(All pictures of the ’72 Mercury used for this history were submitted to the Cohort by 625C2)
(first posted 12/27/2013) The original (and superior) version of Hawaii Five-O was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1980. Encompassing 279 episodes during that time, the show was an excellent vehicle for enhancing tourism to the 50th state as it brought an otherwise unfamiliar place into everyone’s home. It also served as an excellent platform for Ford Motor Company advertising.
If one watches old episodes of the show, Ford’s product placement was deliriously blatant. However, observant eyes will notice that Danno, Chin-Ho, and Kono (or Ben or Duke) drove the latest full-sized offering from Ford in each season. However, there was one exception.
Jack Lord drove his original ’68 Mercury Park Lane from the first show in 1968 (he drove a ’67 Park Lane two-door in the pilot episode) through the end of Season 6. That’s quite a long time. However, diligent research has shown that Ford had tried to correct what they viewed as an unsavory situation.
Various accounts reveal Lord to have quite the strong and insistent personality and he wasn’t averse to taking career risks. As an example, after appearing as Felix Lieter in the original James Bond film, Dr. No, he insisted on being billed equal to Sean Connery in the next installment. The production company scoffed at the idea, thus jettisoning Lord from that role.
However, from the beginning of Hawaii Five-O, Lord’s creative energy was welcomed if not his fanaticism about the choice of vehicles used by various characters, be they regular or one time appearances. He was also adamant they drive Ford products.
image source: www.imcdb.org
The ’68 Mercury met with Lord’s approval due to a variety of reasons. The color was appropriately menacing; the four-door body style was expected for law enforcement; the upscale Park Lane trim reflected McGarrett’s higher salary grade; and the overall shape of the car projected a sophisticated litheness that Lord believed his Steve McGarrett character must possess. Lord, a serial owner of Cadillac’s, quickly developed a fondness for this Mercury and Mercury’s in general.
Incidentally, this Mercury still exists and has been restored to its original condition.
Yet as time marched on, the producers and Ford Motor Company felt the need for Lord’s character to enter into the Sensational Seventies. As the ’68 Mercury Park Lane was now four years old, various parties felt it was time for an upgrade. In keeping with the black Mercury theme, a ’72 Marquis was brought to the set for the beginning of Season Five. Executive producer Leonard Freeman was present for the unveiling of the new ’72 Mercury.
With the entire crew being present, one forward-thinking cameraman turned on a camera to film the entire episode. Here is the transcript:
Lord: “Leonard, what the hell is this? Is McGarrett getting a different car?”
Freeman: “Yes, Jack. The current Mercury is four years old. That is ancient for a car; the new has worn off this decade, so we need to keep contemporary. Besides, it will be your new ride to and from the studio, as per your contract.”
Lord: “I’m not real worried about what I’m commuting in. Lenny, my concern is two-fold: first, we have umpteen shots of the ’68 doing various things and some of these shots are recycled between shows like some of our local character actors. Using this car will compromise our continuity as you’ll keep plugging the ’68 into stock shots; do you really want McGarrett to leave in a ’72, be shown en route in a ’68, and arrive in a ’72 model? I doubt it. Second, the look of the car is great, but it just doesn’t fit.”
Freeman: “What are you talking about? And who is in charge of this show, anyway?”
Lord: “Leon, I’m looking out for you, bruddah. Think about it from a consistency point of view…
“McGarrett has a slim waist line and a good head of hair. The ’68 continues that theme. This ’72 is a great looking car and is a bold statement from Mercury. If I didn’t already have seven Cadillac’s, I would really take a look at one of these for myself. However, it is too front heavy in appearance to continue the theme of McGarrett’s physical fitness and athleticism; this Mercury would make a great car for, say, Wo Fat or some other mafia goon, but not a cop. It’s got a certain Greek temple aura and charisma about it. By no means a negative, it just doesn’t fit.”
Freeman: “So what you are saying is…..?”
Lord: “It isn’t svelte enough, Len. Besides, what is it about this thing? You slam on the brakes and it bobs back and forth for three minutes after it stops. I might as well be riding in that canoe you keep showing in the closing credits.
Freeman: “That bobbing, as you call it, is what produces such a wondrous ride in these Mercury’s. I bet it rides smoother than a Mercedes. Besides, it also adds a certain dramatic flair. Think about it: You are chasing some bad apple, and after a ferocious car chase they wreck and you come screeching to a halt. Why, that gentle swaying will help emphasize how hard you worked to capture the bad-guy as well as insinuate how fast you were going. It’s a win-win.”
Lord: “Leonard, I don’t care if you could cut a diamond or perform circumcisions in the back seat, the look just doesn’t work. Let’s wait a year or two.”
And so they did. In 1974, Steve McGarrett was assigned a brand new Mercury Marquis Brougham. In comparison to the ’72, it was a touch more windswept and, arguably, lithe in appearance.
But Jack Lord was right in his assessment of the 1972 Mercury Marquis. It looked great but it did come across as a little too disproportionate for the on-camera needs of McGarrett’s car. However, in a sly move, the show did keep the ’72 Marquis offered up by Ford as they hated to refuse a $5,000 car they could put to good use.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEnXF7CJQ8w
It was used as a stunt vehicle for the McGarrett character as seen in this video clip. This clip also reinforces Lord’s concern about compromised production values when various cars were used. The eagle-eyed among us will notice the ’68 Park Lane, the ’74 Marquis, and a ’72 Marquis all make appearances in this chase. Lincoln fans will also revel in the appearance of a one-year only style ’74 Continental in this clip plus the ardent anti-brougham legion might ultimately cheer out loud.
This clip literally has something for everyone.
When looking at this ’72 Marquis, it falls in line with what your author has opined previously. Mercury was likely at its most autonomous and stylistically creative from around 1966 or 1967 to around 1975. The styling was an obvious combination of both Ford and Lincoln, but without coming across as a bloated Ford or dehydrated Lincoln. It was pure Mercury.
This ’72 Marquis Brougham is a wonderful example of how Mercury was on top of its game in 1972. Sales were healthy with over 38,000 of the pillared hardtops such as this one being sold; the Marquis Brougham line, in its four distinct body styles, sold over 91,000 copies. The slightly less plush Marquis sold over 23,000 copies.
A little known fact is this platform, also used by the full-sized Ford, is Ford Motor Company’s second best-selling automotive platform of all time – second only to the Model T. So, yes, these hit quite the sweet spot and there was a definite appetite for them.
In the extensive research performed for this article, one common critique of automobiles from this era kept coming to mind. It seems so often the words “whale”, “boat”, “barge”, or “land-yacht” are derisively used to label cars such as this Mercury. So let’s explore this in more depth, as seen in the table below.
| Example | Curb Weight, lbs | Length, in | Spread, lbs/in |
| 1972 Mercury Marquis Brougham | 4436 | 225 | 19.72 |
| 1968 Mercury Park Lane | 3992 | 220 | 18.15 |
| 1974 Mercury Marquis Brougham | 4853 | 226.7 | 21.41 |
| 2014 Dodge Caravan | 4510 | 202.8 | 22.24 |
| 2014 Ford Taurus | 4054 | 202.9 | 19.98 |
| 2014 Dodge Charger SXT | 3996 | 199.9 | 19.99 |
| 2014 Honda Odyssey EX | 4470 | 202.9 | 22.03 |
| 1996 Buick Roadmaster | 4211 | 215.8 | 19.51 |
When reviewing this table, it is useful to keep a few key elements in mind:
- The ’68, ’72, and ’74 Mercury’s had huge (and heavy) V8 engines of 428, 429, and 460 cubic inches (7.0, 7.0, and 7.5 liters), respectively.
