The Mercury Grand Marquis was a full-size rear-wheel drive sedan sold by the Lincoln-Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company; the Grand Marquis was the flagship of the Mercury lineup. The nameplate itself had been in use since 1975 as the premium trim level of the Mercury Marquis; the Grand Marquis became its own distinct model in 1983. The car was essentially Mercury's twin of the Ford Crown Victoria with which it shared its Panther platform along with the Lincoln Town Car. After the discontinuation of retail sales of the Crown Victoria at the end of the 2007 model year, the Grand Marquis had largely taken its place as the entry-level Panther-platform model.
The Grand Marquis was manufactured at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant in Canada though it was also produced from 1983 to 1985 in Ford's St. Louis, Missouri facility. With the discontinuation of the Mercury brand, the Grand Marquis ended retail production in October 2010 while production for fleet sales continued until January 2011. The last Grand Marquis, which was also the last Mercury ever produced, rolled off the assembly line on January 4, 2011.
1975–1982[]
The Mercury Marquis was introduced as a trim package on the 1967 Mercury Monterey. The Marquis name gradually replaced Monterey. The Grand Marquis trim line was introduced in 1975 as a step up from the base Marquis and Marquis Brougham. For the 1979 model year, all full-size Mercurys were moved from the 1973–1978 full-size Ford to the downsized Panther platform; the Grand Marquis trim line was retained. The Ford equivalent of the Grand Marquis was the LTD Landau, which became the LTD Crown Victoria in 1980.
The Grand Marquis became a model in its own right in 1983 when the Marquis nameplate was shifted to the Fox platform to replace the unpopular sedan and wagon models of the Cougar. Since then, there have been four generations of the Grand Marquis: 1983–1991 (the only version sold in multiple body styles), 1992–1997, 1998–2002, and the final generation, 2003–2011 (this generation was sold as the 2003-2004 Marauder).
First generation (1983–1991)[]
The Grand Marquis was introduced as a model in its own right in 1983, when the base Marquis and Marquis Brougham nameplates were moved to the mid-sized Fox platform. The Grand Marquis nameplate remained on the Panther platform as Mercury's flagship sedan. It continued to be produced at Ford's St. Louis Assembly Plant, but production was shifted to St. Thomas Assembly in Canada during the 1985 model year. The only changes made in changing the full-sized Marquis into the Grand Marquis was the adoption of Central Fuel Injection (replacing the two-barrel carburetor), new taillights, and a new grille.
The Grand Marquis was available in three body styles: a two-door sedan, a four-door sedan, and a station wagon. After 1983, the station wagon was discontinued, subsequently offered only as the woodgrained Colony Park; it shared much of its interior trim with the deluxe-trim Grand Marquis LS sedan. The 2-door sedan was dropped from the lineup in the later part of 1986 due to slow sales; Grand Marquis coupes are hard to find today.
- Mechanical details
The 4.9 L (302 cu in) 5.0 Windsor V8 was the only engine available from model years 1983–1985, coupled with a four-speed AOD automatic. From 1986-1991 The Grand Marquis was also available with a 5.8 L (351 cu in) Windsor V8 but was a rare option according to ALLDATA.
The new Grand Marquis sold well, and remained virtually unchanged until 1986, when it received sequential electronic fuel injection and all production moved to the St. Thomas plant.
