The 1972 Mercury Marquis Brougham was a big, powerful, luxurious car that was as close to a Lincoln Continental as you could buy with a Mercury badge on it. Though a mere three inches shorter than the Lincoln, the Marquis measured 225 inches long – which would make it a tough squeeze in modern-day garages. This edition looks to be a time-capsule quality automobile that’s only seen 53,000 miles of use. In what may be beautiful original condition, this ’70s land yacht is at a dealer in Arlington, Texas, and available here on craigslist for $10,000 OBO. Thanks for the lead on this one, MattR!
Mercury borrowed the Marquis name from French nobility and applied it to four generations of automobile production from 1967-86. Second-generation Marquis’ added the name Brougham to make the cars sound extra special and bodacious, which would include the seller’s car. While a 429 cubic inch V8 was standard in these big vehicles, a 460 borrowed from Lincoln could be ordered as an option in 1972, making the seller’s car more like a Lincoln in almost every way. Big cars were still “in” at that time, so Mercury was happy to build more than 20,000 Marquis Brougham 2-door hardtops in ’72.
Little is offered about the history of this ’72 Merc, but it’s hard to find any flaws in the photos provided. The body looks straight and rust-free and what may be original red paint is shiny and bright. And there’s a lot of red on this car, almost as much from the door handles back as forward. And it carries over into the spotless interior. A two-door model, the size of this automobile really stands out. Its low miles suggest a car that has spent a good portion of the last 50 years tucked away in a garage with a cover over it.
We’re told this Lincoln, (oops, sorry) I mean Mercury, runs and drives very well and the only thing not working properly is the factory air conditioning. If you wanted to cruise effortlessly down the turnpike, this would be the perfect kind of car for that outing. But don’t expect to pass many gas stations – these cars were rated at as little as eight miles per gallon around town, with 15 being tops on the highway in ideal conditions (probably 55 mph).
“Turnpike cruiser”,,by gar, there’s a term Russ took off a dusty shelf. I bet some here don’t even know what a “turnpike” was, or care, but in the late 50’s, it was the epitome of travel by car. Mercury named their ’57 & ’58 top of the line, the “Turnpike Cruiser”, to commemorate the newly commissioned Interstate Highway System. The PA. Turnpike was one of the early stretches. It featured non-stop, divided highway travel, practically unheard of at the time, and this car followed in those footsteps, even though, by the 70’s, the word “turnpike” fell out of favor. Russ was right to call it a Lincoln, because this was kind of the “baby ” Lincoln. I read, a new Marquis like this sold for $5300, with all options in 1972, while the closest Lincoln was over $7 grand. Many went for the Mercury and were not disappointed and the same will hold true here. It was a premium way to travel by car then, and still is. Great find, and btw, like the day GM cut Pontiac, I lost all faith in Ford when they cut the Mercury.
They are still called “Turnpikes” today and that will never end. That’s because they will never stop charging us to drive on them. If it’s not a Turnpike then it’s a “Freeway”, meaning it has no toll. And we know, especially in NJ and PA, they will never make a Turnpike into a Freeway and give up charging us…
Ya but you can’t beat the Tunnels on the Pa, Turnpike. I remember leaving out of Harrisburg and going toing to my cousins farm in Indiana for the summer. They were one of the highlights of the trip.
Who the hell is Gar?…
Gar is slang for God.
Thought he was taking about fish
…or Teri Garr :)
For 10k, someone is going to end up with one sweet ride! The only downside is that it’s going to cost another 20k to build a big enough garage for this to fit in. Awesome find!
don’t forget the $1,000 to $1500 or so to repair the A/C–probably a new evaporator needed under the dash which means pulling the dash mostly out and hope nothing gets broken !
Yeah it will cost that much, or more, but the dash doesn’t need to be touched. All of the heater/a/c ducting is attached to the firewall in the engine compartment. Not nearly the PITA that modern systems are which are integrated into the dash assembly.
I had a 77 Mark 5, I got the AC overhauled in 01 and it cost a little over 2k, blew ice cold tho and with the Kansas summer heat and humidity and leather seats, we’ll worth the cost.
Sweet ride. My house was built in the early 70’s and has a 26 foot long two car garage. Probably since cars were much longer then. :). Most of the new houses won’t even fit an F-150 or Tahoe/Suburban since 19/20′ is the limit.
What struck me about this car is its in-your-face demeanor. Not like muscle car in-your-face, but think about it: its sheer size, the acres of red paint with the white contrast, the fancy upholstery, the “I don’t care that I’m completely inefficient” approach. It does have the advantage of not having the big bumpers. Relatively cheap yet in good shape. Certainly not for everyone, but if you want an effortless cruiser, this would be fun.
Amazing how small the passenger compartment is in a car like this, relative to the rest of the car. There was a long-ago column in Car & Driver where the author (Patrick Bedard, maybe?) called cars like this “pimple tops”, and I never forgot the term!
Not as disproportionate as the Chrysler fuselage 2 doors. I like these better.