- The Charger and Taurus are base or mid-range models with a V6.
- The Odyssey EX is one of the lighter versions available.
- The Buick was thrown in as a wild card.
While this is enough fodder for another article unto itself, my point is a ’72 Mercury Marquis Brougham wasn’t the porky monstrosity some might think. Rather, it was faithfully fulfilling a customer driven mission during the heights of the Great Brougham Epoch.
It is also lighter per inch of length than is a new Taurus. Additionally, the Mercury is undoubtedly a shade wider, thus yielding an overall density less than the Taurus.
Automotive tastes wax and wane throughout time, such as the personal luxury coupe and full-sized van crazes. The brougham contingent is no exception. However, to accurately gauge this Mercury, one has to look at this Marquis not through the prism of time but through the lens of the year of manufacture. 1972 was still before the pinnacle of all that is brougham. Plus, there was obviously a market for them given the sales figures and how 73.5% of full-sized Mercury automobiles in 1972, regardless of trim level, were equipped with a vinyl roof. This Mercury is a reflection of its time, much like obtrusive consoles and huge wheels are today.
Since the beginning of the automobile, there is one force that has been in affect regardless of time period and it’s an element with which this Marquis has an abundance: comfort. Say what you wish about cars such as this Marquis, but the manner in which it will coddle ones posterior generally isn’t a complaint.
So while Jack Lord passed on using a ’72 Mercury Marquis, did this Marquis truly lose out on earning a spot in history? I don’t think so.
My 72 Brougham coupe is by far the most comfortable, and the drive train is by far the most powerful and smooth out of all the big old cars I haved owned and / or driven, and that’s not a short list. It has Mercury’s version of climate control, and other than a grounding problem I haven’t yet found, which renders the turn signals useless, everything still works flawlessly.
It’s not something you’d want to drive fast through twists and turns, but for cruising it really can’t be beat. And with the discs up front, stopping is reasonable, unlike the old braking test I once saw on youtube, where the driver just locks ’em up to see how far he can slide.
I’d have to add that this is also my wife’s favorite car for the long trips. Trunk space is cavernous with the gas tank forward of the compartment. As long as I can afford the 12 mpg, I’ll continue to use it for the weekend trips. In rotation with my 3 other land barges.
Great write up and pics Jason! Thanks for making my morning, which starts at 3:45…
Very nice, really like your car Al. Great to see one still running around let alone such a nice coupe. I’m sure you enjoy it.
Nice looking car — love that 2-tone. Is that original? I’ve never seen a paint scheme like that on one of these before.
Mark, thankyou.
Junqueboi, the dark brown is original, the gold sides were added later. Worked well because the entire side is framed in with trim work.
Great looking car! Somehow the 2-door body styles of this generation always looked far slimmer than the sedans.
Slimmer yes, but look at the rear quarter…..It looks like its 40ft long.
Not that there is anything wrong with that…..
Hi Al,
I just bought a brown 72 Mercury Marquis 4 dr ht myself and I think it’s great. Smooth and so comfortable.
I had a few electrical issues as well, including turn signals that did not work. I changed the voltage regulator and it now works! Not sure if it would help your case, but wanted to just share my experience that got them working again. Good luck and happy motoring!
John
Can you tell me whats the piece called under your rear bumper that holds your license plate?? You can e-mail the name at Anthonysexton18@yahoo.com…
Hi ANthony: it’s called a gravel shield
I have a 1972 Mercury Marquis Brougham.. Im trying to find the piece under the rear bumper that holds the license plate.. Would you happen to know what its called??? I have the rear bumper but im just missing the whole piece under…Thank You…
The rear license plate is mounted on a color-matched strip of sheet metal called a “valence panel”.
Hey Al, I own the same 2 vehicles – a 72 Marquis Coupe and a 66 Sedan DeVille. I only have one pic showing both – a garage view taken between the two, attached…
They never did offer a “de Sade” option, though… 🙂
A good read, Jason. I have very mixed feelings about these. I really wish that these had the structural integrity of older versions. Also, these things would rust on demand in the salty north.
I also agree that otherwise, Ford really had big cars figured out in this era. These were really appealing cars to the folks who grew up in the depression. They were not Lincolns, but gave the owner a little sample of what a Lincoln would be like.
I agree with Jack Lord on the 68, though. That car was the whole package and remains one of my favorite 60s cars. A family friend had a black 68 Montclair 2 door fastback in the early 70s. Loved that car. And I watched Five-0 every week, enjoying that 68 4 door each time.
To be completely fair EVERYTHING rusted on demand here in the Rust Belt. Big Fords of the era didn’t rust any worse than any other brand, and did hold up better than the era’s Japanese offerings.
Agreed that rust attacked all of them back then, but of the American cars, nothing rusted like a Ford from 1969 to about 1974 (with the exception of the Vega). As you note, the Japanese were in a league of their own as well.
I remember around 1977-78, Ford was running new car ads in Canada specifically touting their new attention to rust resistance and quality control.
As Fords were known as bad rusters.
Plus it was being reported at the time, Ford had secret warranties for rust repair, to those owners that complained the loudest.
JP is correct: Ford’s from the early ’70’s were total rust buckets, even worse than Mopar, which wasn’t much better. But then again, all cars made in this era were rust buckets.
The only American car that rusted worse than a ’68-72 full size Ford was the 1971 MT Car of the Year….the Vega!
My sister/ brother in law’s “69 Pontiac” rusted away like crazy! By “72” it was “straight up, pitiful”. ((and very few miles for that many years))
My Dad leased Mopars to fleet customers in the early ’70s, and he recalls that Ford build quality helped him move a lot of Plymouths. The situation was probably reversed later in the decade.
My roommate just picked up a near pristine 72 LTD in very similar colors to the subject car. An Oregon car, one-owner (now two) in just amazing condition, inside and out. Green paisley seats that are so ugly they might even date me. Even has the original clear plastic floormats. I’ll be doing a write-up on it soon.
Oh, and ZERO rust. Love this climate.
As someone who has lived in Buffalo all my life I can attest to the fact that rust resistance has improved exponentially over the years…However amongst the big 3 Fords were by far the worst….Even 2000 Tauruses rust significantly around the rear wheel wells.
But the 70’s would see cars with perforations in as little as 3 years
As a teen in the 70s, these and the LTDs never really appealed to me. Seemed too big and bulky and more than what many people who drove them, needed. Full sized Fords and Mercs were considered the standard size for years, helping explain their popularity. Can’t say these car chases were flattering to them. At least the good guys and bad guys all drove these, keeping the playing field fair.
CBS was targeting an older generation with shows like Hawaii Five-O, Kojak, Cannon and Barnaby Jones. Each series featured full sized Fords, except for Kojak in his Buick Regal. Whereas NBC and ABC appealed to a young crowd with Police Story, Emergency, The Rookies, Starsky and Hutch, Charlie’s Angels, etc.
