1997 Mercury Grand Marquis LS 4.6 liter V8 from North America
Summary:
A very nice machine!
Faults:
Nothing.
General Comments:
I bought this car this year, it is now 8 years old with 36,000 miles. I basically bought a new "old" car. It runs and drives as any brand new car I have owned. It is solid, very quiet both in town and on the highway. Fuel mileage averages 20-22 mpg city, and an outstanding 24-29 highway. I travel a lot statewide and am very pleased with the economy, power and comfort the Grand Marquis offers. Transmissions shifts are smooth and the the styling says luxury. Yes I know there are serveral other cars that will get better mpg, but look at those vehicles. Signifcantly smaller and comfortable, and less safe too, with econo styling. I would recommend this car to anyone looking for a great used car value. Find one that has been well cared for and you will have an outstanding value and a car you will be proud to drive.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 14th January, 2006
26th Jul 2005, 18:32
I travel a lot for business, and have on a regular basis ridden to the airport in several Mercury Grand Marquis' and Crown Victoria’s, with 400,000+ miles on the original drive-trains (I always ask the drivers if the car is all original when I see the high mileage). I can tell you too, that these cars operate 100% in NYC/North-Jersey traffic, and are very tough miles.
I also know people that have had these vehicles personally, and have reached several hundred thousand miles with no mechanical trouble. I do recall some AC trouble though...
Lastly, I have some involvement with my local police department, and all of their recent purchases (after the Chevy Caprice was discontinued) have been Crown Victoria’s. By and large, the entire fleet of CV's are run hundreds of thousands of very abusive miles, day in, day out, with very little problems to speak of. I have even heard multiple stories of the vehicles being sold at auction after their police service, and running for many more trouble free miles after that.
So, I do not at all agree with your opinion that these vehicles are inferior to any import. Cars are a mixed bag. There are some very good American cars that are as good or better than any competition, and there are some that are garbage. The same applies for imports, for which I would assert the ratio of good too bad is about the same as that for American cars, if not worse.
While you may have had the trouble you described with your particular car, based on the preponderance of what I have directly observed, and what has been most people's experience with these vehicles, that is a poor choice of car on which to attempt associating that fallacy.