Mercury USA Sales : 1990's

As you may have already guessed, the Mountaineer

Mercury started the decade slightly higher than the previous one and finished a bit lower. All that was missing was a upward sales spike in the middle. It needed some new models but would this enough for the brand name to survive?

The '90-'94 period witnessed the reintroduction of the Capri name, but this time a sports car from Australia. Then the Villager minivan arrived, a version of the Nissan Quest and manufactured in a joint venture plant in the US. Sales certainly improved in this period although only one model could manage a total above 100,000 units, the Sable.

Model	1994	1993	1992	1991	1990
Sable	113,282	120,977	116,623	100,331	96,803
Grand Marquis	96,631	85,195	94,607	94,588	101,737
Cougar	77,982	73,362	54,557	55,148	76,313
Villager	76,844	71,567	14,717
Tracer	57,266	45,754	43,127	45,602	34,494
Topaz	41,298	77,267	80,755	59,190	70,753
Capri	3,948	9,723	12,557	21,200	8,072
Total US Sales	467,251	483,845	416,943	376,059	388,172

The poorly executed and slow selling Capri was dropped and in came the Mountaineer medium SUV. However, sales remained much the same through the period form '95-'99 which must have been a disappointment.  

Model	1999	1998	1997	1996	1995
Grand Marquis	122,776	114,162	109,539	99,770	90,367
Sable	101,120	100,367	112,400	114,164	102,565
Cougar	56,831	38,216	30,516	36,015	53,387
Mountaineer	49,281	48,595	45,363	26,700
Villager	45,315	38,495	55,168	65,587	75,052
Mystique/Topaz	39,531	38,274	41,038	57,102	63,008
Tracer	23,146	33,077	43,589	47,797	51,988
Total US Sales	438,000	411,186	437,613	447,135	436,367

Summary: Mercury wasn't a disaster but neither was it proving very popular either. The next decade would be crucial if the marque hoped to continue.

For the 70's coverage in this series, simply click here.
For the 2000's, please click here.

The 1992 Sable. It does look bland