I recently stumbled across pictures I had taken during the weekend of the CC meetup that took place in the greater Detroit area at the beginning of June 2017. Winter has traditionally been a good time for me to go back through years of photographs I’ve taken and not looked at since, as during warmer weather months I’m often outdoors making new memories and documenting it all in pixels. I suppose this isn’t dissimilar to how many animals and creatures gather enough food for the winter before reemerging or reappearing once the snow melts. It seems almost unbelievable that it has been almost five years since I had first met Paul, Jason, Dan, J.P., Dean, and so many others in the CC community face-to-face.
The Beach at Campus Martius Park.
While the meetup itself was the main reason I was in Detroit after having attended my first Indianapolis 500 only the weekend before, I knew it was just as important for me to be by myself with my camera for a while. The Motor City is one of my happy places, and at the risk of repeating myself from earlier posts, the magic of this city lies within so many things about it that speak to me or that I can relate to. To offer just a brief list, there’s its vast historical significance within the automotive and entertainment industries (especially popular music), its ethnic diversity and multiracial population, its no-nonsense ethos, and its beautiful architecture that’s a mixture of both classic and modern styles, among many other things.
Modern Detroit also symbolizes a strong, steady, focused, phoenix-like ascent from a low point, which is something I feel in my very soul. It still has a way to go and, granted, I’ve largely spent time mostly in the downtown area, but its continued resurgence compared to even only five or six years ago, when I had first spent any significant amount of time there in over a decade, has been nothing short of breathtaking. Detroit inspires me to continue on my own personal journey of making sense of things from my past, renovating the great things about myself that may not have gotten needed attention at some point, and just being the best version of me that I can be without excessive fanfare while also acknowledging where I’ve been. In more than a few ways, I feel like I am Detroit.
This mid-’80s Panther platform Mercury Grand Marquis that I spotted while attempting to get lost downtown also reminded me of The D. It is a big, old, traditionally-styled thing that symbolizes how personal transportation used to get done for much of middle America. It is not remotely chic though classically styled, it has a healthy appetite, and is a little big around the waist. It knows, however, exactly what it is and does care what you think. Detroit was very much a significant part of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, and a ton of manufacturing was done here. Similarly, full-sized cars with rear-wheel-drive and V8 power were what many families aspired to have in the garage or carport. If a family could afford better than one of the low-priced three (Chevrolet, Ford, or Plymouth) like a Mercury, it was often seen as an outward expression of their relative affluence.
That last point was probably not as true by the mid-’80s, when there was less differentiation between makes with models that shared a corporate platform. I will say that with the proliferation of Ford LTD / Crown Victoria taxi cabs (along with Chevy Impalas and Caprices) in that decade, a Mercury always seemed a clear and obvious step up from a comparable Ford. A Grand Marquis simply looked richer and more expensive than the nicest LTD Crown Victoria, and it helped that I never saw any running around as livery. My own grandparents made the switch up from a Crown Vic to a Grand Marquis around ’88, and owned three in a row as their last vehicles.
After managing to snap a few frames of this car in traffic, I stopped into American Coney Island on Lafayette for one of the most “Detroit” lunches I crave: two coneys and a heap of salty French fries drizzled with ketchup. (This was late in the afternoon, which is partially why I wasn’t yet hungry by the time the CC group met up that evening at Westpoint Bar-B-Que in Dearborn). After leaving the restaurant and walking around for a while, I spotted the Mercury yet again. It appeared to be “getting lost” or wandering about by itself, just like me, and in that moment I felt I had found a kindred soul in the form of this big car and its driver.
The 114.3″-wheelbase, full-sized Grand Marquis was anything but lost during its mid-’80s tenure as a money-spinner for Lincoln-Mercury Division. I’d argue that with the exception of the Sable which would arrive for ’86, the Grand Marquis possessed the strongest Mercury identity of any of that make’s offerings from that time. Even though it shared a platform with the Crown Victoria, it seemed like the net effect of its various detail changes was greater than the sum of its parts. More importantly, from this 1983 – ’87 generation, it was consistently Mercury’s volume seller, outselling everything else with the exception of the Cougar for only ’86 (109,400 Grand Marquises vs. 135,900 Cougars). Many buyers in the United States clearly found value in the extra $1,000 or so over the comparable Ford, even if the Crown Vic usually outsold it.