As a kid, I thought all the really cool cop show cars were on the other networks!
“Seemed too big and bulky and more than what many people who drove them, needed” – Sounds exactly like the SUV craze!
Truth be told, at least out here, Fords were the fleet favorite for the HPD (and still are . . . but mostly due to limited choice). HPD also hangs onto their cars for a long, long, time. up until last year, there were still some ’97’s and ’98’s in the fleet.
Totally understandable. I was referring to the oversized full sized Fords/Mercs from ’71 to ’78 in particular. It’s painful to watch a 70s LTD in a car chase. Riding vinyl bench seats, with no seat belts, the inertia alone in a turn, would make you have to grip the wheel that much tighter. Plus that sustained several second wallow after a hard brake, that added to the drama, watching shows like Streets of San Francisco.
I know they were private investigators, but the Lincoln Mark IV that Cannon drove, had to be the worst choice for any kind of pursuit activity. Besides the LTD Coupe that Barnaby Jones owned.
Well, anything that was a Quinn Martin production used Fords, always. Ford was pretty big in supplying cars to TV production in the 70’s.
I’m glad you can say ‘Quinn Martin Production’ with a straight face.
I can’t. Unless of course you say ‘Aaron Spelling Production’ beforehand.
Equally, the typical middle class family in many shows, was always portrayed with an LTD Country Squire wagon.
Except for the Brady Bunch. Not a Ford to be found.
They were mostly Mopars on the Brady Bunch, with the exception of a Chervrolet convertible (Mike Brady’s car) from season 4 I believe.
Nice,thanks Jason.I’m slowly becoming a full size car fan.I loved this show as a kid in the 60s and had a crush on Jack Lord(he was also a talented and successful artist).I always look out for Mercuries at shows but they’re thin on the ground compared to the opposition.
Love it! The way that Marquis handled those twisties at upwards of 45-50mph good thing ol’ Jack buckled-up only after things started to get dicey, no need for that seat belt nonsense just cruising along. My, things do change
PIcking apart that car chase scene would be like shooting fish in a barrel!
There are so many inconsistencies and continuation errors… I can see where the TV show “CHiPs” gathered some of their stunt ideas. haha Including the ramp behind the parked ’69 full-sized Ford.
I did enjoy the way they sped up the film of the Marquis backing into the darkened tunnel.
Ha! When he said, “Are you as good at driving as you are at …”, I really wasn’t expecting him to say “… the pistol range.” I guess I should get my mind out of the gutter.
In your list of adjectives on the car, you forgot the most obvious one: Pig.
Yes, a modern full size sedan or minivan is playing in the same physical ballpark. However it will go around a curve without giving the sinking feeling that you’re about to land on your roof, give fuel mileage that won’t bankrupt you in the first month, and (at least in the case of the Caravan) will give more space with almost two feet of less length.
These things were the nadir of American automotive history.
We already know you don’t get it, thanks!
Different strokes for different folks; you couldn’t pay me to ride a motorcycle, but my dad loves his 2001 Road King.
Syke to Broughams is like Zackman to fixed rear car windows: CC Kryptonite.
Of course, I am with Syke. I just never found mega-sleds all that nice to drive. I like to move along at a fairly good clip and these whales were never conducive to that.
A really enjoyable article about a show I’ve never seen and a car I don’t really like. 🙂 The ’68 is much better looking.
The table about relative size is interesting. My parents’ newish Ford Edge is, objectively, a nimbler car than my namesake, but I find it much more annoying to drive on the highway. I just checked and its gross weight of 4965 lbs. is within a middle-schooler of the Imp’s tonnage.
Finally, a peeve:
The Mercury’s taillights are red.
There are two Mercurys on the lot, unless you want to be extra-fussy and call them Mercuries.
Punctuation has never been my forte; I seem to have a love-affair with commas and apostrophes. If we are noticing the same thing, I just updated it!
No, Mercurys is correct, just as Connerys would be.
It’s not a McGarrett mobile, but the ’71 – ’72 Marquis is my favorite of the full-size Mercurys from 1969 through 1978. A huge improvement over the ’69 – ’70 cars which I thought were pretty awful.
Make mine black with a blue interior and the true pillarless style.
In retrospect, while it might seem asinine for Lord to want equal billing as Sean Connery in the second Bond movie (which would end up being the phenomenally successful Goldfinger), Connery was not well known when Dr. No was cast.
With this in mind, Lord likely figured that he might be able to greatly expand the Felix Leiter character (the role was the American CIA counterpart to the British 007). So, Lord’s demands to remain in the role at the time weren’t nearly as far-fetched as they seem today.
Or maybe it was the sunglasses that got him replaced…
“From Russia With Love” was actually the second Bond picture, in 1963.
Well, he’s wrong and right at the same time, From Russia with Love was the 2nd Bond move in 1963, but there is no Felix Leiter character in FRWL, the 2nd appearance of Leiter in the Bond series was in 1964’s Goldfinger, the 3rd movie.
Let’s not forget Barry Nelson’s turn as an Americanised (Americanized?) Jimmy Bond in the 1954 CBS telemovie ‘Casino Royale’. ‘Clarence’ Leiter was played by Australia’s very own Michael Pate, sporting a British accent. Mebbe Jack’s negotiating expectations were not completely off the mark (at the time).
May I also say that the recent resurgence of vinyl means that the reissue of the Hawaii Five-0 soundtrack sits in a hallowed spot in my collection. On those fist pumping days, it’s usually H50 followed by ‘The Magnificent Seven’ and capped off with Mancini’s version of ‘Police Woman’. Enough to power me for the rest of the day.
A 72 wagon for me, please.
Thank you for my continuing education of another important chapter of American culture of this era that I seem to have missed in real time. 🙂 Where was I in 1972? Oh; right……
As one who was allowed to watch way too much television at an impressionable age, I can fill in all sorts of blanks. Or give you a plausible sounding answer.
i was never really a fan of the big Ford LTDs, but there was something about the Marquis, especially in a max-Brougham trim, that I really liked. Hawaii Five-O was definitely one of my favorite shows as a kid, although I really never saw the earliest years, and probably stopped caring by the last few years, but I remember Tuesday nights, CBS, I believe it was 8:30-9:30 EST. Even then, as a kid, I noticed that lack of continuity, with McGarrett’s old ’68 model popping up in the middle of a chase scene when he was driving the newer car.
Fun write-up – thanks!
The second most famous 70s era Marquise, the uncle buck mobile,
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hFV9WVZ4cek&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DhFV9WVZ4cek
Hilarious! That’s pretty much what the ones you still see driving around look like
I had a tiny, little old lady grade school teacher who drove a light yellow with black vinyl roof Marquis back then. I wondered if she owned it based upon a fear of getting hit by another car. I never saw anyone else in the car besides her, so it wasn’t for load capacity.
“That’s pretty much what the ones you still see driving around look like”
Where? With todays gas prices it has become far from practical to drive this type of car as cheap transportation and very few in the rat rod and patina movement have touched these Brougham barges. The last one that I saw (a 1972 Marquis Brougham coupe) was in nice shape for it’s age.
