Mercury Zephyr
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| Mercury Zephyr | |
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| Manufacturer: | Ford Motor Company |
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| Production: | 1978–1983 |
| Predecessor: | Mercury Comet |
| Successor: | Mercury Topaz |
| Class: | Compact |
| Body style: | 2-door coupe 4-door sedan 4-door station wagon |
| Platform: | FR Fox |
| Engine: | 140 in³ OHC I4 200 in³ Thriftmaster Six I6 255 in³ Windsor V8 302 in³ Windsor V8 |
| Transmission: | 4-speed manual 3-speed C3 automatic 3-speed C4 automatic |
| Related: | Ford Fairmont Ford Granada Ford Mustang Ford Thunderbird Lincoln Continental Mercury Capri Mercury Cougar |
| Similar: | Buick Skylark Toyota Corona AMC Concord Dodge Aspen |
- For other Ford related cars called Zephyr, see Ford Zephyr, Lincoln-Zephyr, and Lincoln Zephyr
The Mercury Zephyr was a compact car sold by the Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford Motor Company in the North American market from 1978 to 1983. Along with its corporate cousin the Ford Fairmont, it was the first use of Ford's long-lived unibody Fox platform, which did not completely leave production until 2004.
Zephyr, taken from a poetic name for the west wind, has a considerable history in the Ford line. It was used in the late 1930s for a smaller, less expensive Lincoln, which provided the basis for the first Continental. Later on, it was used on a European Ford model. In 2006 it returned to the Lincoln line once again. The name "Zephyr" holds the unique distinction of having appeared in the lineups of three different manufacturers: Ford, Lincoln and Mercury.
The Mercury Zephyr shared most of the Fairmont's characteristics, being available with four, six, or eight-cylinder engines and appearing in coupe, sedan, or wagon form. At introduction, the Zephyr was most easily told from the Fairmont by its curved grille and four square headlights, Fairmonts having a flatter front and only two large square lights. Later, though, an adaptation of the Zephyr's four-light front was also used on Fairmonts. The Zephyr was outfitted with Ford's 'Ride Engineered' suspension package.
In 1978, Mercury released a limited production, uniquely styled 2-door version of the Zephyr called the Z-7, similar to the Fairmont Futura coupe. The Z-7 featured a unique wrapover roof design, wraparound taillights and was usually equipped with either the I6 or V8 (very few Z-7s had the four-cylinder engine). Many Z-7 models included a two-tone paint job.
The car was reskinned and later sold as the mid-size version of the Mercury Marquis, which had previously been the flagship Mercury. The smaller Marquis dropped the Zephyr's long-used 3.3 L I6 for 1984 and replaced it with the larger and more powerful 3.8 L "Essex" V6, but kept the same 2.3 L I4 as standard and the same 5.0 L V8 as an option. The larger sedan was renamed the Grand Marquis, and continues to use the name to this day.
[edit] See also
- Ford Zephyr
- Lincoln-Zephyr (classic version)
- Lincoln Zephyr (2006 version)
[edit] External links
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| Mercury road vehicle timeline, 1980s-present - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| Subcompact | Bobcat | Lynx | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Compact | Zephyr | Topaz | Mystique | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mid-size | Cougar | Marquis | Sable | Milan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full-size | Marquis | Grand Marquis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colony Park | Marauder | Montego | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sports car | Cougar | Cougar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SUV | Mountaineer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mariner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minivan | Villager | Monterey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