The Grand Marquis actually outsold the Crown Victoria for ’87 by over 2,300 units (131,200 vs. 128,900). Unable to see our Mercury’s license plate or otherwise verify its exact model year, I went with the grille and taillamps in determining it must be from one of the five model years between 1983 an ’87. Over this time period, it sold an average of 129,300 units annually, versus 145,000 for the Ford – a difference of only 12%. This was during a time period in the mid-’80s when Mercury’s annual sales volume ranged from between only 27% (1987) to 46% (1983) of Ford’s, which brings the success of the big Merc into clear focus. People went to Lincoln-Mercury dealers to buy this car.
Standard power came from the Ford 302 cubic-inch V8 with horsepower ratings that ranged from 140 to 155. My Encyclopedia of American Cars from the Editors of Consumer Guide shows that a 351-V8 was available through ’84 (with 180 hp that year), exclusive to police cruisers from between ’81 and ’84. I have never seen a Grand Marquis of this vintage outfitted as a police car, not even in TV shows. Were any actually made?
One key difference between this old Mercury and Detroit is that unlike the Motor City, the Mercury brand is probably not coming back. Still, I saw this particular example as being like one of Detroit’s many architectural gems. This Grand Marquis may not be on anyone’s list right now as a candidate for the kind of restoration that’s currently happening at the historic Book Tower or Michigan Central Station, but it clearly looked cared for at the time of these photographs, even with the small dent in the rear quarter panel. It appeared to be rust free, its panels were straight, and its paint was shiny. I didn’t see it again during that CC meetup weekend while I stayed downtown, but I found inspiration in the way that, like me, it seemed to be simply wandering about, lost in the wonder of seeing something beautiful being reborn.
Downtown Detroit, Michigan.
Saturday, June 3, 2017.
The 1985 brochure photo was sourced from www.oldcarbrochures.org.
Once again, a wonderful essay Joseph!
Here in Monmouth County NJ, you still see many of these panthers, whether they be a Ford or a Mercury. I often see a very well kept Grand Marquis 2dr sedan (I guess it’s technically not a coupe), driving around my neighborhood. The tasteful black and silver tutone exterior really coordinates well with black landau roof, spoke wheel covers, and the red velour interior.
Cars like this are nothing but a memory now. How I hate SUV’s !!
Thank you so much. The two-door Panthers are so rare… I happened to catch one in downtown Chicago rush hour traffic back in 2019. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/in-motion-classic/in-motion-classic-1984-mercury-grand-marquis-two-door-sedan-once-taken-for-granite/
I have seen the color combo you described, and it is quite striking.
It is hard to tell from these shots if there is a high center brake light in the rear window – if not, 1985 is the newest it could be. But you are right, these are almost impossible to distinguish from year to year.
I agree that this was one of L-M Divisions great Mercury success stories. It seemed to me that both Ford and Mercury versions sold in roughly equal numbers in this generation, but then retail Crown Vic sales cratered after 1991. Of these, I always found the Mercury better looking from the rear but the Ford better looking from the front.
That lunch looks delish!
I think I like the frontal styling of both the Ford and the Mercury about equally, but I thought the large taillights of the Grand Marquis definitely looked more upscale.
That lunch was amazing. I had American Coney Island again in Vegas last fall – it’s my taste of The D *at* The D (Hotel & Casino).
Once so ever-present, now worthy of CC fame. Isn’t is amazing (read as scary) how time flies? These were all over the place seemingly not that long ago.
Joe, your discussion of Detroit is quite welcome. In putting together a COAL series, I have just written about my time in Detroit in 2000. My wife had an event at the Renaissance Center and we (initially) stayed in Dearborn. Oh, the sights we saw along the way…unforgettable. It had really changed, to the point of being nearly unrecognizable, when we had the CC Meetup.
While I’m not sure of the year, I do vividly remember these being in marked service. I am wanting to say the Patrol here quit using Mercury by the time the GM had the tail lights widened (as seen in your example) in, what, 1984? For what it’s worth, I also remember them using Buicks and Chryslers.
Wow… Jason, I honesty don’t remember having seen one of these Mercury police cruisers! Now I’m going to be scanning all of my favorite action shows of the ’80s to see if I spot any.
Looking forward to your COAL series!
Back in the 90’s, the Maine State Police used to order unmarked Grand Marquis’ with a Crown Victoria nose on them. The theory was that from behind, they looked like Grandma Edna’s car until the speeders blew by them. At that point all that the speeder saw was blue lights and a Crown Victoria. Game Over!
Sneaky! The ’90s were about the time that I lost the ability to identify even the sequence of the restyles of the two cars.
