1951 Mercury Monterey

1951 Mercury Monterey

An automobile marque of the Ford Motor Company, Mercury was founded in 1939 with the purpose to market entry-level-luxury vehicles that were slotted in between Ford-branded regular models and Lincoln-branded luxury vehicles. All Mercury models are today based on Ford platforms. The Mercury name is derived from ‘messenger of the gods' of Roman mythology. In the beginning years, Mercury was known for performance.

This Mercury Monterey (model 72C) was introduced in 1950 as a high-end two-door coupe as part of the Mercury Eight series in the same vein as the Ford Crestliner, the Lincoln Lido coupe and the Lincoln Cosmopolitan Capri coupe in order to compete with the hardtop coupes General Motors had introduced the previous model year. This is the first 2-door Hardtop 1951The 1951 Mercury’s are considered the all-time 50’s “Hoodlum” or “Bad Boy” car. Popularized by James Dean in the 1955 movie Rebel Without a Cause (in black livery).

Franklin Mint model is painted as original in turquoise with a brown roof, it’s equipped with bumper guards, fender skirts, a winged hood mascot, full-size Mercury wheel covers and wide whitewall tires, all part of the Monterey formula helping to differentiate a higher-end vehicle from lesser models.