Mercury Grand Marquis (1st gen) 1979-1991

The Mercury Grand Marquis is a full-size rear-wheel drive sedan sold by the Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company. The nameplate has been in use since 1975 and has been a separate car line since 1983. It is essentially Mercury's version of the Ford Crown Victoria with which it shares its Panther platform along with the Lincoln Town Car. Since its introduction, the Grand Marquis has only been available with a V8 engine, and with features such as 6-passenger bench seating, it remains one of the last "traditional" American full-size cars still available for retail sale; it has even taken the place of its Crown Victoria twin in retail markets (the Crown Victoria has been dropped from non-fleet sales after 2007). As of April 2010, Automotive News reported that Grand Marquis remains Mercury division's best selling model.

[SIZE="1"]Source: wikipedia.org[/SIZE]

couple highway shots :)

Once, standard issue transport for retirement communities across this great nation.

Of late, replaced by Lexi and Hyundai. Unintended acceleration issues remain.

The Mercury Grand Marquis is an automobile that was sold by Mercury from 1975 to 2011. Introduced as the flagship sub-model of the Mercury Marquis, the Grand Marquis became a stand-alone model line for 1983, serving as the largest Mercury sedan. Subsequently, the model line would serve as the sedan counterpart of the Mercury Colony Park station wagon; it would later serve as the basis of the revived Mercury Marauder.

From 1979 until 2011, the Grand Marquis shared the rear-wheel drive Panther platform with the Ford LTD Crown Victoria (Ford Crown Victoria after 1992), and from 1980, the Lincoln Town Car. For over three decades, the two model lines were functionally identical, with two of the three generations of the model line sharing a common roofline. Offered nearly exclusively as a four-door sedan, a two-door sedan was offered from 1975 to 1987.

The best-selling Mercury line (after the Cougar), 2.7 million examples of the Grand Marquis were sold; at 36 years, the Grand Marquis was the longest-running Mercury nameplate (the Cougar, 34 years). During its production, Ford manufactured the Grand Marquis at two facilities alongside the Mercury Marquis, Mercury Marauder, Ford (LTD) Crown Victoria sedans, and (later) the Lincoln Town Car: the St. Louis Assembly Plant in Hazelwood, Missouri (1979-1985) and the St. Thomas Assembly Plant in Southwold, Ontario, Canada (1986-2011). Though Ford announced the retirement of the Mercury brand during 2010, a limited run of 2011 model year vehicles was produced. On January 4, 2011, the final Grand Marquis was produced at St. Thomas Assembly, becoming the final Mercury branded vehicle ever produced.

[B]First generation (1979-1991)[/B]
For 1979, Mercury downsized its full-size model line for the first time, with the Grand Marquis making its return as the premium model of the Mercury Marquis model range. Seventeen inches shorter and nearly 1000 pounds lighter (dependent on powertrain) than its 1978 predecessor. While its exterior footprint closely matched the Cougar (Montego) intermediate sedan, the 1979 Grand Marquis saw gains in interior and luggage space.

Alongside the extensive downsizing of the model line, the Ford LTD Crown Victoria was introduced for 1980, serving as the first direct divisional counterpart of the Grand Marquis. With the exception of front and rear fascias, both vehicles shared nearly identical exterior designs.

During the early 1980s, all three Ford divisions underwent a substantial revision of their full-size and mid-size model ranges. For 1983, the Mercury lineup moved the Marquis to the mid-size segment (replacing the previous mid-size Cougar), introducing an all-new Cougar coupe (replacing the previous Cougar XR7), and discontinuing the Zephyr (replaced by the smaller front-wheel drive 1984 Topaz). The Grand Marquis now served as the full-size Mercury; for the first time since 1951, Mercury produced a single full-size sedan nameplate (alongside the Colony Park station wagon).

The "downsized" Grand Marquis introduced in 1979 would remain in production throughout the 1980s, as competitors such as the Buick Electra, Oldsmobile 98, and Chrysler New Yorker (and Fifth Avenue) were downsized further and adopted front-wheel drive. The final vehicle in its segment remaining with rear-wheel drive and a V8 engine, the 1991 Grand Marquis was also the only vehicle in the segment also offered as both a sedan and a station wagon (as the Colony Park).

[B]Chassis specification[/B]
The first-generation Grand Marquis was built on the rear-wheel drive Ford Panther platform. While Ford and Mercury sedans had shared common chassis underpinnings since 1961, the Panther chassis marked the first time the two model lines shared a common wheelbase (114.3 inches, downsized from 124 inches).

Although reduced in size, the Grand Marquis would retain the basic suspension design of its predecessor, with a live rear axle suspension and double wishbone independent front suspension, with coil springs at all four wheels. In 1985, gas-charged shock absorbers were standardized for the model line, with load-leveling rear air suspension introduced as an option. The Grand Marquis was fitted with front vented disc brakes and rear drum brakes.

For 1986, 15-inch wheels made their return as standard equipment (after having been an option since 1979).

