Mercury Sable

Mercury Sable
2008-2009 Mercury Sable
Overview
Manufacturer	Mercury
Production	December 1985–April 29, 2005 June 2007–May 21, 2009
Model years	1986-2005 2008-2009
Body and chassis
Class	Mid-size (1986–2005) Full-size (2008–2009)
Body style	4-door sedan 5-door station wagon (1986-2005)
Layout	FF layout all-wheel drive (optional, 2008-2009)
Platform	Ford D186 platform (1986-2005) Ford D3 platform (2008-2009)
Related	Ford Taurus Ford Taurus SHO Lincoln Continental (1988-2002) Ford Windstar (1995-1998) Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego
Chronology
Predecessor	Mercury Marquis (1986) Mercury Montego (2008)
Successor	1986-2005: Mercury Milan 2008-2009: Ford Taurus

The Mercury Sable is a range of automobiles marketed and sold by the Mercury division of American automaker Ford Motor Company. Sold in North America from the 1986 to the 2005 model years and from the 2008-2009 model years, the Sable was marketed as the Mercury counterpart of the Ford Taurus through its entire production run, offered as a four-door sedan and station wagon.

As part of a shift towards front-wheel drive vehicles, the Mercury Sable was introduced as the replacement for the mid-size Mercury Marquis. After 2005, the Sable was phased out in favor of the mid-size Mercury Milan and full-size Mercury Montego (as Ford would phase the Taurus out for the Fusion and Five Hundred). For 2008, a refreshed version of the Montego was renamed the Mercury Sable, as Ford considered the more recently used nameplate held better brand recognition. In contrast to the Ford Taurus X crossover SUVs, the revived Sable was produced solely as a sedan.

Through its production, the Mercury Sable was produced on the Ford D186 (1986-2005) and Ford D3 (2008-2009) platforms. Sharing its engine, transmission, and suspension with the Ford Taurus, to visually distinguish the two vehicles, relatively few exterior body panels were shared on sedans (with the exception of doors). Prior to 1996, Mercury Sables were given separate interior designs; on 2008-2009 examples, a greater degree of commonality is shared in exterior and interior design.

The Sable was sold through five unique generations:

• The First-generation model, sold from 1986-1991
• The Second-generation model, sold from 1992-1995
• The Third-generation model, sold from 1996-1999
• The Fourth-generation model, sold from 2000-2005
• The Fifth-generation model, sold from 2008-2009

The 2010 sixth-generation Ford Taurus was released without a Mercury Sable counterpart, leaving the Mercury Grand Marquis as the sole full-size sedan for the division. In 2010, Ford announced the closure of the Mercury brand following the end of the model year. With 22 separate model years in production, the Sable is the third longest-produced Mercury vehicle (behind the Cougar and Grand Marquis). After a total of 2,112,374 sold (to 2005)^[1], it is also the third best-selling Mercury vehicle (behind the same two nameplates)

References

Further reading

• "Taurus Car Club of America". Retrieved 2006-05-16. 
  • "Taurus/Sable Specifications". Taurus/Sable Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on November 19, 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-06. 
• Beadle, Tony (August 1996). The American Automobile. Smithmark Publishers. ISBN 0-8317-6267-5. 
• Gunnell, John (July 2002). Standard Catalog of Ford 1903–2003 (3rd ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87349-452-0. 
• "Ford Taurus X, Mercury Sable to cease production next year (2009)". Leftlanews.com. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mercury Sable.

• FAQ Farm's Mercury Sable FAQ: wiki question and answer forum
• Taurus Car Club of America
• TCCA: Taurus/Sable Encyclopedia