(first posted 1/24/2018) The full-size Mercury was one of the car lines that received a comprehensive redesign for 1973, so it’s no surprise that Road Test Magazine would be eager to get behind the wheel. Seeing RT’s editors put a ’73 Marquis Brougham through the paces at a FoMoCo proving ground, I couldn’t help thinking of how well the new design would be received by Mercury’s target customers. One in particular.
From 1968 to 1980, the actor Jack Lord played the role of Steve McGarrett on the original Hawaii Five-O. Appointed by Hawaii’s Governor, Detective Captain McGarrett was the head of an elite detective unit tasked with solving sophisticated crimes in spectacular settings. McGarrett was also a Mercury man, and could often be found behind the wheel of his top-of-the-line Mercury sedan. Between the cars, characters, storylines and tropical locales, the show was (and is) one of my all-time favorites, made even more alluring by the fact that it was “forbidden fruit” at home when I was growing up.
As a kid, my TV diet was pretty restricted. Together with my parents, we watched sports, comedies like All in the Family and Julia Child’s The French Chef (what can I say, NOLA was/is a foodie town). Saturday morning cartoons and The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights were my “free” watching time with no parents. Assuming homework and chores were under control, I was also allowed to catch reruns of family-friendly fare like The Brady Bunch or Gilligan’s Island. But that was about it.
However, all that changed for a magical few weeks every summer, when I’d get to stay with my paternal grandmother in Mississippi. Wowo was a blast, and would organize all sorts of activities with grandkids of friends, children of neighbors, etc. to provide bountiful time for play during the day.
In the evenings, though, we’d often settle down to enjoy one of her favorite rituals: watching Hawaii Five-O. Wowo would have an Old Fashioned, I might be given a Coca-Cola, and then we’d be transported to witness the troubles in paradise, as depicted in the show. For me as a little kid, it was especially exciting and felt very grown-up, and I loved every minute of it.
To this day, my dream is to someday live in Hawaii. Yes, I know that there is still plenty of trouble in paradise—as the recent 38 minutes of sheer terror will attest—but on balance it is an extraordinary place, and the producers of Hawaii Five-O did it justice, even if the plotlines were often dark.
Casting in the series was also excellent. For women of a certain age, lead character Steve McGarrett was quite the object of desire, hidden or not. I remember Wowo would sometimes give a little sigh, lean back, swirl her drink and purr: “he just has the nicest…. car.”
Come on, what did you expect her to say? This was polite company in the South!
Indeed, the car casting for the show was great. I adored seeing all manner of cars in every episode, and Ford Motor Company certainly got their money’s worth with the ample placements. Steve McGarrett’s car, in particular, was spot-on for his character. The 1968 Mercury Park Lane Brougham, painted black of course, was appropriately upscale but not too flashy. Keep in mind that at the time, people still paid a lot of attention to the automotive pecking order. McGarrett’s minions in the show would have driven Fords, while someone like his boss, Hawaii’s Governor, would probably be seen in a Lincoln. So the “upper mid-market” Mercury was exactly the right choice.
Also, Ford Motor Company was still investing in providing meaningful styling differentiation between the full-sized Ford and Mercury models. With the redesign for 1973, Mercury continued with unique sheet metal below the greenhouse—no body panels were shared with Ford. Mercury also boasted a 3-inch longer wheelbase (124” versus 121” for Ford), which translated into increased rear seat legroom. The Marquis series also kept hidden headlights, lending a more upscale “Lincoln Junior” look.
1973 Ford
1973 Mercury
1972 Marquis
1972 Monterey
Inside, FoMoCo cut corners a bit by having the Ford and Mercury basically share an instrument panel for 1973. The only differences were in minor contouring and wood grain treatments. This was a big change from 1972 when the Monterey and Marquis each had their own unique panels, and both were different than the Ford. However, the rest of the interior trim for each Mercury series was a cut above the corresponding Ford models, providing the appropriately upscale ambience required to succeed in the more upper-crust “Medium Standard” segment against Buick, Chrysler, Oldsmobile and certain Pontiacs.
