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).
First generation (1967–1968)
left|thumb|1967 Mercury Marquis two-door hardtop
left|thumb|1968 Mercury Marquis
For 1967, Mercury introduced two hardtop model lines above the Park Lane to serve as the counterpart of the Ford LTD. The Park Lane Brougham was a four-door, with the Marquis offered solely as a two-door. While all full-size Mercury two-doors were hardtops, the Marquis was fitted with a standard vinyl roof giving it a wider C-pillar.
While sharing a roofline with the Ford LTD, the Marquis differed from its Ford counterpart from the use of higher-specification interior trim (wood trim in place of simulated wood, optional leather unavailable on the LTD). As with other Mercury sedans, the Marquis was built on a 123-inch wheelbase (4 inches longer than the LTD).
In contrast to the full-width bench seat of other Mercury lines, the Marquis was fitted with "Twin Comfort Lounge" front seats. Designed as a 50/50 split bench seat, the design combined the 3-passenger capacity of a bench seat with the individual legroom adjustment of bucket seats. A 4-speed manual transmission was standard, with a 3-speed automatic as an option. A 3-speed manual replaced the previous 4-speed, with the automatic returning as an option.<br>
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For 1969, Mercury underwent a revision of its full-size range. Serving as the successor to the four-door Brougham and two-door Park Lane, the second-generation Marquis was expanded to a full range of body styles, slotted above the Monterey. For 1975, the full-size Mercury range was reduced solely to the Marquis (including the Brougham and Grand Marquis trims). The wheelbase was longer on the two-door and four-door sedan than the Mercury Colony Park station wagon, the Lincoln Continental Mark III and the Lincoln Continental Mark IV while sharing the chassis with the 1970 Lincoln Continental sedan.
Front disc brake and rear drum brakes were standard; power brakes became standard in 1971. For 1973, "Sure-Track", an early form of anti-lock braking, was introduced as an option; four-wheel disc brakes became an option for 1975.
Powertrain
For the second generation of the Marquis, Mercury revised the powertrain line. Along with ending its Marauder branding for engines, Mercury replaced both the 390 and 428 FE-series engines with a 429-cubic inch 385-series V8. A short-stroke version of the Lincoln 460 V8, the Marquis offered the 429 with 2-barrel and 4-barrel carburetors (320 and 360 hp, respectively). The manual transmission was discontinued, paired solely with the 3-speed Ford C6 heavy-duty automatic. During the 1972 model year, the Marquis received the 460 from Lincoln as an option; for 1974, the 460 replaced the 429 outright.
As the 1970s progressed, Mercury began efforts to improve emissions and fuel economy of its full-size range; following the discontinuation of the Monterey and the introduction of the Grand Marquis, smaller-displacement Ford 335 engines replaced the 460 as the standard engine offering. For 1975, the 402 cubic-inch Ford 400 V8 was introduced (largely as a successor to the 429), with the 351 cubic-inch Ford 351M V8 becoming the standard engine for the Marquis in 1978. In California and for "high-altitude" use, the 400 remained standard equipment; regardless of usage, the 460 (standard on the Marquis Brougham and Grand Marquis through 1977) remained available as an option until the end of the generation. The C6 transmission remained paired to the 460, with the 400 and 351M using the lighter-duty FMX transmission.
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="7" |Second-generation Mercury Marquis powertrain specifications
|-
! rowspan="2" |Engine name
(Engine family)
! rowspan="2" |Production
! rowspan="2" |Fuel system
! rowspan="2" |Configuration
! colspan="2" |Output
! rowspan="2" |Transmission
|-
!Horsepower
!Torque
|-
|rowspan="2" |Ford 429 V8
(Ford 385 series)
||1969–1971
|2-bbl carburetor
|rowspan="2" | OHV V8
|
|
|-
|1969–1973
|4-bbl carburetor
|
|
| rowspan="2" |Ford C6 automatic (3-speed)
|-
|Lincoln 460 V8
(Ford 385 series)
|1972–1978
|4-bbl carburetor
| OHV V8
|
|
|-
|Ford 400 V8
(Ford 335 series)
|1975–1978
|2-bbl carburetor
| OHV V8
|
|
| rowspan="2" |Ford FMX automatic (3-speed)
|-
|Ford 351M
(Ford 335 series)
|1978
|2-bbl carburetor
| OHV V8
|
|
|}
Body design
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.
<gallery widths="200" heights="135">
File:1969 Mercury Marquis sedan.jpg|1969 Marquis sedan
File:1969 Mercury Marquis sedan 2.jpg|1969 Marquis sedan (side view)
File:1970 Mercury Marquis (4555868089).jpg|1970 Marquis Convertible (with non-standard wheels)
File:Mercury Marquis Colony Park Station Wagon (1970) - 21698013816.jpg|1970 Marquis Colony Park station wagon
File:1971 Mercury Marquis - Flickr - denizen24 (1).jpg|1971 Mercury Marquis 2-door hardtop
File:1971 Mercury Marquis station wagon, front left (ISWC meet, July 15, 2023).jpg|1971 Mercury Marquis station wagon
File:1972 Mercury Marquis Brougham 2-door Hardtop, front right (Hershey 2019).jpg|1972 Mercury Marquis Brougham 2-Door Hardtop
File:1972 Mercury Marquis Brougham 2-door Hardtop, rear right (Hershey 2019).jpg|1972 Marquis Brougham two-door, rear view
</gallery>
1973–1978
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.
<gallery widths="200" heights="135">
File:Mercury Marquis BW 2016-07-17 13-06-12 (cropped).jpg|1973 Marquis 2-door hardtop
File:1974 Mercury Marquis Brougham Sedan (46771501072).jpg|1974 Marquis Brougham 4-door pillared hardtop
File:1974 Mercury Marquis Brougham (cropped).jpg|1974 Marquis Brougham 2-door hardtop
File:'75 Mercury Marquis (Auto classique Combos Express '13).JPG|1975 Marquis 2-Door Hardtop
File:1976 Mercury Colony Park.jpg|1976 Mercury Marquis Colony Park
File:1977 Mercury Marquis Brougham.jpg|1977 Marquis Brougham 2-door hardtop
File:1978 Mercury Marquis side.jpg|1978 Marquis Brougham two-door hardtop, side profile
File:1978 Mercury Marquis rear.jpg|1978 Marquis Brougham two-door hardtop, rear view
File:Mercury Marquis Brougham (1978).jpg|1978 Marquis Brougham four-door pillared hardtop
File:Mercury Marquis Brougham (1978) - rear.jpg|1978 Marquis Brougham four-door pillared hardtop, rear view
File:1978 Mercury Colony Park station wagon, front left.jpeg|1978 Marquis Colony Park
File:1978 Mercury Colony Park station wagon, dashboard.jpg|1978 Marquis Colony Park interior
</gallery>
Trim
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.