1949 was the year of the new Mercury Eight

This new design was completely different from its pre-war look, with its news ponton appearance. It was larger, stylish, and a fresh start for the Mercury. The 4-door station wagon was no longer available, but a new 2-door model was in place with a metal roof and wood panel sides. Under the hood a flathead V8 and inside the car was full instrumentation and an optional 8-tube radio.

The 2-door Monterey coupe was introduced in 1950. Available in Cortaro Red with a black top or Turquoise Blue with a dark blue top, the Monterey came with either a vinyl roof or canvas covered, leather seats, wool carpeting, two-tone dash, black steering wheel, fender skirts, dual outside rearview mirrors and a gold winged hood ornament to top off the look of luxury.

The Mercury body style, would remain relatively the same, aside from a few changes, through to 1952, when a new updated body would be introduced. A new hood scoop, an elevated integral bumper and grille, and a novel aircraft inspired instrument cluster. Like Ford, Mercury now featured a one-piece windshield.

In 1952 the Monterey was now its own series and was now also available as a 4-door sedan and a convertible. The 1952 Mercury Monterey, advertised as, “It’s the kind of car that will make you say – “Let’s take the Monterey,”” offered three transmission choices, the Silent-Ease standard, the Merc-O-Matic automatic, or Thrifty Touch-O-Matic Overdrive. New paint colors with matching interiors were introduced for the 1952 Monterey, giving this car personal style and finesse.

1953 and 1954 saw subtle mechanical and styling improvements, most notably the introduction of the overhead Y-block V8 engine in 1954. The Monterey Sun Valley was also introduced in 1954 with its unique plexiglass front half-roof.

The 1955 through 1956 offerings from Mercury featured longer and lower body styles. Mercury also introduced the Montclair and economical Medalist nameplates in the middle of the decade. The larger and now more powerful 312 cubic inch “Safety-Surge” V8 engine, boasting 225 horsepower, was introduced in 1956. A deep-dish steering wheel and new safety door locks became standard.

In 1957 the public was introduced to a larger, longer Mercury. This was the year the Turnpike Cruiser was introduced. Produced in both 4-door and 2-door hardtop, it had a unique Breezeway power rear window, air intakes in the upper corners of the windshield, automatic adjusting front seat and quad headlamps and canted vee-shaped taillights. The Turnpike Cruiser came standard with an automatic transmission and offered Continental kits and air-conditioning as options.

The Mercury Park Lane was introduced in 1958. Available as 2-door convertible, 4-door hardtop and 2-door hardtop, it had the same chassis as the Colony Park station wagon and a 125 inch wheelbase. Inside it offered a 360 horsepower “Marauder” V8 engine. The 1958 Mercury Monterey would be upgraded with new quad headlamps and a new 383 cu 6.3-liter MEL V8, along with a Multi-Drive 3-speed automatic transmission.

The 1950’s had come and gone, leaving behind an incredible legacy of style and innovation in the Mercury model years.