Mercury Monarch
Model 1978
The Mercury Monarch was a car model of the U.S. Mercury brand, which belonged to the Ford Motor Company. The monarch is a sister model of the offered during the same period American Ford Granada and technically and externally almost completely identical to this one.
Model history
The monarch was, as well as the Granada developed in the early 1970s with the aim of replacing the outdated compact models Ford Maverick or Mercury Comet. Monarch and the number of technical components Granada used Maverick / Comet, including the suspension and the suspension. Also, the wheelbase was the same as the four-door versions of the older vehicles. The design of the body was, however, compared to the Comet independently. It was oriented along the lines of the U.S. very successful Mercedes -Benz " Stroke Eight ".
Initially, four engine variants were offered. Two six- cylinder engines with 3.3 and 4.1 liter displacement and 71 or 72 kW ( 96 and 98 hp) and two eight - cylinder engines with 4.9 and 5.8 liter displacement and 90 or 99 kW (122 and 134 hp). From 1978, there were only two engines on offer, a six- cylinder engine with 4.1 liter displacement and 71 kW (97 hp) and an eight- cylinder engine with 4.9 liter displacement and 101 kW ( 137 hp). With the latter, an acceleration of 0-100 km in 12 seconds and a top speed of 170 km / h was possible.
Equipment
Offered was the monarch with two or four doors. He was well equipped in comparison to other American compact cars; the magazine Car & Driver noticed that the Monarch, the times are ended, where small cars were spartan. Available were three-speed automatic transmission, metallic paint, central door locking and an illuminated footwell. For a surcharge of $ 500, the Ghia version was available, the disposal also has a radio cassette player, electric windows, cruise control and air conditioning.
Specifications
- Empty weight: 1490 kg
- Length: 5.02 m
- Width: 1.88 m
- Height: 1.36 m
- Wheelbase: 2.79 m
- Turning circle: 11.90 m
- Driven Axle: Rear
- Transmission: Four -speed automatic
- Consumption: 12-16 liters per 100 km
- Maximum speed: 145-170 km / h
Prices
The Mercury Monarch cost at launch in 1975 in the four-door base version U.S. $ 3,822; he was thus U.S. $ 70 more expensive than the identical Ford Granada. In its last year of production of the base price for the four-door version at U.S. $ 5,751 was.
Production
The Mercury Monarch was positioned cars during his presentation in the niche market of the so-called "mid -size" ( medium-sized ). He lay between the Bobcat compact models and the Intermediate - type vehicles or Montego Cougar.
The duo Granada - Monarch was on the market at first very successful, as it was, appropriately sized for the time after the first oil crisis, in which the American customers demanded smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. They have been described in the American press as a European -inspired car that stood out from traditional American design and design principles. In retrospect, the Monarch models and Granada are regarded as the most important new developments of the Ford Motor Company in the first half of the 1970s.
The Monach, however, was less successful than the Ford Granada. Its production numbers remained significantly behind those of its sister model back:
Germany Import
It was possible to order the Mercury Monarch at Ford Germany and importing them via Bremerhaven. The sale price for a four-door monarch was in 1976 in the basic version at DM 23,800, which is nearly a fully equipped Ford Granada German production or a Mercedes 280 sedan equivalent. The four-door Ghia version with 5.8 liter large V8 engine and air conditioning cost 26,600 DM Overall, only about 50 Monarchs were sold.
Successor
For model year 1981, Mercury (as well as for the Granada) a successor before. The new car was based on the Fox platform and was thus closely related to the Mercury Zephyr. However, while the identical Ford version in turn was named Granada, Mercury was from 1981 the name Monarch on. The successor to the monarch instead received the name Mercury Cougar, a tradition name, which was introduced in 1967 for a twin of the Ford Mustang and since then used for models of different classes.