What was the name of Ford’s luxury division created in 1938?

Mercury was the Ford luxury division created in 1938. Ford introduced the marque to fill the price and size gap between its mainstream cars and the more expensive Lincoln line.

The first Mercury products were based on Ford engineering but used larger bodies, more powerful engines, and more upscale styling. This positioning allowed Ford to compete against mid-priced American brands such as Buick, Oldsmobile, and DeSoto. Mercury models included the Eight, Monterey, Cougar, and Grand Marquis during different periods of the brand’s history.

Mercury is sometimes mistaken for an independent company or for Ford’s Lincoln division. It was a marque owned and operated by Ford, while Lincoln occupied the company’s higher luxury position. Ford discontinued Mercury production in 2010 as it concentrated on the Ford and Lincoln brands. The name therefore belongs to a long-running Ford division, not to a single model or a separate automaker acquired by Ford.