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Wikipedia: Mercury Montego
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History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Mercury Montego page on 2 December 2016, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Mercury Montego is a nameplate that was applied to three distinct vehicles marketed by Mercury. The nameplate first appeared in 1967 in Canada as part of the Mercury-derived Meteor line. In 1968, it was introduced in the United States as part of the intermediate lineup, becoming the Mercury equivalent of the two generations of the Ford Torino for its entire production run. For the 1977 model year, all intermediate Mercurys adopted the Cougar nameplate and the Montego line was dropped.
From the 2005 to 2007, the Montego name was revived for a full-size car, a rebadged variant of the Ford Five Hundred, slotting in between the Mercury Milan and the Mercury Grand Marquis. For 2008, the Montego adopted the nameplate of the car it was intended to replace, becoming the Mercury Sable.
The Montego name is derived from Montego Bay, Jamaica. The name was also used on a car from Austin/Rover from 1984 to 1995.
First generation (1968–1971)
The Montego was introduced for 1968 as an upscale version of the intermediate Mercury Comet, which it eventually supplanted after 1969. It was essentially a twin of the Ford Torino. The Cyclone was a high performance variant of the Montego through 1971.
The 1968 models were available in four body styles: four-door sedan, two-door hardtop, station wagon and convertible, in base and fancier MX trim.
For 1970, the convertible was dropped, but new four-door hardtops and woodgrained MX Villager station wagon were added to the model selection. The 1970 and 1971 Montegos (and Cyclones) were notable for their striking forward-thrusting hood and grille centers. Concealed headlamps provided extra distinction for 1970 Broughams and Villagers.
Second generation (1972-1976)
The 1972 Montego (and Torino, which the Montego very closely resembled) was fully restyled. Whereas previous Montegos (except wagons) had been produced on a single wheelbase with unitized construction, the 1972-1976 models were built body-on-frame and used a 114-inch (2,900 mm) span for coupe models, 118 inches for sedans and wagons. Although Ford called the four-door sedans "pillared hardtops", they used a thin "B" pillar with frameless door glass, and true four-door hardtops were not offered in this generation. In 1972 and 1973, a sporty fastback coupe called Montego GT (mirroring Ford's Gran Torino SportsRoof) was offered, replacing the Cyclone. 1972 sales were up 136% over the previous year, with the MX Brougham showing enormous increases, almost 897% in the 2-door and nearly 1,021% in the 4-door.
Montego sales through 1973 remained good, but were subsequently depressed by gas mileage concerns, and in-house competition from a restyled 1974 Cougar cast in the personal luxury mold and built on the Montego's platform with similar styling, and the more efficient Monarch introduced for 1975. For 1977, the Montego name was dropped, with Mercury's restyled intermediates all taking the Cougar name.
Six-cylinder engines were offered in Montegos through 1973. V8 power—up to a massive 460 cubic inches from 1974 forward—was available throughout the entire run.
Third generation (2005–2007)
For the 2005 model year, Mercury revived the Montego nameplate after a 29-year hiatus, entering production on July 12, 2004. As the larger of the two sedans intended to replace the Mercury Sable (the other being the 2006 Mercury Milan), the Montego was introduced as the Mercury version of the Ford Five Hundred. The first all-new full-size Mercury since the 1992 redesign of the Grand Marquis, the introduction of the Montego marked the first time since 1974 that Mercury offered two full-size model lines. In place of the three trims of the Five Hundred, the Montego was offered in two: Luxury and Premier.
The Montego was manufactured at the Chicago Assembly facility in Chicago, Illinois, alongside the Ford Five Hundred and the Ford Freestyle, a crossover SUV intended to be the replacement for the Taurus/Sable station wagon.
Due to a poor critical reception and lower than expected sales, the Five Hundred and Montego nameplates were discontinued for the 2008 model year. Although already unveiled at auto shows as a 2008 Five Hundred/Montego, Ford CEO Alan Mullaly ordered the two nameplates retired; the Montego was rechristened the Sable for the 2008 model year. Featuring a more extensive styling update than the reintroduced Taurus, the new Sable featured a 263 hp 3.5L V6 shared with the Lincoln MKZ. With the end of the Mercury brand announced in 2010, the 2008 Sable would become the last Mercury to be redesigned.
| Date | Document Name & Details | Documents |
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| 27 January 2005 | Safety Compliance Testing for FMVSS 401: Interior Trunk Release 2005 Mercury Montego National Highway Traffic Safety Administration |  PDF - 508KB - 17 pages |