A few years ago I was looking at a Mark V and it also amazed me as to how cramped the passenger compartment was for such a long car.
Good! Something different, I love it. We get one of these for every 15 or 20 Tri-fives. Russ is da man.
I had a ’74 Merc Bro. It was a 4-dr so it had a good size interior. What I really like is the Maurader. Now THAT was a Mercury!
I had a 73 Marquis with the 460. Big Girl could move with a little work, She got 13/14 around town and with the cruise set at 60 I could get 18/19. But the sweetest thing was getting to where you were going and NOT SPEND The next few hours trying to unfold your self. I’d love to park this out front. No need for a garage, It would never sit that long.
Knew of a carpet shop that had a “installer” who installed with a light blue 4 door. Jammed the carpet roll into the open passenger window, bent the roll over to the trunk and tied it up. Stuffed the pad in the trunk sticking out tied up and off he went. The passenger side dash was warn away from the carpet rolls being jammed in. Why not just get a van?
Sounds like a carpet layer a cousin used when he was in the biz MANY MANY Moons ago.
This one probably has decent power as being a ’72, the “malaise” wasn’t in full swing. If gas wasn’t north of $4 a gallon I’d drive this every day.
I remember my dad had all big 3 manufacturers Chrysler, Ford, Mercury and GM Station Wagons & a 2Dr 1949 Chevy Dark Green, but as our family extended a1958 Dodge Monaco or Polara Station Wagon with the tail fins sitting on of the left & right rear quarter panel tail lights the tail lights looked 2 6-8” After Burners we named it the Batmobile or the Batboat it was black with baby sky blue interior, a translucent Steering Wheel and push button gear shifting 4 R N Dr 2 1 emergency gear shift lever, the other was a 1968 Dodge Monica Station Wagon Custom Deluxe the only powered window was the rear tailgate glass window and remote control driverside mirror everything else was manual the 2 front air side vent windows 4dr windows manual locks,ladder roof rack 4 spinner deluxe wheel hub caps with an aftermarket 8 – truck tape player, 2 1969 Chevy Station Wagons 1 Chocolate Brown with roof rack Brown paneleling contact sticky decal & chrome trimming all over the wagon & deluxe wheel covers everything manual 4 car windows electric rear tailgate window the other was a yellow Caprice Kingswood Estate fully loaded you name it it came with it powered everything powered 4 doors, rear tailgate window glass, powered driver side front seat, cruise control, am/fm stereo radio, deluxe 4 wheel hub caps rear tailgate window deflector he brought a roof rack, updated and graded 2 a 1975 Mercury Grand Marquis Colonial Park GS Station Wagon Fully Loaded and powered windows, Drivers Seat, am/fm stereo radio radio 3rd fold down facing seats 4 the grand children, roof rack, rear tailgate window deflector 4 chrome custom deluxe wheel covers dual whitewall tires and a 1972 burned gold Ford County Squire Station wagon with brown imitation contact paper and imitation wood side trimming. Myself i had a 1981 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser Station Wagon fully loaded powered from door locks to windows driver recliner seat front passenger recliner seat 1986 Ford County Squire LX Beige with imitation wood contact body side & tailgate panel paper came with factory roof rack fully powered windows, front driver and passenger side door vent windows 4 crown factory spoked hub caps a factory 4d am/ fm stereo with cassette deck player that I enjoyed playing emensly
Well done Ivan. You managed to describe just about your Dad’s whole lifetime car ownership in one paragraph. A great read no less.
One paragraph? That’s one sentence lol.
Its from Texas – it needs longhorn horns on the front of the hood and would be complete !
Beautiful car! My father considered this in 1972 but went with a mid-life crisis yellow and black Mustang Mach 1. Lucky for me!!😂 My in-laws had a string of Grand Marquis Broughams that were the most comfortable cars I’ve ever been in. Oh, and my father kept his Mach 1 pristine for over 30 years until it was too low for him to get in and out of!!😢
Tanks for the memories.
I really loved my 78 4 door. Super smooth and it got 15 mpg at 75 mph on Arizona’s freeways. Set the cruise control and the only thing that slowed it down were the brakes. It didn’t seem to notice the hills.
I’d still have it today if this idiot who was higher than the proverbial kite crashed into it while it was parked in my driveway with his newly purchased the day before, 1967 Camaro. He must have been doing nearly 70 when he hit. Destroyed both cars. My front wheels were about 2 feet to the right of where they should have been and he continued around the front of my car spinning across my fence and into my neighbor’s yard. He was so high he didn’t even get hurt. Like trying to break a dishrag. He jumped out and ran home and called the police to report it stolen. My neighbors saw him get out and told the police he was a liar and that He was the driver of the Camaro. He spent some time in jail but all I got was a lousy $800 for my wrecked car. I couldn’t find a replacement for less than $5000 in 1985.
I still want one. The prices seem to have stabilized well above my retired ability to pay for one.
That’s one very sorry story Chris. I hope the perp eventually got his just desserts.