Mercury Montclair

The Mercury Montclair was a full-size automobile marque which was produced by Mercury from 1955 to 1957, for the M-E-L (Lincoln, Edsel & Mercury) divisions of Ford Motor Company, between 1958 and 1960 and by the Lincoln Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company from 1964 to 1968. Its appearance followed the concept show car in 1954 called the Mercury XM-800.

Mercury Montclair
1955 Mercury Montclair sedan
Overview
ManufacturerMercury (Ford)
Production1955–1960
1964–1968
AssemblyDearborn, Michigan
St. Louis, Missouri
Maywood, California
Pico Rivera, California
Atlanta, Georgia
Mahwah, New Jersey
Lorain, Ohio
Body and chassis
ClassFull-size
Body style2-door coupe
4-door sedan
2-door convertible
LayoutFR layout
RelatedLincoln Capri
Mercury Monterey
Dimensions
Length211 in (5,359 mm) (1957)[1]
Chronology
SuccessorMercury Marquis

1955–1960

The vehicle name was introduced in 1955 and applied to Mercury's premium automobile line. Ford historians are at a loss as to where the name originated; the consensus is that it's taken from the upper class community of Montclair, New Jersey. For 1955 and 1956, Montclairs featured Mercury's best appointments; extra chrome trim, and different two-tone paint combinations to set them apart from other Mercury products. 1956 was the year Ford introduced its Lifeguard safety program, and the Mercury Montclair came standard with a deep-dish steering wheel to help protect the driver from the steering column, safety door locks, a breakaway rear view mirror, and optional seat belts and padded dashboards.[2] The dash was redesigned with a new three-tier instrument panel.

The Montclair model line also included the Sun Valley, which featured a Plexiglas "bubble" over the front half of the roof section. While futuristic cars were often featured with clear glass tops in the 1950s (like the concept car Lincoln Futura), consumers rejected the tinted glass roof Sun Valleys (only 1,787 were produced in 1955) because of the heat buildup in the interior of the vehicles. In 1956 the Montclair received some minor changes, including a new Z-shaped side spear incorporating a false vent behind the front doors, and a large, beefy, chromed "M" logo on the bonnet.

In 1957, the Montclair name was pushed down market by the introduction of the Turnpike Cruiser. A new frame was used.[3] Nevertheless, it could now be ordered with the same 368 cu in (6.0 L) Lincoln Y-Block V8 that came standard on the Turnpike Cruiser. Fuel economy was 16.2MPG at 50 mph.[4] In 1958 the Turnpike Cruiser became a Montclair trim level, and Mercury assigned its premium model the name Park Lane.

In 1959, Popular Mechanics wrote that head room was not good.[5]

  • 1955 Mercury Montclair Sun Valley
  • 1956 Mercury Montclair coupe
  • 1956 Mercury 3-tier instrument cluster
  • The 1957 redesign was thorough
  • 1957 Montclair, rear view
  • 1958 Mercury Montclair Turnpike Cruiser
  • 1959 Mercury Montclair Cruiser
  • 1960 Mercury Montclair four-door sedan

1964–1969

In 1961 Mercury dropped the Montclair and Park Lane in favor of Meteor and Monterey; in 1962 these were replaced by the Monterey and Monterey Custom, and the Meteor name transferred to Mercury's new intermediate line based on the Ford Fairlane.

The Montclair and Park Lane models were resurrected for 1964 as trim levels on full-sized Mercurys. Intermittent windshield wipers were standard.[6] They remained in place until replaced by the Monterey Custom in 1969.

  • Mercury Marauder Montclair
  • 1964 Mercury Montclair Coupe
gollark: I'm staying at home and live in the middle of nowhere anyway, so I can hardly *check*.
gollark: The UK is going for a mostly-lockdown, though I have no idea how well it's enforced.
gollark: If it gets worse past the peak, then that's just not the peak.
gollark: Hopefully as technology improves over time it'll be quicker to make vaccines for novel virii, at least?
gollark: Yes, that's because people are trying to reduce the spread of coronavirus because of closing said blocks.

References
  1. "Directory Index: Mercury/1957 Mercury/1957_Mercury_Foldout". Oldcarbrochures.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  2. "Directory Index: Mercury/1956 Mercury/album_002". Oldcarbrochures.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  3. "Directory Index: Mercury/1957 Mercury/1957_Mercury_Brochure". Oldcarbrochures.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  4. Popular Mechanics - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  5. Magazines, Hearst (1959-07-01). Popular Mechanics. Hearst Magazines.
  6. "Directory Index: Mercury/1965 Mercury/1965_Mercury_Full_Size_Brochure". Oldcarbrochures.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  • Gunnell, John, ed. (1987). The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87341-096-0.
  • Howley, Tim (June 1990). "1955-56 Mercury: Mink Coat at a Muskrat Price". Collectible Automobile: 32–46.
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