Mercury Marquis History

Introduced for 1967, the Marquis was Mercury's premium full-size car, competing with full-size Buicks and Oldsmobiles. The Grand Marquis began as its top trim in the mid-1970s.

The Marquis was downsized in 1979 onto the new rear-drive Panther platform. A smaller mid-size Marquis was also sold for 1983–1986; the full-size role passed permanently to the now-standalone Grand Marquis in 1983.