Well, that may be true, but this is what I’m seeing of this car in my daily commute
That looks like a Mercury Monterey. I could see where these would have earned a 5 star rating from the NHTSA in a front crash. : )
Gives new meaning to “never knew what hit him”
You ever hear of a tune up?…..hehehehe……
You ever hear of a ritual killing?…..hehehehe……
The speeded up car chase scenes are a joke those floaty big barges really do not corner well and yeah just like the Chips scenes filmed at 15 mph with faked crashes it points out why those who regularly drive twisty roads avoid those old tubs of shit
Yup. I too noticed mid 70s eps with the 68 showing up for a shot in the middle of a sequence.
Jack Lord retired in Hawaii when the series ended. In the early seasons of Magnum, the charactors mentioned Five-O frequently, and once mentioned McGarrett by name. I keep looking for Lord to do a cameo, but never saw him. Watching the early 80s Magnum eps, I notice a lot of 71 Ford police cars. Were they left over from Five-O and kept in storage until needed for Magnum?
And the McGarrett charactor of the current series does have a mid 70s black, 4 door Marquis. It doesn’t show up often, maybe 3 times, but I’ve seen it. Apparently it is the 74 that Jack Lord used. After Five-O closed down, the car was given to a stunt man who worked on the show and he kept it all these years.
The ’74 Marquis is one of two used in the original show (the new version sucks and Sean Caan is a sawed-off, spoiled brat). The one pictured above resides in a garage in the homestead area of Nanakuli. It has it’s front end rebuilt (the cars suspensions and steering were trashed filming these episodes) . . . the ’74 could use a little TLC, but it’s pretty much in-tact and runs.
BTW, Leonard Freeman had died of a heart attack in early ’74 . . .
Personally, I like the ’68 Park Lane better. Some season 2 episodes show the left front wheel cover off . . along with the severe understeer while chasing bad guys around Diamond Head, Kahala and the Pearl City Highlands (Waimano Home Road) . . . .
“(the new version sucks and Sean Caan is a sawed-off, spoiled brat).”
I like the new version. I think the bickering between McGarrett and Williams is funny, and I really like what Caan does with his charactor. He cares so much for his daughter. In the original series, I don’t recall any of the charactors having any life outside of running down bad guys.
I think the episode that ran around December 7th was excellent.
“Personally, I like the ’68 Park Lane better.’
Agreed. I didn’t care for the dash, but from the outside, I liked just about everything Ford made in 68, from the Falcon to the Mark III
Yup, in an effort to recover some of the costs of building real dedicated studios in Hawaii for Five-O, CBS needed to find another show that could be set in Hawaii, enter Magnum P.I, which exists in the same “world” as Hawaii Five-O, Five-O is mentioned in the show, as is McGarrett, but Jack Lord himself never makes an appearance in Magnum.
Hawaii Five-O and Magnum P.I. were both produced by the CBS television network. Magnum P.I. started production the year after Hawaii Five-O stopped. Magnum P.I. ended up using a lot of the same production facilities and sound stages that had previously been used in Hawaii Five O.
I’ve also heard that Jack Lord felt that he and Hawaii Five-O were largely responsible for Hawaii’s becoming a popular tourist destination in the 1970s and that he never received respect for doing so.
Yes, that’s true. Because of Jack and Hawaii Five-O, one in every four tourists who came to islands said they did so because of the show. 10,000 new hotel rooms were built in the first 8 years that the show was on.
IIRC, there was inconsistency even in the earliest shows which had McGarrett alternating between 2 door and 4 door ’68s even in the middle of a chase.
I loved the early years of the original show and I agree the new show can’t hold a candle to the original. It’s way too slick and contrived.
McGarrett would haul ass out of Iolani Palace in the 2-door Park Lane Marquis Brougham coupe, then reappear heading Ewa on Ala Moana in the ’68 Park Lane Brougham 4 door hardtop . . .
And he never had his windows up, they were always down!
And he never had his windows up, they were always down!
Don’t have to worry about reflections in the windows messing up a shot if the windows are down.
What always amuses me about TV shows is people never lock their cars. Magnum would park that Ferrari in a really sketchy neighborhood, and leave it wide open.
I never got leaving the windows of an expensive car down when you’re in a war zone where you’ll get stabbed for wearing a pair of good shoes
I watched the new show, well, because it’s Hawaii Five-O, and I love Five-O, and I will watch anything that is related to Five-O. The show is ok, but it does have some weak points, in many cases it ends up looking like CSI: Honolulu. I know that the show would have had to be updated, and that we couldn’t really have a modern McGarrett still running around in black Mercurys and dark blue suits in 2010, I did kind of like how they updated McGarrett and made him more a of a badass character, overall its ok. Is it still on?
Edit: It is still on, but its moved to the dreaded Friday night 9/8 time slot, I guess it’s available OnDemand, I should catch up.
The coupe was a ’67 with the front fender-mounted “cornering lights”. And yes, it bugged me with that lack of continuity, but no show back then was worse than Police Story.
As others have said, this is a very interesting piece. Definitely a car that there’s much to be said about. It’s not my cup of tea, but I agree with you that it was the right car at the right time.
Even with those dimension comparisons, it’s still a massive land yacht. Today’s Taurus may weigh more, and no doubt looks hefty, but this Marquis is still huge.
That ’68 looks pure sexy though. I totally see that car in a new light now 🙂
Sorry, while I agree that this vehicle is a good representation of the time it was built, and I sort of like it, I still consider a car that weighs 4400+lbs and is 225 inches long to be a barge. If those stats don’t qualify something a “yacht”, then what does?
Comparing it to the mega-fatties of today doesn’t exactly help the case. Lbs/in is also a slightly misleading stat as many vehicles these days have added height, not length.
Rather than try to rationalize it, why don’t the big car fans wear their barge badge with pride? After all, these cars are all about presence and comfort not handling or efficiency.
You have hit upon several good thoughts here.
My intent was to challenge long held opinions; perhaps a better analogy would be to take two people who weigh the same but who have a six inch height differential while asking who is overweight / lankier / better proportioned / most trim.
I do like big cars – to a point.
Here here!
Exactly! Call a barge a barge. Enjoy it.
And please…..use it when its appropriate….a car under 210 inches is not even close to a barge worthy nickname.
I was outside my local Chinese food place and someone was having trouble backing a 4Runner into a parking space in front, the guy got out and he looked at me, seeing as how I was looking at him having all this trouble parking, and he said “these barges are tough to park”.
I laughed…..”barge”…..a tiny 4Runner? Let see you back a 75 Estate Wagon into that space.
LOL!
Yes, these big Ford cars wallowed and handled like the Queen Mary on anything over a 20 mph curve, but their mission in life was to provide a velvet smooth boulevard ride and complete isolation from the outside world. After all, these sold to an older clientele who WANTED that sort of thing. Marquis’ (a Lincoln Continental in a less-expensive suit) provided that in spades. Not necessarily the best vehicle for a cop-car (real or pretend), but a great livery car/resort VIP courtesy car.
Next time I’m up around Diamond Head (where the Five-O/Magnum sound stages were), I should look through the pili grass to see if I can excavate some Mercury wheel covers . . . .
