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Mercury Sable
The Mercury Sable is a Mid-size Luxury Sedan sold by Mercury.
The Sable was a milestone design for Mercury and the entire American Automotive Indusrty, as well as a very influential vehicle in the marketplace, with Mercury selling over 2 million units during its 20 year run. The Sable/s design was so futuristic that it was called by the press "the car that came from the moon". A important feature of the Sable's design was its front "lightbar", a low wattage lamp between the headlights. This later became mainstrem for the Mercury line-up and was caopied by many automakers in the early nineties. The Sable was refreshed in 1992 and received its first complete redesign in 1996. The 1996 model remained the basis for the vehicle up through the 2005 model year. A major sheet metal and interior redesign occured in 2000, softening some the controversial design vestiges of the 1996 model. Minor styling changes in 2004 further refined the car. The Mercury Sable station wagon ended production in late 2004. And the last Sable sedan rolled off the line on Friday April 29,2005. On Wednesday February 7,2007 at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show Ford CEO Alan Mulally unveiled a all new 2008 model Mercury Sable.
First Generation
- 1986-1991
- Models - GS, LS
- Production - 1986-1991
- Body Styles - 4 Door Sedan/4 Door Station Wagon
- Layout - FF Layout
- Platform - Ford D186 Platform
- Engines - 2.5L HSC I4/3.0L Vulcan V6/3.8L Essex V6
- HSC - 98HP 130LBS Torque (86 year model only)
- Vulcan - 140HP 160LBS Torque
- Essex - 140HP 215LBS Torque
- Transmissions - 3 Speed AXT Automatic/4 Speed AXOD Automatic/4 Speed AXOD-E Automatic
- Wheelbase - 106.0
- Length - 192.2 - 193.0 inches
- Width - 70.8 inches
- Height - 54.3 - 55.1 inches
The Mercury Sable was a very important sedan both for Mercury and the American Auto Industry.
Ford had lagged behind General Motors in introducing mid-size front wheel drive cars to compete against the Citation and best-selling Celebrity, and Chryslers K-Cars, and Mercury suffered even worse from this. In 1984, Mercury launched a redesigned Mercury Cougar to start a reinvigoration of the Mercury Brand with new aerodynamic designs, and started development of the Sable. Because of this design, the Sable was a resounding success and launched Mercury into a new design era, as well as infuencing the other American Automakers to follow suit and create aro designed cars, thus ending the boxy cars of the 70's and 80's.The Sable siblings used flush areodynamic composite headlights. Ford was the first to produce and sell vehicles with such headlights in the U.S. To do so Ford had to get them approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Sable was the first American produced, mainstream sedan to use the new lights.
Second Generation
- 1992-1995
- Models - GS, LS, LTS
- Production - 1992-1995
- Body Styles - 4 Door Sedan/4 Door Station Wagon
- Layout - FF Layout
- Platform - Ford D186 Platform
- Engines - 3.0L Vulcan V6/3.8L Essex V6
- Vulcan - 140HP 185LBS Torque
- Essex - 145HP 215LBS Torque
- Transmissions - 4 Speed AXOD-E Automatic/4 Speed AX4S Automatic/4 Speed AX4N Automatic
- Wheelbase - 106.0 inches
- Length - 192.2 - 193.0 inches
- Width - 70.8 inches
- Height - 54.3 - 55.3 inches
The 1992 Mercury Sable Received new front and rear fascias and a new interior design and in 1992 the Sable sold 410,000 units .
Third Generation
- 1996-1999
- Models - G, GS, LS, LS Premium
- Layout - FF Layout
- Platform - Ford D186 Platform
- Engines - 3.0L Vulcan V6/3.0L Duratec V6
- Vulcan - 145HP 186LBS Torque
- Duratec - 200HP 200LBS Torque
- Transmission - 4 Speed AX4N Automatic
- Wheelbase - 108.5 inches
- Length - 199.7 inches
- Width - 73.0 inches
- Height - 55.4 - 57.6 inches
The 1996 model saw a complete redesign for the Sable. Mercury hoped the radical design would have the same success it had had with the 1986 Sable. The conroversial oval theme was not well received by the press or the public, and is ultimately blamed for the substantial dip in sales. For this generation, the Sable tried to move slightly upmarket, and as a result, prices rose considerably, also driving away potential buyers. The 1996 Sable was the Sable to share sheetmetal with the Taurus. Differences from the Taurus included differnt front and rear fascias, and the elimination of the rear quarter window. Although the Sable used a less oval based design sales still fell. The 1996 model could be equipped with the powerful 3.0L Duratec 24V DOHC 200HP V6 as an option. Although all 1998 models could be equipped with the Duratec V6, Only LS model Sable could be equipped with the Duratec V6. Mercury claimed that the 1999 Duratec Engine had less power than the 2000 model Duratec Engine in hopes of increasing sales of the 2000 Mercury Sable.
