The Ford Motor Company division that sold the Cyclone muscle car was Mercury.
The Cyclone was marketed by Mercury, Ford’s mid-level automobile division. It began in 1964 as the Mercury Comet Cyclone, a performance-oriented version of the Comet. For 1968, the Cyclone became a distinct nameplate as Mercury shifted the Comet line toward the Montego.
Within Mercury’s range, the Cyclone sat between the sporty Cougar and larger two-door models such as the Marquis and Marauder. Engine choices and performance packages made it a genuine muscle-car competitor, including available 351- and 429-cubic-inch V8s in later versions.
The Cyclone also had an important NASCAR identity. Mercury used the model in racing, and the aerodynamic Cyclone Spoiler II was one of the “Aero Warriors” developed to improve high-speed track performance. In the 1968 Daytona 500, Cyclones finished first and second, helping establish the nameplate’s competition credentials.
The main source of confusion is the Ford connection: Mercury was owned by Ford, but the car itself was sold under the Mercury brand. Ford models related to the Cyclone included the Fairlane and Torino, not the Cyclone nameplate.