Yes, these big Ford cars wallowed and handled like the Queen Mary on anything over a 20 mph curve, but their mission in life was to provide a velvet smooth boulevard ride and complete isolation from the outside world.
Ford shocks in the 70s were really terrible. My mom came back from a road trip in her 72 Gran Torino complaining that she had a hard time keeping it on the road. The car only had about 20,000 on it at the time, but the shocks were gone. I sent her down to an independant shop for a set of Gabriel Red Ryders. She came home from the shop and said “wow, what a difference!”
These shows are fun to watch because things were so different back then. Like the accuracy of hand guns and shooting skill. Frank Cannon could hit a suspect on the run from the driver’s seat of his Lincoln Mark IV while in hot pursuit. You just don’t see that any more.
That’s that famous road hugging weight!
Cannon’s weight or that of the MkIV?
I’ve been watching episodes on CANNON and MANNIX late at night on ‘MeTV’ Channel 32 out of Atlanta. MANNIX airs at 2 AM and CANNON at 3 AM. Since Frank Cannon had been a cop before going in to the private investigation field I’d assume he would’ve learned to shoot fairly accurately — even from his Lincoln Mark!
Fun to watch these old shows and savor all the now-old cars you see. Also, I think Joe Mannix gets beat up in every episode! Plus, he has a groovy convertible Mopar to tool around in.
Jason,
Thanks for a very entertaining read. The data table was an eye opener, especially the “spread” for the ’96 Roadmaster.
I lived in Hawaii during the last few years of 5-0. I never saw any of the filming, nor did I ever see Jack Lord. (I did see filming of Magnum PI across the street from my building, but no Tom Selleck)
I agree with Lord’s assessment – the ’72 is just not right for the part. A good car for Cannon, I think.
When I lived there most HPD patrolmen were using their own cars (some sort of arrangement where the officer bought a car from an approved list of cars, then was paid a monthly stipend for the car payments and maintenance) The cars were unmarked, and the officers would just slap a “Kojac” light on the top when they wanted to pull someone over. There were regular “blue and white” units too, but they seemed to be few and far between.
Of course while 5-0 was cruising in big Mercs most people in Hawaii had long since discovered Japanese cars and trucks.
I think you’re pulling our leg, or someone is pulling yours, with regard to the alleged “transcript” (with its reference to a fake ad on Saturday Night Live years later, etc.). Someone would have had to capture the conversation on an (unmentioned) microphone, regardless of whether a camera was turned on.
(Similarly, a month ago the Washington Post had an article on Abraham Zapruder that had to be corrected – while still online, before the print version came out – because in its original version it had implied that Zapruder’s film didn’t need to be developed before being seen for the first time. Evidently, instant video has become so pervasive so quickly that few people today remember that such technology is a quite recent development.)
Finally: Even in the 1970s I would often see 1971-72 Marquises and Montereys with cracked taillamp lenses; they were in about as vulnerable a position as possible. I’m amazed to see photos of one with taillights intact.
The opening sequence of the TV Series ‘Police Squad’, with Leslie Nielsen, showed him pulling up in a late 60s full-sized Mercury and exchanging gun fire…
Though his usual ride during the series, was an early 70s Plymouth Satellite.
Even the voiceover is the same as those used in Quinn Martin Productions.
That looks like a ’68 or ’69 Montego in the Police Squad opening.
You’re right Stumack!
Quinn Martin did a lot of Ford product placement.Check out The Invaders,full of Fords Mercuries and Lincolns with hardly anything from GM,Mopar and AMC
If there was a competitive product featured it would likely be driven by the villain.
“When reviewing this table, it is useful to keep a few key elements in mind”
Lots of talk here about the tonnage of today’s cars. Car makers fight to get rid of every excess pound, to improve fuel economy. Far more use of plastic and aluminum than in 1972. So why are new cars so heavy?
In 1972, 54,589 died in cars in the US. Americans drove 1.26 trillion passenger miles, and suffered 4.33 deaths per 100 million passenger miles. (Link here)
In 2012, 34,080 died in cars in the US. Americans drove 2.96 trillion passenger miles, and suffered 1.14 deaths per 100 million passenger miles.
94,000 people were alive at the end of 2012, who would have been dead if we all drove the cars on the road in 1972. That’s more people than fit in the New Orleans Superdome or the 2014 Super Bowl NY Giants/Jets stadium. About the total population of Santa Monica or Albany. Imagine if some disaster took out that many Americans, once every year, how we would react.
That’s why our cars are “fat”. Plenty of computer-structured heavy-gauge steel in the crushable ends and the safety cage around all the people. I love all these CCs, you know I do, but for all their lack of character and soul, today’s cars are far better cars.
ERRR, lets hold those factors for a moment. What was seatbelt usage in 1972? Probably a number so low it could be BAC content number. So before we start patting new cars on the back that much, you need to factor compulsory seat belt laws that were enacted in many states during that time period for helping decrease those death rates too.
I know everyone loves comparing the seatbelt less, X-framed, 1959 Bel-Air vs the Malibu, I would like to see the same comparison with a full framed 1974 Impala, with shoulder belts and a collapsing column vs. that same Malibu.
What I’m getting at here, is that is just more than cars alone that have contributed to those numbers.
You’re right about seat belt laws, though the driver of the ’59 would have been killed regardless of belts. Getting drunks off the road has been huge too. And yes it would be very illuminating to repeat that crash test with a ’74 Impala (though I’d prefer if they crashed a Biscayne).
Huge progress has been made, almost a factor of four. Surely crash safety in the cars has been a big part. Anyway, germane to this article’s discussion, that’s why today’s cars are so heavy.
Oh yeah, I’m not doubting the safety advances in new cars, especially the smallest cars on the road, which used to be the death trap of death traps. I have a feeling they researched the Bel-Air v Malibu crash test well, and they picked a car that would really show that off, though it would be interesting to re-match them with a few different old cars to see what happens.
I’d say the driver of the 74 would still hit the steering wheel hard, no belt tensioner or airbag, not to mention the whole dashboard being pushed back, and also end up with bad leg injuries when the wheel crushes the footwell. I don’t think the extra weight would be enough to overcome that.
Seatbelts work ok I recently had a crash in a 70ft Tractor trailer I was wearing the seat belt and have the injuries to prove it but no airbags in 2011 Internationals I hit the steeruing wheel hard no deformation in a truck either the dashboard shattered and I was immersed in broken glass and fibreglass. The only thing that helped was it was a conventional truck not a cabover that extra metre in front of the windscreen helps in old vehicles occupants were often killed by hitting interior parts from not being strapped in.
One of my favorite Malcolm Gladwell pieces – on just how important seat belts are to auto safety:
http://gladwell.com/wrong-turn/
Advances in auto design are only a portion of the equation in the reduction of highway deaths, so it only partially explains the weight gain of autos. Since 1972, highway design has improved vastly; more roads are designed to a higher speed standard, there are fewer fixed objects along the roadway, there is more use of guardrail, guard cable, rumble strips, and rumble stripes – among other advances.
So, yes, cars have gained weight but there have been too many other improvements in related areas that don’t fully explain the bloat.