[B]Powertrain[/B]
As the Grand Marquis became a distinct model line for 1983, its powertrain underwent several revisions. The standard 4.2L V8 was discontinued, with a 130hp fuel-injected 4.9L V8 (rounded up to 5.0L by Ford) becoming the sole engine offering. Shared with the Lincoln Town Car and LTD Crown Victoria, in 1986, the 5.0L V8 adopted multi-port fuel injection with a cast-aluminum upper intake manifold, increasing output to 150hp. As an option, a 180hp 5.8L V8 made its return for the Grand Marquis[citation needed]; shared with Ford police/fleet cars, the 5.8L V8 was the final carbureted engine sold in North America by Ford at the time of its 1991 discontinuation.

Both the 5.0L and 5.8L V8 engines were paired with the four-speed AOD overdrive automatic transmission.

[SIZE=1]Source: Wikpedia[/SIZE]

[B]Body[/B]
The first-generation Grand Marquis was offered by Mercury solely as a sedan, in two-door and four-door configurations. For 1983 only, the Grand Marquis was offered as a station wagon (effectively a Colony Park without woodgrain trim); from 1984 onward, all full-size Mercury wagons were Colony Parks. While styled nearly identical to the LTD Crown Victoria, the first-generation Grand Marquis was three inches longer than its Ford counterpart; alongside the doors and front and rear windows, only the bumpers are externally shared between the two model lines.

After the 1987 model year, the two-door Grand Marquis was discontinued; only 4,904 were produced.

[B]Exterior[/B]
In contrast to the stainless-steel band surrounding the B-pillars of the LTD Crown Victoria, the Grand Marquis was offered with multiple vinyl roof configurations, sharing the B-pillar "coach lamps" of the Lincoln Town Car. Alongside the standard half-length vinyl roof, a full-length roof was offered; the LS offered an additional option of a "formal roof", configured with a "frenched" rear window. The Grand Marquis was styled with a different rear fascia, using full-width taillamps (separated by the license plate).

During its production, the first-generation Grand Marquis underwent minor changes. For 1982, simulated vents were removed from the front fenders. For 1983, as the Grand Marquis became a distinct model line, the grille and taillamps were redesigned. For 1985, to lower production costs, the external "Electronic Fuel Injection" and "Automatic Overdrive" emblems were deleted (both had become standard features); for 1986, a CHMSL (center brake light) was introduced.

For 1988, the Grand Marquis underwent a mid-cycle revision, with restyled front and rear fascias, better integrating the bumpers into the bodywork. To save weight, steel bumpers were replaced by aluminum.

[B]Interior[/B]
From 1979 to 1991, the Grand Marquis sedan was offered solely as a six-passenger sedan with a front bench seat. While largely similar to its Ford counterpart, the dashboard of the Grand Marquis was trimmed with brushed stainless steel; in place of the horizontal speedometer, the Grand Marquis was fitted with two square pods for the fuel gauge, warning lights, and speedometer.

In 1985, the dashboard underwent several revisions. Alongside the adoption of a single-DIN radio unit (phased in across all Ford vehicles), the 8-track cassette player and CB radio options were discontinued; control of the horn shifted from the turn signal stalk to the steering wheel.

As part of the 1988 revision, the interior was updated with all-new seats (distinguished by taller head restraints), an updated dashboard (with more wood trim and revised gauges). The Grand Marquis LS received options including a JBL Audio 6-speaker AM/FM/Cassette stereo system (with a power antenna) and a heated windshield called "Instaclear".

For 1990, the interior underwent a second major revision. To comply with passive-restraint regulations, the Grand Marquis was given a driver-side airbag; the rear outboard seats received 3-point seatbelts. Coinciding with the addition of the airbag, a new steering column consolidated the turn signal and windshield wiper controls onto a single stalk; tilt steering became standard. The dashboard was completely redesigned, adopted the horizontal speedometer used by Ford (using a silver background); for the first time, a temperature gauge was included alongside the fuel gauge.

[B]Trim[/B]
From 1979 to 1982, the Grand Marquis returned as a sub-model of the Mercury Marquis model line. Marketed as the flagship Mercury nameplate, the Grand Marquis competed against the Buick Electra, Oldsmobile 98, and Chrysler New Yorker (and New Yorker Fifth Avenue). For 1983, the Grand Marquis was expanded to an unnamed standard trim and the top-trim LS. The former effectively replaced the Marquis Brougham (the Brougham nameplate was adopted by the mid-size Marquis) and the latter was a trim designation adopted across the Mercury model line during the 1980s.

As part of the 1988 model update, the standard-trim Grand Marquis became the GS (in line with the Topaz and Sable). The badging of the model line underwent a revision, as the script lettering used since its 1975 introduction was replaced by block-style lettering (in the style of the Sable, Topaz, and Tracer); the Lincoln-style hood ornament was replaced by a version with the Mercury "flying M" badge", which were added to the trunk lid and wheels.

[SIZE=1]Source: Wikipedia[/SIZE]

Mercury Grand Marquis #5

Mercury Grand Marquis #6