Mercury Grand Marquis

The Mercury Grand Marquis is a full-size rear-wheel drive sedan sold by the Lincoln-Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company; the Grand Marquis was the flagship model 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. For its entire life, the Grand Marquis was only available with a V8 engine. With features such as six-passenger bench seating and rear-wheel drive, it remained one of the last "traditional" American full-size cars still available for retail sale. 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.