There’s a whole number of explanations. First off, its important to know that the “curb weight” of cars back in the old days was consistently 200-300 lbs less than the “as tested” weight of cars in magazine tests. I’m not sure if the weights you show of the current cars are more realistic or not, but I suspect so.
One of the reasons for that big discrepancy between the factory listed weight and “as tested” weight is that 99% of cars back then needed a number of options to represent what folks wanted/needed in a car; say air conditioning, automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, radio, etc…. Now some of those may have been standard on the Marquis, but for instance, a 1969 ford LTD came standard with threw speed manual, manual steering, etc.. And A/C, which was quite heavy back then (giant compressors, bigger radiators, etc) was certainly not standard.
Comparing vans like the Caravan and Honda to a passenger sedan is really comparing apples to oranges. These are hardly “mini-vans”, but full size vans capable of carrying 7-8 persons with the kind of seating comfort and interior space very different from a sedan. Add two electric-operated sliding doors, and an electric-operated hatch, and rear A/C, and entertainment systems, and 43 air bags, and eight-speed transmission, and…..
Let’s put it this way: Since I’m not an engineer at Chrysler or Honda, I can’t give a detailed explanation for exactly where the weight goes and breaks down component by component, but given the competitive advantages of better performance and economy from a vehicle being no heavier than necessary, I’d say that short of more expensive measures like aluminum bodies, these vehicles undoubtedly weigh what they do for a good reason.
Keep in mind that there’s a huge amount of “dead space” in cars like the Marquis. Ever see all the pavement looking down between the engine and the radiator, and then in front of the radiator? And the whole trunk is just an empty tin box. These cars were profoundly space inefficient. How about a comparison of interior space to weight? Cubic feet per overall inches of length. Now that would be a profoundly more meaningful than weight per inch.
http://automotivemileposts.com/mark31969weight.html
An interesting post from an interesting site.
That’s a very good point as I remember reading at some point how curb weights were advertised as dry vehicles – no gasoline, oil, or other fluids. Gasoline alone could add 150 lbs depending upon tank size. So it’s entirely possible the numbers I used for the Mercury’s was a dry weight from my auto encyclopedia whereas the other numbers were pulled straight from manufacturer websites.
I don’t disagree on the minivans vs. car comparisons; my thought process was more of a people mover perspective. Adding a 2010 Grand Marquis may have made the most sense.
Depending on who you belive the 2010 GM tipped the scales at 4048 to 4118. The 4118 is the mfg stated weight while the 4048 is the as tested weight of an Edmunds.com test.
Back in the day it wasn’t totally uncommon for a mfg to list the curb weight as a dry weight but they also some times included a shipping weight. As Paul mentioned the cars of yore did vary much more significantly as there was a much wider range of equipment available on most cars.
The interesting comparosen it that between the Taurus and the Charger since they are the “modern” full size car. Note that they come pretty close to that of the last Grand Marquis. So much for unibody construction being significantly lighter as the Grand Marquis has all the safety features like ABS and side air bags standard and met the current safety standard except mandatory stability control and software doesn’t add much weight. Note the last GM had an iron bock for it’s V8 while the Taurus’ V6 block is aluminum.
From my 1970 Mercury MVMA spec’s book. Curb weights, liquid weight’s, and option weight front/rear.
I am so conscious of safety now, whenever a buy another classic I’ve learned to budget for bringing the vehicle up to a certain standard rather than blow the whole wad on the purchase. All the cars I loved when I was young are now twice as old.
What really bugs me about new cars is the visibility; the thickness of the A-pillars on a Commodore is ridiculous.
People complained in 1971 that Holden windscreen pillars were to thin yet they could withstand 21 tonnes without deforming Ive been in a pileup in a 71 HQ holden Id rather crash in a new Commodore.
Yeah, I bought my ’77 w116 partly on the basis of safety, but the truth is I would rather have an accident in a brand new large car with all the safety fruit included.
I thought the flagship Mercury’s of the late 60’s and 70’s were very handsome and comfortable. I never understood why my grandparents could not break from a Buick Electra just once to try the Mercury. When my grandfather passed in 1979 he was working on a deal to order a new Lincoln. I will always wonder how that would have worked out. In our rural area of the world you did not see any of the flagship Mercury’s until the mid to late 70’s.
Let’s watch an actual Five-O chase…..watch McGarrett’s Mercury do a 30 foot sideways slide on wet grass….
Notice around 2:21 in the video McGarrett’s Mercury turns into an early 60’s Lincoln for a few shots from the water.
Esso Atlas Weatherguard bias belted tires were carefully chosen for this skid effect. Using a unique vulcanizing process, now banned in 129 countries.
I noticed the Lincoln too, the Weatherguard tires were selected for their ability to cut diamonds.
The one thing that always cracked me up about the original 5-0 was that even though they always had the sirens blaring, there were no lights flashing, no hazards blinking, no high beams on, or anything to visually indicate a police vehicle was approaching. I guess Honolulu drivers in the Sixties & the Seventies automatically knew how to get the hell out of the way in the presence of various black Mercuries approaching at warp 9….
Lord was not a fun guy in any way, from what someone I knew who used to be a guest bad guy on the show a few times told me(Simon Oakland). He would get miffed at almost anything and sulk in his trailer or go home until the suits caved. The strongest memory I have of his cars was the constant, never ending tire squealing. I never heard a car do that to that extreme before. In 1974, my mother bought a Lincoln MKIV, and it’s tires squealed for their life constantly, and any turn over crawling speed would cause a lot of noise. Once, my mom’s boyfriend took a corner at a slightly higher speed than a battlecruiser should, and the right hubcab flew off, hit the curb, and smacked into the front of a bar. I had to get out, pick it up, and toss it into the trunk, while horns honked at us and people yelled all kinds of not so nice things at us. To me, these big boats were about the only cars where Ford’s styling hadn’t gone totally wrong for decades. I didn’t like them, but I didn’t hate their looks as much as I did the GM Colonade cars.
You met Simon Oakland? Of Bullitt and Psycho fame? cool. Lord supposedly had a huge palace of an RV for location shots.
I actually was kind of friends with him. He stayed at a motel complex in Vegas where I was a security guard quite often, and the first time I ran into him, he had just been on something the night before and he told me what he was doing that week in town. I think it was “David Cassidy: Man Undercover”, which he said was “Complete shit, but it’s a paycheck!”. Eventually, H50 came up in conversation and he told me about Jack Lord’s pettiness and intolerance for any fun on the set. I had already heard that Lord made that show an unhappy place to work, but I didn’t know until Oakland told me how bad it was. Over the year I worked there I talked to him at least a half dozen times. He drove a big black, or maybe dark blue, Chrysler. It fit him for some reason.
There were other actors who had no trouble working with Jack – Loretta Switt, Monte Markham, Nehemieh Persoff, Bruce Boxleitner, and some lesser-known actors. I spoke to Don Stroud, who did three episodes of H5O and he had a great time and said Jack was a nice guy.
I don’t know what Simon Oakland witnessed, but Jack was not acting up over petty things. Often, the suits were interfering with the show and Jack didn’t like their ideas.
