Mercury Eight History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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Model history available. Detailed year guides are not published for this model.
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The Mercury Eight was the debut model of Edsel Ford's new Mercury division, introduced at the New York Auto Show in November 1938 for the 1939 model year. Powered by a 239-cubic-inch flathead V8, it was an all-new car positioned in price and size between the V8 Ford and the V12 Lincoln-Zephyr, and over 65,000 sold in its first year.
The redesigned third-generation Eight of 1949–1951 — with its low, slab-sided 'bathtub' body — became the most celebrated base for postwar custom cars. Chopped and lowered into 'lead sleds', cars like the 1953 Hirohata Merc made the '49–'51 Mercury an enduring custom-culture icon; a 1949 Mercury also famously featured in the 1955 film Rebel Without a Cause.
Body styles
- Sedan
- Coupe
- Convertible
- Station wagon
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