What a great post — great car and great city! More Americans need to spend time in and discover Detroit. It’s such an unknown gem. Every time I go there, I am amazed at what a fascinating city it is. The architecture is outstanding, the people are friendly and proud of their city, and the attractions are world-class. Oh, and the food is great, too!
Just one quibble with the car review — I would say the Cougar of the mid-80s was just as distinctive as the Sable and Grand Marquis.
All of this, Jeff – thank you! And I will concede that the Cougar was distinctive. I think there was enough effort put into distinguishing it from the Thunderbird that made it stand out. It took a while for its roofline and rear quarter window to grow on me, but I respected that it brought something special back to the Cougar name after having been watered down a bit not too many years before. A ’67 it wasn’t, but I did like it.
Thanks for another thoughtful and interesting morning read. My only experience with Detroit (Dearborn actually) was a visit in winter 1976 for a day-long interview at Ford for my first post-graduation engineering job. Between the general malaise at Ford (though seeing Fox prototypes was encouraging) and the winter dreariness of the urban Midwest this California boy didn’t make the move. And just yesterday I listened to a podcast about Detroit’s Representative Rashida Tlaib which focused more on the region’s problems than its recovery. So it’s good to hear a different perspective on this historic city.
As for Grand Marquis, they do keep rolling even out here in importland. And while I don’t recall any Mercury Panthers in police use here, we did briefly have California Highway Patrol Mercuries in the early Seventies. Along with a brief foray into Oldsmobile; otherwise it’s been pretty much Ford, Chevy, and Dodge.
That would have been a fascinating time to be there at Ford, when those Fox prototypes were being developed / finalized / whatever. From most accounts I’ve read, the Detroit of ’76 was pretty bleak, so it’s no wonder to me that you passed on the move, especially coming from sunny California.
Yeah, in hindsight if I had stuck it out for a few years I could have also been involved in some cars even more innovative (for Detroit) than the Fox, such as the Tempo or even Taurus. I didn’t see any Fox Mustangs then, but I saw what I later learned were Fairmont shaped proto’s. With V6’s under the hood.
There’s one of these for sale near me, but it has donk wheels on it. How hard is it to switch back to stock rims and hubcaps?
Wheels easy, if the suspension is lifted that’s some extra work but not irreversible, if the body is cut for the large diameter tires to fit it’s scrap metal
I have this memory of being in Detroit at the same time, but it seems more like a dream than reality. That probably has something to do with being quite sick with a flu at the time, which was very unfortunate. I managed to get through those three days and still find moments of genuine pleasure, but it did put an odd cast to my memories of it. Did I really meet Joseph Dennis there?
Paul, you rallied like a champ. I honestly had forgotten you weren’t feeling great. I do remember a bunch of us sitting down for lunch at Greenfield Village and having first in-person conversations. That was way cool. People’s personalities in my mind lined up almost perfectly with their written words.
Nice stroll down memory lane! I recall these cars quite well. One of my friends parents had one (not sure of the year) in white with the white top and more closed in rear window. I liked the more limo-like rear window better than the other ones. Their car had the very dark maroon velour (velvet like) seats and boy was that thing a nice looking car. I couldn’t understand why anyone would spend more money on a Lincoln at that time.
Thanks for the article.
Thanks, Dan. I remember the velour seating and door panels in my grandparents’ Grand Marquis (and even the Crown Vic) feeling super luxurious. Those interiors even smelled luxurious to me, though I’m trying to think about what specifically might have given me that impression.
It’s interesting, it’s hard for me to see the box LTD Crown Vic as anything else but frumpy when comparing it to its closest competitor, the Chevy Impala/Caprice, but the Grand Marquis comes off very well compared to the Delta 88 and Buick LeSabres, and all that’s really differentiated from the Ford is the front and rear ends. It’s remarkable what a little design cohesion can accomplish
Cougar was very distinctive back then, the brand had always struggled to some degree over its identity but Mercury really lost its purpose after the Cougar was axed, the Grand Marquis basically remained in the same market position/demographic with the same level of differentiation from the Ford version when it was axed as it was in the mid 80s and it just couldn’t carry the brand by itself.
Great observations, Matt. Besides the first, significant aero restyle of ’92, I don’t know what else FoMoCo could have done to make these cars seem more “current” without alienating their core buying demographic.
Coming up on five years already, even more amazing considering that I’ve haven’t been able to cross the border for two of those years! I am itching to get across to the various car shows and venues, with things hopefully opening up for the Summer. Attached is a shot of my Dad’s ’90 GM that I found for him in 2000, and my 85CV. Up here in Canada, anyone who bought a Grand Marquis was automatically issued with a “cranky old man hat” to wear whilst driving it.