I know Bernie Oseransky , who was the production manager on Hawaii Five-O for ten years. He told me the only time Jack walked off the set and production was stopped was during one episode filmed in 1974, when the producer brought a visitor the set without permission, and Jack got into an argument with the producer and stormed off the set. Otherwise, there was no other time when Jack went home over an incident on the set.
Dennis Donnelly, who was a first assistant director, told me about how Jack was always on time and no one had to wait for him, unlike other actors he worked with, and Jack was very professional about his work. Sulking and going back to his trailer whenever he didn’t get his way was not his way.
There were extras I met who said they enjoyed their time working there.
Dad had a 67 4 door Monterey in vomit green with matching interior. 390 2barrel single exhaust. Looked just like Jack Lord’s 68 Park Lane. That car was tough. It also had shoulder belts that I installed with belts from a junkyard 68. The threaded anchor points were already there, I just used a straight pin to poke through the headliner until I found the holes. They got tested when I thought (age 16) It would be fun to scare me and my belted in friend by hitting a 25 mph dip in the road at around 70-75 mph. The car bounced off the ground twice and I never spun a steering wheel from lock to lock as fast in my life as the car zig-zagged from curb to curb. The car still drove perfectly, but now had two-tone brown and green front bench seat. The next morning there was a small puddle of gas under the car, I fixed that with a self tapping screw and a rubber faucet washer. I don’t think the 72 up land barges would have survived. Jack Lord knew what he had. What I did not have back then was a functional brain.
And just to prove that the apple never fall far from the tree in the McGarrett family, there is a an episode where McGarrett visits his sister in California, what does she drive….why a 68 Mercury Colony Park of course…here’s a shot of McGarrett driving it.
Intense product placements are one thing. But you’d think Ford would want the placements to be as flattering as possible. My teenaged memory of Five-O, Cannon and Barnaby Jones was of land yachts floating and wallowing in car chases. It reinforced my thought at the time that LTDs, Montereys, etc. were not suited for any police work involving high speed pursuit.
I know these shows were targeted to an older demographic. Thus, the big cars were what they wanted to sell. Perhaps if they regularly/occasionally included a Marauder, Cyclone or Montego in some capacity.
At least Ford had sportier cars appearing in cop shows on the other networks.
Well the thin was, the big cars were still the standard bearer for many car lines, plus basis in reality, MOST police cars in real life were standard full size Fords, Mopars and Chevrolets. If your regular cops drove Fords, then a “supercop” like McGarrett should at least drive a Mercury no?
I always wondered what Hawaii Five-O would have been like if GM had sponsored the cars, would McGarrett have a black Electra 225?
I’d say a black Electra 225 would be an excellent choice.
Of course McGarrett would have a standard-sized Mercury. But if Ford is paying for all of these cars and placements, why would they not want say a detective, who makes occasional appearances, to drive a Cougar? Just to add variety to the products being presented. I think today, they pay more attention to details like this, given that it was a such a long running series and a golden marketing tool for Mercury. They never expanded beyond the bread and butter standard full-sized cars. I think they could have placed the occasional Montego convertible or coupe, for example.
If GM was sponsor, he’d have a Pontiac Bonneville.
Now that’s a wagon!One day I will own a woody
+1 Gem. I have my eye on a 75 Chevy Clamshell right now, sans wood but ready for a woody kit.
If you love this model Mercury, Matchbox toys made it as a Speed King as well as a 1/75 model. No wood, but.
Very nice article. Yes, Jack Lord was certainly a unique guy – a superb actor, a gifted artist, and a perfectionist. He was also arrogant, condescending, and had a very high opinion of himself. He was also somewhat eccentric – very much a loner.
But he put his heart and soul into Five-0 for 12 years – up every morning at 0400 and on the lot for 14 hours six days a week.
Couple additions to the above comments:
– Lord sold Cadillacs prior to acting – and had Cadillacs all his life – while in Hawaii, his plate was always “Five-0”
– Lord didn’t drive to the studio – he demanded a driver and a RV fitted out as a mobile dressing room – quite the star treatment…….
– He remained in Hawaii after Five-0 went off the air and made one more pilot for CBS, “M-Station Hawaii” , but it didn’t sell – he stayed in the islands the rest of his life at his Kahala condo – rarely venturing out except to do some shopping at the local Star Market – there is a statue of him at the Kahala Mall near his condo
– He is still revered in Hawaii, for starting the tourist boom in the late 60s, for staying in Hawaii after Five-0 finished, and for his community contributions. When his wife passed away in 2006, they left a $40 endowment to 12 non-profit Hawaii charities.
I also prefer the ’68 Park Lane………
typo – should be $40 million…..
He was also friends with Elvis, who gave a him a gold plated Walther PPK as a gift.
Lincolnman, I am working on Mr. Lord’s biography, and interviewed many people who worked with him on Hawaii Five-O, and your comments have no basis in fact.
Jack was driven to the studio in a car by a driver named John Willis. I spoke to Willis’s daughter and she confirmed it. It was customary for the actors to be driven by a chauffeur. Jack didn’t demand the RV. He bought it on his own and decorated it with his own money. He said this in an interview at the time.
Your statement that he was “arrogant, condescending, and had a very high opinion of himself.” Where are you getting this information from – tabloids? They will trash anyone to sell copies. The TV Guide articles were lies. Nothing was ever proven.
I have ready many interviews with Jack, and I saw nothing in them that indicated that he was “arrogant, condescending, and had a very high opinion of himself.” He did everything he had to do for the good of the show, not to better himself. He was a co-producer and co-owner, for pity’s sake. TB production is not easy, nor is it a place where everyone will be treated as the special snowflake they think they are – and I’m talking about Jack’s costars and the cast and crew.
What did he say that was arrogant and condescending? He had to work with Hawaiians who played hooky, a co-star who acted like a crybaby all the time, and guest stars who thought they were on Spring Break. Apart from James MacArthur, the other actors where neophytes who had no acting experience or very little, and he had to train them. Is that acceptable behavior? No, it isn’t. He had a show to put out, and if it wasn’t finished on time, the show would go over schedule and over budget, and CBS would have canceled it.
Has anyone ever seen the website with the story of the 68 used on “Hawaii Five-0”? I ran across it years ago and there was a neat story of someone rescuing it after it was blown up in an episode and replaced by a new Marquis.
I loved this show as a kid but the only episode I remember involved a floatation tank.
Sounds like Cocoon, the pilot episode.
“This clip (of the car chase) literally has something for everyone.”
Did everyone overlook the girl while watching the cars?
of the 1969-78 full size Mercury’s the 1971-72’s were my favorites with 1971 being my #1 favorite, and the 1973-74’s were my least favorites,
Jack Lord did not insist that they use Ford cars. He accepted the role and flew to Hawaii to start filming in less than a week. He got the script on a Wednesday, flew to Hawaii the following Friday, and was in front of the camera Monday morning. That would not be enough time to make such a demand and for it to be granted. Jack also did not ask for equal billing and more money to be in the next James Bond film. He was a guest on the Merv Griffin Show in 1964, and he said he was not asked to come back for the next film. If he was not asked, he would not have had the opportunity to ask for anything. You can’t accuse him of lying, either, since no one in the Bond camp came forward to do damage control. The source of that rumor about Jack asking for more money, etc., came from Richard Maibaum’s 1983 Starlog magazine interview. He doesn’t even say how he knew about this, or if he was there when the conversation took place.