Buyers readily agreed, as Mercury sold 129,162 Marquis for ‘73, including the single best-selling model of the year, the Marquis Brougham 4-door pillared hardtop, which found 46,624 homes (including one in my family—more on that to come). Mercury also sold 55,184 Monterey models, bringing the full-size Mercury total to 184,346, which was a healthy volume for cars starting at $400 to $1,000 ($2,315 to $5,787) more than for related Ford models.
While the “Medium Standard” segment still served up plenty of profitable sales to the Big Three, it wasn’t the most exciting category of cars and there wasn’t a lot of buff book coverage. Road Test Magazine, as always, proved to be the exception, taking the fully redesigned Marquis Brougham out for a drive on Ford’s proving grounds.
In summary, Road Test noted that the Mercury Marquis Brougham was nicely upgraded and improved for 1973, though still very much a traditional American cruiser. Using 1973 prices in place of 1972’s as shown by Road Test, a well-equipped Marquis Brougham would have gone out the door for around $6,812 ($39,409 adjusted), not a bad price for an upscale car that Road Test felt rode like a Lincoln.
Mercury did a lot of advertising touting the ride of its big cars. Obviously a Mercedes offered ample benefits in performance and handling beyond what Mercury could ever provide, but for a pillow-soft ride the Mercury performed well. The Marquis Brougham really did come off as a little Lincoln, and I actually know that firsthand from the times I spent as a kid riding in one.
That’s right, I had Seventies seat time (especially the back seat) in a ’73 Marquis Brougham that belonged to Cousin Dell (short for Adeline). She was actually Wowo’s first cousin, and lived right down the street from Wowo’s older sister Roberta in Memphis, Tennessee. She was a much younger cousin, however, and was around my Pop’s age (mid-40s) when she got the car. As such, she probably represented a pretty typical Marquis buyer: married with kids and living in a nice neighborhood. It’s important to note that these cars were still seen as desirable for 40-something buyers, and hadn’t yet become the last wheels for the geriatric set.
Dell’s Marquis Brougham was quite nice actually, at least as far as big, comfy American cars were concerned. Based on color swatches for ’73, I’m guessing that Dell’s car was finished in Ginger Glamour Metallic with a matching dark brown vinyl top. Unlike the car pictured, Dell’s had the body-colored wheel covers, which really made for quite the chocolate-colored style statement.
Inside, hers had the Twin Comfort Lounge seats, with the tall “tombstone” headrests. The brown interior color was called Tobacco, and Dell’s car even had the little powered front vent windows that Mercury started offering in ’73. It was a smoker’s paradise! Making the Tobacco tombstone seats rather fitting….
No matter the color, the Marquis Brougham was very comfortable. The car definitely felt like something that would have been a viable alternative to an Olds Ninety-Eight or Buick Electra, which I am sure was Mercury’s intention. It was roomy, quiet and plush inside, perfect for anyone seeking a cushy, convenience-filled cruiser. Dell wasn’t a demanding driver, but she did expect the car to be trouble free. Given that she owned her ’73 Marquis Brougham until 1979, when she traded it for a Grand Marquis, I’m thinking she was a satisfied customer.
But enough about Marquis matrons in Memphis, let’s go back to Hawaii and consider another Mercury loyalist.
Steve McGarrett clearly loved his big Mercury, but the 1968 Park Lane Brougham was starting to get on in years. When the new Marquis Brougham arrived for 1973, there’s no doubt it would have caught the McGarrett’s eye.
Being the deliberate sort, McGarrett undoubtedly “got the facts” before taking the plunge with a new Mercury. But when the time was right, the trigger was pulled and McGarrett started driving a 1974 Marquis Brougham 4-door Hardtop (black on black, naturally), which other than a different grille and other minor trim differences, was very similar to the ’73.