It was so great meeting you, Dean! And I loved “meeting” your ’75 Monte. I think my grandfather might have also been issued that same hat you described, though he and I were cool. I definitely want to get up to Canada – there are so many places there I now want to explore. Especially now that I haven’t been able to go there! That’s how it works, sometimes.
The detail clean-up on these box Panthers by 1983 made for a decent looking car for the times, probably why I eventually bought one.
The buildings behind the car with their colors and boxy lines pair up nicely with this MGM.
More great photos, as usual. Thank you for sharing!
Dave, thank you, and it’s funny you mentioned the buildings in the background. I had originally thought about writing about how the styling of the Mercury rhymed with the buildings behind it, but decided to take my essay in a different direction. Great minds.
Plentiful, affordable, average, and dependable.
There’s a lot to admire in those attributes, frankly.
I like the looks these cars get from my kids. They just cannot comprehend a time when the roads were filled with cars like these. I have the next generation Panther and when I pick my kids up from school, it is the only cruiser among hundreds of SUVs, minivans, and assorted imports of every make and size.
So, this generation Panther would definitely stop traffic as though it was a 1958 Plymouth in my day.
I like that last analogy, and I wonder often what my nephews and nieces think about the cars I like and sometimes write about. They might see them like some of us might have seen a ’58 Fury.
Any year Marquis/Grand Marquis always makes me think of my dad since he owned 7 of them from the late 60s to the mid 90s. I took my driver’s license test in August of ’87 in his ’85 Grand Marquis that looked a lot like the brown one in the above picture.
I am from a small town in Pennsylvania, and I have owned 4 MGM’s over the years. They were all used, and held up very well over the years, getting up to 25 mpg. Hubby loved the big trunk, which easily held all his buddies golf clubs (and them, too; we were snowbirds for 12 years)when he picked them up every Friday. In our 80’s now and still drive a 2003 which our grandkids call “the boat.” Still don’t really understand why they stopped making them, even though I have read the reason.
Loved to read this, Carol! You bring up a great point about the trunk space. My grandparents were snowbirds and used to load up the trunk in their three, consecutive MGMs with no complaints. Before owning them, and then a related Crown Vic before, the increase in interior and trunk space was quite measurable compared to their previous Chrysler Fifth Avenue.
My aunt and uncle got their last MGM and kept it for a long time. It was a very comfortable cruiser!
Awesome, love it when I take the old girl out too!
What a great article, thank you for this. I too feel the same kind of connection to Detroit, on a very deep and personal level. It’s a place that’s completely unique in this world. I took this photo on Woodward Avenue some years back—that sign in the shop window says it all.
Love the sentiment and the photo – thanks for sharing both.
My Dad never owned this generation; though he did buy 3 Sables in a row. He was in the market for a new wagon in 1978 (turned out to be the last of a series of wagons) and he looked at the newly downsized Ford…I forget what put him off, but instead he bought a leftover ’78 Chevy Caprice Estate. I think part of if might have been that GM finally copied the “Ford” 3 way tailgate; he hated the clamshell tailgate of ’71-’76. My sister and I were in our last years of undergraduate studies after which we went off on our own, which meant…he really didn’t need to keep buying full sized wagons anymore with only my 2 younger sisters still at home.
I drove many LTDII and Thunderbirds the 2 years before (’77 and ’78) working as a transporter for Hertz, but never one of these. After his ’78 Chevy was hit he decided to downsize 2 sizes and (unfortunately) bought the worst car he ever owned, an ’84 Pontiac Sunbird (sedan, he was finally done with wagons). The Sunbird probably drove him back to Ford (actually, not directly, he had an ’86 Dodge 600 in between) when he had his 3 Sables in a row…only Mercury he was ever to own. I think he liked the dealership, they built a new one not far from where he lived (now is an Alfa Romeo dealership). I guess he didn’t think he needed a full sized car anymore, the Sable was a good fit, though living in central Texas, didn’t need the FWD (would have come in handy in Vermont but was pretty scarce, especially on larger cars when he lived there).
Anyhow, his first Ford Wagon (’69 Country Squire) had the 351; right before that my Uncle had bought a new LTD 4 door hardtop with the 302. My Dad sometimes seemed to do a “copy” buy; right after someone in our family bought a particular model my Dad bought that same model, even the same year. It worked fine for the Country Squire, but backfired when he copied my sister’s ’84 Sunbird (to be fair, she didn’t have any of the problems my Dad had with his, despite his having the car serviced per schedule at the dealer…2 engines in 80k miles).