And the filmed interaction between Lord and Leonard Freeman over the ‘72 Merc is BS, too. The references are wrong. The cutting a diamond in the backseat refers to a Mercury ad from a year later—-1973. And the circumcision alludes to a Saturday Night Live parody from 1977. Where’d the “transcription” in this article come from? And can we see the video?
It’s satire. Using ads from later was the best way to make that obvious.
My dad bought his first new car the year I graduated from high school a 1972 royal blue Mercury Monterey. It had the same body as the Marquis but without the hide away headlights. His had the429 4v engine and as I recall, it got about 12 mpg around town & about 19 mpg on the highway. He kept it for about 5 years and replaced it with a 1978 Mercury Zephyr with a 302 which did not ride as good as the Monterey.
I catch every episode I can these days on meTV. Car spotting this many decades later is a delight. Mostly, the regular marked police cars were Chevrolet and ambulances Cadillac, so Ford didnt have all the product placement, just the detective cars.
There was a bronze Buick Skylark often driven by the bad guys. Dodge A-series vans also made regular appearances in various roles.
Non-automotive product placements were United Airlines jets, DC-8 or 747, never Pan Am. United was sometimes listed in the credits.
The Chevrolet police cars I remember were 1971 and later so I’m guessing they came in the later seasons. Probably the ones from 1968 to 1970 were regular Ford Customs.
Great read. I’m partial to the ’69-’70 version, but probably due to sentimental reasons. Mom had a ’70 Marquis Brougham with just about every toy available at the time. The folks wound up keeping the car long past her normal trading cycle because of the first gas crisis. A 429 V8 was just about saleproof in ’73-’74, so she just kept driving it. Comfortable, trunk the size of a U-Haul trailer, and reliable as the hills. Nine years and about 160K miles later, it went to Marquis heaven (broken connecting rod).
Like this, but in Beige with a Dark Green Top and interior. (It was the 70’s).
love the green and white Marquis looks great I hope whoever buys it keeps it in great shape and maybe even takes it to shows
Great write-up, Jason!
I am definitely a fan of the original Hawaii Five-O, as witnessed by this photo.
It’s a ’73 Marquis Brougham with 83K miles. this particular car is equipped with the factory self-leveling rear suspension, so it doesn’t float quite as much as a regular Marquis.
The reputedly mercurial Jack Lord’s probable hand on the vehicle casting for Hawaii Five-O is remarkable considering that even with Ford’s involvement the ’68 and ’74 cars were allowed to stay for several seasons as they did. There may not be another manufacturer involved example of this in TV land.
I became a fan of Five-O when I was old enough to stay up late enough to watch it. I was all of four in the fall of 1968, so by the time I made it to the Lolani Palace parking lot, all I really knew was the ’74 Marquis. I recall thinking it quite remarkable by 1977 or so that the popular ’75 – ‘78 Marquis “pillared” hardtop didn’t get its day in the capable hands of McGarrett.
Learning of Lord’s influence on the show, I figured he finally acquiesced to the ’74 in order to grab the last true pillar-less hardtop four door Mercury. As others have noted, McGarrett’s car was always fashionably driven with it’s windows down in full hardtop glory, and it appears Lord just wasn’t ready to give that up.
That is, until it was too late, from what I recall. Unlike some popular CBS television series that were famous for going out on top, or near top, Hawaii Five-O fell hard in the ratings for the ’78 -’79 season, and the final ’79 – ’80 season was almost sad.
Except for Lord, all original major supporting cast members were gone, and even the more important mid-series replacements were gone. McGarrett partially gave up on his dapper but almost stuck in 1968 wardrobe and appeared in some Hawaiian shirts, looking like a retiree. The new supporting cast seemed to be purposely (too) young to put some life in the show. It just didn’t work.
And, I’m here to swear to you that McGarrett was seen at least occasionally driving the rather sorry first year 1979 Panther based Mercury Grand Marquis Brougham four door SEDAN.
Inherited my father in laws 1972 Mercury Marquis Brougham recently. I had talked him in to entering it in the Red Oak Classy chassis auto show back in 2006. Second place in the 70’s division competing against twenty odd entries. He place the car back in storage until his death. 27K actual miles. Thinking about entering again next year.
With only 27,000 miles it’s barely been broken in. You may as well enter it next year. Bet there won’t be many — if any — of those on display.
Lord made the right call. The ’68 Parklane was not only the coolest but it offered production advantages:
1) Pillarless hardtop with all windows down – always (this is Hawaii after all). No headrests, window-frames or B-pillars to block the view of JL and passengers.
2) Having the signature chrome front quarter vent window (cracked open of course) added a cool look as JL is there with the radio microphone in hand.
3) Much higher power-to-weight ratio in the ’68 428-4V. The ’74 460 was quite hobbled with its’ weight and low compression / early smog controls.
4) Being nimble enough for the tire-chirping Jack-rabbit starts and stops that add emphasis – with the door opened and one foot out before the car stops moving.
BTW, unlike other period shows they never cheated a moving car interior shot. They really were driving around vs. the green-screen and CGI snowflakes in the new 5-0.
Having the great fortune to have a local cable channel that shows FIVE original 5-0 episodes back to back each Friday, there was a recent episode (dated 1973, IIRC) in which Danno pulled up in a 2 door, light green Chevelle Malibu, complete with Rally wheels!! 🙂
1972 vs 1974 Marquis? If Jack Lord wanted a more athletic-looking car, why would the truly bloated ’74 be his choice?
The late great Lou Frizell. Died too young in 1979.
Weight wise , It’s irriviliant to compare a minivan as a Dodge Caravan or an Odyssey cause they offer much more interior space for their footprint than the old (yes) barge.
Have all the original shows on DVD. Sometimes I just listen to the intro because it is just so damn good. Hearing it brings back so many memories from the 60’s. Got the Ventures CD because of that. If it isn’t the hands down best intro ever made then I don’t know what is. Soon my 67 Parklane will be back on the road with the song on the tape deck.
It’s an interesting point about the bobbing ’72. I wonder if the ’74 was ordered with the heaviest-duty towing suspension package available which, in the absence of an actual police package from L-M, would make sense for the car to have in-series.
“Greek temple aura and charisma”–a most spot-on description of this era of Mercuries. Though time has softened my harsh opinions of those big barges and they now look to me more like luxurious ocean liners from bygone days.
But I also think Lord was smart to stick with the ’68.
Whenever I read this old posting, I keep thinking that you are affirming what I have believed about these cars. Nice. The only problem I would have with one today is the truely abysmal gas mileage. That would be tough.
For those whose collector car interests includes the full-sized luxury and near-luxury segment of the ’60’s-’70’s these Mercurys can still be found in good condition for reasonable prices under $10K. Largely overlooked, they represent a good value for those who recognize it.
No one seems to remember or realize that McGarrett’s car in the pilot episode was a 1967 Marquis, which only came as a luxury coupe. footage from that episode made a routine appearance in later shows.
Great article! And my favorite of all Mercury’s.
I read somewhere, sadly, that as Jack Lord aged he developed Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, there was a point where he had no recollection of the show.