The ’74 Marquis remained McGarrett’s ride for the duration of Hawaii Five-O (he was even kind enough to let others drive it, like Danno, his trusted second-in-command).
So McGarret’s newest Mercury provided years of enjoyment to viewers like me, who loved seeing the big black sedan lurch and screech around Hawaii (looking much like the ’73 driven by Road Test at the FoMoCo proving grounds). It was another time and another place, but the Mercury Marquis played its role well.
Additional Reading:
Curbside Classic and Automotive History: Good Lord! The 1972 Mercury Marquis and its Flirtation With Infamy by Jason Shafer
CC Capsule: 1973 Mercury Marquis Brougham – Time Can Change Me, But I Can’t Trace Time by Edward Snitkoff
Well, according to the script in one early ep, McGarrets ’68 had come from the state motor pool. In this episode, the Merc was ostensibly destroyed by a bomb, using a 1965 LTD as a stand-in. Danno later brings McGarret a “replacement from the motor pool”, the same ’68!
This means some Hawaii State procurement officer picked the ’74.
6 years with the same official car (or is it cars!)
They should be so fiscally prudent nowadays!
Gotta love the ’60s Smack a fender in one scene, fender fixed in the next. Or one of my many favorites is (a) cars smashing though chain link fences, like they where made of plastic, with no damage (b) Smashing through Plate glass windows, Again with no damage and (c) tires squealing on dirt or gravel. Oh, as mentioned , loved it when the heros car gets destroyed, and its obviously to a car crazy kid like myself NOT THE SAME CAR!!
McGarret drove that Mercury like a bat out of hell, always slammed on the brakes with a short skid noise, and always with all 4 windows down, and not a hair out of place, except for that “manly” forelock. What a hero!
Just a bit off topic here. The DUMBEST stunt I have ever seen in a movie was Wesley Snipes in Passenger 57, busting though a chain link gate, on a motorcycle!!!
As a 40+ year motorcycle rider, I guarantee, that is NEVER a good idea!
I think this jump from XXX might have that beat for dumbest stunt, as Vin Diesel magically makes his dirt bike jump a 15 foot fence https://youtu.be/PrkwpfMYjMI?t=2m2s
One of the funnest is the chase scene in Bullit, where the Charger loses more hubcaps than it has wheels.
News Flash: The “chain link fences” used in Hollywood actually ARE made of very light weight plastic. “Plate glass” windows are actually very thin special glass-like substance called “Candy Glass”. Likewise, road barriers are made of Styrofoam.
Great article on a car ( the odd private import excepted) that we never saw here.
We did see that two spoke steering wheel. Ford used it across model ranges and trim levels.
That ubiquitous 2-spoke Ford steering wheel! Worth a CC article all on its own.
I hadn’t realized that Hawaii 5-0 had been produced for 12 years.
I’ve been a big Mercury fan since I “settled” for my 68 Cyclone GT instead of the Mustang or Cougar I wanted. Though I think it all started in the 50s and also involved my (foster) grandmother. Aunt Mary’s neighbor would drive her to church every Sunday in a Mercury.
Looking at the pictures of these Marquis I don’t think there was a color combination that was produced that didn’t flatter the lines of any body style/model of these big Mercurys.
As far as the black Mercurys being government “pool” vehicles, with Hawaii being a small, island state, I guess that seems odd. But maybe not, as having a fairly large number of limo-looking sedans that can fit in at many somber state occasions would be a good idea. Nowadays, though, we would think a white car might be a better choice…or isn’t Hawaii as warm as Florida?
“Barnaby Jones” also lasted until 1980, long enough for “Barn” to drive a new Panther LTD its final season.
