MERCURY MONTEGO

The Mercury Montego, (presumably derived from Montego Bay, Jamaica) was a mid-size vehicle in Ford's Mercury line. The name had first been used in 1967 on the Meteor Montego, the top trim level in the Canada-only Ford Meteor.

Contents

1968-1976

2005-2007

Discontinuation of the Montego

External links

1968-1976

The Montego replaced the intermediate Mercury Comet in 1968 and was replaced by an upsized Mercury Cougar for the 1977 model year. It was essentially a twin of the Ford Torino. The Cyclone was a high performance variant of the Montego through 1971.

2005-2007

Mercury again used the name for their 2005 version of the Ford Five Hundred, which along with the Mercury Milan filled the Mercury Sable's gap in the brand's lineup. The new Montego has a standard 203 HP 3.0L Duratec DOHC 24 Valve V6, and 6-speed automatic. A CVT transmission is optional, along with an all-wheel drive system. The Montego was classified as a fullsize/large car as it easily compares in size to the long-running Grand Marquis model.
The car started at the MSRP of $25,000. Although highly praised by owners, the Montego experienced lackluster sales through the 2005 and 2006 model years.
The Mercury Montego was built in Chicago, alongside its former cousins, the Ford Five Hundred and Ford Freestyle crossover. This plant formerly built both the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable.
The Montego is marketed in the US and Mexico, however it is not sold in Canada due to the Mercury line having been discontinued there.
Since Montego went on sale in October 2004, it has sold exactly 62,459 as of June 2007.
Sale numbers come from www.blueovalnews.com

Discontinuation of the Montego

Ford CEO Alan Mulally said that he plans on scrapping the Five Hundred and Montego names as he felt that their names were too forgettable by its core audience. Along with a minor redesign, the 2008 Five Hundred will be renamed the Taurus, and the Montego will be renamed the Sable. [1] The new Sable went on sale in Summer 2007 and feature the 3.5L V6 already available in the smaller Lincoln MKZ.

External links

★ Official Mercury Montego Website

★ MyFord500/Taurus - The first Mercury Montego & Ford Five Hundred enthusiast web site

★ Mercury Montego Project Car and Technical Articles