the Colony Park served as the counterpart of the Ford Country Squire through 1991.
Serving as the flagship, and more exclusive, station wagon series of the Ford Motor Company — as the Lincoln division has not offered a factory-produced station wagon — the Colony Park was marketed against the similar Chrysler Town & Country prior to its 1979 downsizing, and GM's Buick Estate and Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, each also offering external (simulated) woodgrain trim. During the mid-1950s and '60s, the Mercury Commuter was briefly offered as a lower-priced alternative to the Colony Park without the simulated woodgrain appearance, but lost sales to the very similar Ford Country Sedan and Ford Ranch Wagon and was cancelled in 1968, leaving the Colony Park as the only Mercury station wagon. In 1976, American Motors Corporation introduced the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, with similar passenger accommodation, luxury standard equipment and a simulated woodgrain appearance built on a dedicated chassis.
Through the late 1980s, demand for full-size station wagons declined as consumer interests shifted towards minivans and four-door SUVs. As the Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis underwent a major redesign for the 1992 model year, the two model lines dropped the station wagon body from the lineup. Up to the 2010 closure of the Mercury brand, the Colony Park was not directly replaced.
Background
Following the 1952 introduction of the Mercury Monterey, Mercury expanded its model range for 1953 by adding a station wagon (its first four-door station wagon since 1941). Sharing its roofline, three-row seating configuration, and two-piece tailgate design with the Ford Country Squire, the Monterey station wagon was fitted with exterior woodgrain trim as standard equipment. By 1955, the Monterey and the Country Squire had become the only station wagons sold with the feature ( genuine wood had been replaced by simulated materials (far less expensive and essentially maintenance-free).
For the 1957 redesign of its model range, Mercury split its sedans and station wagons into distinct model ranges (echoing a change made by Ford for 1955). The Monterey became the standard Mercury sedan, slotted below the mid-range Montclair and flagship Turnpike Cruiser. The station wagon range was introduced as a base-trim Mercury Commuter and mid-price Mercury Voyager; both lines were offered in two-door and four-door configurations. Offered only as a four-door wagon, the Colony Park served as the flagship of the model line. To position the model upmarket (against the Buick Estate and the Chrysler Town & Country), the Colony Park was styled with exterior woodgrain trim.
To further distinguish the model range from Ford (and Edsel) wagons, all Mercury wagons were given hardtop rooflines. Though offered optionally by AMC, Buick, and Oldsmobile, Mercury was the only American-brand manufacturer to offer hardtop rooflines as standard equipment for all station wagon models.