CC effect-sort of-I just watched ‘The Return of Frank Cannon’, a failed 1980 pilot attempt at rebooting that series. They have him in a ’79 Caddy Deville
convertible conversion. Barnaby was a spin-off of Cannon, so I guess old Barnaby must have told Frank how badly the Panthers stunk, so no Mark VI for him! I guess he felt he needed that 425 to haul him around, the 302 just wasn’t going to cut it!
Actually the climate in Hawaii is much more pleasant than that of Florida. Hawaii essentially has the same temperature year round and it doesn’t get as hot there as in Florida; plus Hawaii doesn’t seem to have the soul sapping humidity found in Florida.
As far as McGarret being able to use the same car for six years, Oahu isn’t that big, where could he go to rack up the miles?
On the Interstate highways in Hawaii?
Wow – big Mercurys and Hawaii Five-O! GN, you’ve hit upon two of the best things in life, hands down. You made me sit back back, swirl my grape juice, and say, “This is the nicest…article.”
Now while I will freely admit the article linked to above about the ’72 Marquis is chockfull of farce, I do think the basic premise is still there – these were photogenic cars. It doesn’t matter whether a person likes them or not, but there were no bad angles on these cars. It’s hard to cover up warts in a design when the subject is being photographed from all angles. This Mercury wins Miss Photogenic 1973, especially when compared to the GM competition.
The other day I accused Pontiac of being scatterbrained during the 1970s. Today, I will state Mercury was one company that had its crap together during this same time period. Then came 1979 and the Panther based Marquis. Size is irrelevant; it simply didn’t have the charisma or panache of the earlier cars. That’s probably why H5O ceased; Jack didn’t want his style pinched by driving a new Panther Marquis as it was time for a new car by 1980.
At whatever point in time my arthritic knees dictate disposing of the Galaxie and its manual transmission, one of these would be an awesome replacement. Make mine powered by a 460.
I figured you might enjoy this one!
Have to agree on the Panther Marquis–it just didn’t have the same panache as the older design. Dell’s ’79 Grand Marquis looked very boxy, though the interior was still quite posh. She didn’t keep it long, however, trading it for a Fox-based Cougar sedan in 1981 (people forget how much the second Oil Shock scared people and moved them to smaller cars–the “smaller” Marquis was suddenly too big all over again). With the boxy Cougar (made even clunkier looking since it had the half-vinyl top), the old Mercury magic really was gone–she kept that one for just two years also, and then joined the import brigade by getting a 1983 Datsun Maxima. And she never went back.
Say what you will about ‘smaller’ Panther Marquis, but it was the ‘last mid price brand RWD biggie standing’ before its end. Almost canceled in 1982, got a 2nd lease on life and lasted until 2011.
This may have been “Peak Mercury”, in the sense that they brought a completely different presence from the Ford LTD, which was really strange given how many parts were shared. Also interesting was how these grabbed lots of sales as “almost-Lincolns” even as Lincoln was setting new sales records. It is tough to overstate the way these cars exuded solid, substantial quality and luxury when they were new. Mercury’s rise from 1968 to 73 was really amazing after decades of underachieving.
Count me as another fan of Five-0. A close family friend had a 68 Mercury Montclair 2 door and I loved that car. It began life dark green but got repainted black around 1971 or 72. He replaced it with the 73 LTD I mentioned recently, so I felt like I was living an almost parallel existence with McGarrett.
Even then I found it strange how long they kept the same cars for so long when nearly every other show had its star in something current. McGarrett’s Mercuries were more like the life cycles found in real life.
This may have been “Peak Mercury”,
Also known as “Peak Brougham Era”. Yup; the mid-seventies were a challenging time for some of us. 🙂
What is interesting is how in the late 50s Mercury spent gobs of money on a separate body, separate interiors and hardware, and even engines not available on Fords or Lincolns (like the MEL 383). And they got zilch for all that effort. In the early 70s they put some unique sheetmetal on a 3 inch longer Ford and sold the bejabbers out of them.
