The First Mercury

In 1938 Edsel Ford wanted to bridge the gap between its highly successful Ford line and its luxury Lincoln automobiles. Enter the Mercury. As a middle price point marque it was up against the likes of the top tier Oldsmobiles, Dodges and Hudsons as well as the entry level Buicks and DeSotos. Ford thought they could put a huge dent in the buying public for this price point.

The very first Mercury came out in 1938. The Mercury 8 would be the company's only offering, though in various guises, until 1951. The main idea behind the 8, as it was known, was to make a big car economical.

With a wheelbase of 116 inches and an overall length of 196, it certainly qualified as a big car. Powered by the soon to be legendary Ford Flathead V8 engine that pushed 95 horse power, the car could get up to 20 miles per gallon. That, for the time, did make it fairly economical.

The car buying public responded. By the end of the first generation of the 8 in 1940, Mercury had sold over 150,000 of the cars.

In 1941 the 8 saw a substantial number of changes. The most apparent was the body style. The overall design took on a more modern look but much of it went beyond mere aesthetics. Styling was designed to help the car slip more smoothly through the air. And though the car's wheelbase grew to 118 inches, it was still powered by the same 239 cubic inch Fladhead V8. 

Over the eight year run of the second generation there were numerous cosmetic and mechanical changes. Though interrupted by World War II, Mercury managed to produce a number of 8s during the war.

A third generation of 8s appeared in 1949 and showed more substantial changes. The biggest was the fact that the engine was upgraded to 255 cubic inches and punched out more power. While the wheelbase stayed the same the length grew by over five inches.

By the end of 1950 Mercury had decided to move on. The 8 was no more and a new line of cars was introduced. Still, the Mercury 8 was the car that ensured that Mercury, until its ultimate demise in 2011, was a strong player in the mid-range car game.

The first car shown here is a first generation 8 and the second comes from generation two. Both are beautiful examples of what made this car so popular.