Mercury Mountaineer

2006 Mercury Mountaineer The Mercury Mountaineer is a luxury SUV manufauctured by the Mercury brand name, owned by the Ford Motor Company. The Mountaineer shares many features with the Ford Explorer, and in terms of hardware, the vehicles are virtually identical. Externally, they are styled somewhat differently, and the Mountainer is positioned with a more upscale interior, with the Mountaineer's MSRP coming in at $1,000–6,000 more than the Explorer. It has been mildly redesigned for the 2006 model year due to a new frame, but looks very similar to its previous model.

First generation (1997-2001)

Although the redesigned Explorer had already been out for 2 years, Mercury introduced a Explorer twin called the Mountaineer. The Mountaineer was only slightly different from the Explorer, although it did offer a few extra luxury features that the Explorer lacked. First year sales for the Mountaineer were not exactly up to par with the Explorer. For 1998, so customers could differentiate the Mountaineer from the Explorer, as the front fascia was flipped upside down, and the headlights were made smaller, while it got a new rear hatch and unique wheels. Mountaineer sales sped up because of this, though they still lagged behind the Explorer. In 2000, a huge punch came to the Mountaineer with the Firestone vs Ford Motor Company controversy, where a large amount of rollovers were happening involving Explorers and Mountaineers. While Ford blamed Firetone's faunty tires, which had problems with the tread separating, Firestone blamed Ford, claiming that the Explorer and Mountaineer were unsafe. The case was settled, and Car and Driver proved that a large amounts of the rollovers were caused by the drivers overracting to the tire blow out.

Second generation (2002-2005)

For 2002, Ford redesigned the Explorer and Mountaineer. This Mountaineer was new from the ground up, offering even more luxury features than the last generation. This Mountaineer offered features like woodgrain trim, rear radio deck, and a rear seat TV/DVD player. Sales sped up drastically with the introduction of this generation, and it was a look ahead at the entire revamp of the Mercury line, to offer more luxurous looks and features. Some design cues found on this Mountaineer, like the waterfall grille and HID taillights, would go on to form Mercury's new signature look that would appear on all its models. This Mountaineer was also the first to not be based on the Ford Ranger.

Third generation (2006-present)

For 2006, the Mountaineer was redesigned. This new Mountaineer was all new, though it closely resembles the previous model. The Mountaineer was mounted on a new frame, and it offered a more upscale interior, to make up for the cut Lincoln Avaitor. This Mountaineer got new wheels and HID headlights, a feature not found on previous Mountaineers.

Canadian market

The Mountaineer was never sold in the Canadian market. The Mountaineer's twin, the Ford Explorer, remains to be sold for the Canadian market. Its other twin, the Lincoln Aviator, was also sold for the Canadian market until its demise in 2005.

External links

• Mercury Mountaineer official page
• FAQ Farm's Mercury Mountaineer FAQ: wiki question and answer forum]
• Serious Explorations Message Board: Mercury Mountaineer Enthusiast Message Board]