Fourth Generation
- 2000-2005
- Models - GS, GS Plus, LS, LS Premium, LS Platinum
- Layout - FF Layout
- Platform - Ford D186 Platform
- Engines - 3.0L Vulcan V6/3.0L Duratec V6
- Vulcan - 155HP 186LBS Torque
- Duratec - 200HP 207LBS Torque
- Transmission - 4 Speed AX4N Automatic
- Wheelbase - 108.5 inches
- Length - 199.8 inches
- Width - 75.0 inches
- Height - 55.5 inches
The Sable received another redesign in 2000, which minimized some of the oval design elements from the 1996 model, replacing them with more conventional style, The redesign also featured a taller roof over the rear passenger space, to increase passenger headroom that had been sacrificed by the tapered 1996 design. The taller and roomier trunk also served to make the vehicle more functional. The interior was completely redesigned to a much more classy and conservative design. Certain elements of the interior were retained by the 1996 model, such as the intergrated control console, which combined the souns system and climate controls into one panel. The suspension was softened to appeal to a broader, non-sporting audience. To reduce price and increase profitability, many features such as four-wheel disc brakes where eliminated.
The 2005 Mercury Montego and 2006 Mercury Milan where launched as replacments for the Sable. Shortly after Montego's introduction the Sable was discontinued from the Mercury Line-up. The last Mercury Sable left the Atlanta Plant on Friday April 29,2005.
The 2002 Sable included extra equipment on every trim level including a CD Player and power driver's seat on the GS and a power moonroor and Premium leather interior trim on the LS. Side Airbags and traction control were available on all models. For 2004 the Sable received minor cosmetic changes to the front and rear fascias, most noticable was the front grille was now fully chrome. Inside were a new instrument cluster and steering wheel and higer quality wood trim.
Fifth Generation
- 2008-Present
- Models - Base, Base AWD, Premier, Premier AWD
- Layouts - FF/AWD Layouts
- Platform - Ford D3 Platform
- Engine - 3.5L Cyclone 24V DOHC V6
- Power - 260HP/249LBS Torque
- Transmission - 6 Speed 6F Automatic
- Wheelbase - 112.9 inches
- Length - 200.4 inches
- Width - 74.5 inches
- Height - 61.5 inches
The 2008 Mercury Sable was unveiled on Wednesday February 7,2007 at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show. The New Mercury Sable is now a large sedan it is no longer in the mid-size sedan class. The new Mercury Sable features Fords new 3.5L Cyclone V6 with 260 Horsepower and 249 LBS Of Torque 24 Valves DOHC. The 2008 Mercury Sable will have a Premier Wood Package which includes.
- Wood Trimmed Steering Wheel
- Wood/Chrome Trimmed Shifter.
Photos
1990 Mercury Sable LS
1995 Mercury Sable LTS
1992 Mercury Sable GS
1995 Mercury Sable LS Wagon
1998 Mercury Sable LS Premium Interior
1999 Mercury Sable GS
1998 Mercury Sable GS Wagon
2001 Mercury Sable LS Premium Interior
2003 Mercury Sable Platinum Edition Interior
2005 Mercury Sable LS Premium Interior
2001 Midnight Blue Mercury Sable
2001 Midnight Blue Mercury Sable
2003 Mercury Sable LS Premium
2003 Mercury Sable LS Premium
2003 Mercury Sable Platinum Edition
2005 Mercury Sable LS Premium
2005 Mercury Sable LS Premium
2008 Sable Premier Interior
2008 Mercury Sable Premier AWD
2008 Mercury Sable Premier
2008Mercury Sable Premier AWD
2008 Mercury Sable Premier Rearseat
2008 Mercury Sable Premier Interior with Navigation
Mercury's Signature Waterfall Grille and Logo
2008 Mercury Sable
2008 Mercury Sable
2004 Mercury Lineup
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