In the late 1960s, it was generally uplifting to be a human being. There was nothing that we couldn’t overcome or accomplish. As proof that the sky wasn’t the limit, we landed men on the moon; the Concorde proved the concept of supersonic flight feasible; and the Boeing 747, the undisputed king of international air travel, ascended to the skies.
That wasn’t limited to technical engineering issues, either. The level of musical innovation, for example, was comparable to that of the artists themselves. Once Jimi Hendrix altered the guitar’s norms, bands like the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin had a profound impact on popular music for the following 40 years. Then there came the introduction of Sesame Street; without it, where would we be today?
Sales of automobiles in the United States reflected this optimistic mood. The number of cars on American highways skyrocketed after World War II, and by the 1960s, just owning a vehicle was no longer a status symbol; rather, it was the kind of automobile one drove that mattered. This opened the door for entry-level luxury car manufacturers in the United States, such as Mercury, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile.
According to Angelo Ferraro, his Mercury Montego MX was essentially a wealthy man’s sports car. The more experienced guys opted for the massive items, while the younger people favored the Mustangs. Ferraro’s claims are supported by the contemporaneous literature of Mercur, which aggressively emphasized the Lincoln connection. Ford saw the Mercury as a “baby Lincoln” sold via its own dealership network rather than an improved version of the Ford brand.
In 1968, Mercury introduced the Montego, a four-door sedan and two-door Hardtop that succeeded the Capr and ranked above the Comet in the company’s midsize lineup.
The Calente was replaced by the improved Montego MX, which was offered in station wagon and convertible body styles. Performance enthusiasts were more likely to choose for the Cyclone, which came in a two-door hardtop or fastback body style and was based on the Montego’s Brougham-inspired design. Ford’s Fairlane/Torino came in a variety of body styles, but they all had the same unibody construction and 116-inch (2.95 m) wheelbase.
Prices for the Montego four-door sedan ($2552) and hardtop ($2504) started at US$2504 and US$2552, respectively, at launch, but quickly surpassed the $3000 barrier thanks to the inclusion of a weedy 86kW (115bhp) 200cc six-cylinder engine.
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