I’ve always been mystified why FoMoCo didn’t do a better job sticking with the winning Mercury formula once they figured it out. For this brief period, the full-sized cars and the Cougar looked truly different and more upscale than the closely related Fords, and they sold like crazy. Seemed like an easy ticket to success. But Mercury never applied the same focus to the Montego or Comet, and those just seemed like Fords with a nose job. But that soon became Mercury’s standard, with the Monarch, Zephyr and even the Panther Marquis simply becoming thinly disguised Fords once again. The “little Lincolns” which had been so successful were jettisoned, which I think was a huge mistake.
The answer is simple: these 70s big Mercuries just happened to be the right cars at the right time. Meaning, the ultimate broughams in the peak Brougham Era. Some might call it dumb luck. 🙂
Seriously; in business, way too much success happens due to lucky circumstances, and not nearly as much as its CEOs and such would like to attribute to themselves. Being at the right time with the right product/service is the most critical factor, and that often happens more out of coincidence, luck and other factors beyond management’s control.
I’m not trying to belittle anyone, or Iaccoca, in this case, but those big Mercuries were just out of the taste and zeitgeist of the late 50s. But these hit the bull’s eye. And of course, taste soon changed again, and these big cars almost bankrupted Ford in 1980. Time’s up!!
I’m afraid you are right that FoMoCo probably just sort of bumbled into a winning Mercury formula. I guess what I find appalling is that they didn’t seem to take any lessons from their 1970s success.
Cars with stylistic differentiation from Ford sold well and earned nice profits–why wasn’t that approach applied to the Monarch and Zephyr? It’s not like they were huge sellers relative to the nearly identical Fords, so why not go for the higher profits to be achieved through “Lincoln lite” brand identity and plusher interiors?
The other huge miss was not understanding the success of the Capri. They sold the little “European Mustang” by the boatload, and it did feel like a semi-upscale little car. Why not offer a plush Cortina or European Granada for the Mercury Division? I know, I know–exchange rates–but still, Ford could have figured something out on pricing and/or production location if they had paid attention to the customers Capri was attracting and what those people were likely to buy next.
Ford just had three divisions, making it seem so easy to figure out:
Volume & value=Ford
Upscale semi-premium=Mercury
Full luxury=Lincoln
Even now that they are down to just 2 divisions, they still haven’t cracked the code, though Lincoln is seemingly today’s Mercury with nothing more than a range of “glamorized” Fords.
In calling Lincoln a glamorized Ford, I think that we have to reevaluate Ford itself. Ford has moved upmarket in recent years, essentially absorbing the market that Mercury filled. Lincoln is still at the high end of the market. Much of the market that Ford used to cater to is now owned by the likes of Kia and other imports.
The 2 Oil Shocks and deep 1979-82 recession killed divisional spending at GM/Ford. Chrysler stopped in mid 70’s.
The only big differentiator afterwards was the 1983-97 T-Bird and Cougar rooflines.
Not able to edit, but I’d change to ‘most well known’ brand difference was T-Bird/Cougar roof.
The 79-97 Crown Vic and Gran Marq, to me, looked different enough, until the 1998-2011 became like Maverick/Comet.
The 86-91 sable as well, these had no shared sheetmetal with the Taurus.
Mercury admittedly had a more consistently checkered history of product differentiation than anyone else, but in the 70s they weren’t being any worse with the Comets, Bobcats and Monarchs than GM was with the Olds and Buick versions of the Nova and Monza. These mid-upper brands simply shouldn’t have been fielding cars in these segments, at least not as “value” models, and the afterthought nature of them reflects it.
But Mercury never applied the same focus to the Montego or Comet, and those just seemed like Fords with a nose job.
The original 60-65 Comet actually was well differentiated, and they sold well too, well enough to deserve some credit for spawning the intermediate category(precursor to the Fairlane). The funny thing about Mercury is that it bumbled onto a winning formula on multiple occasions between periods of listlessness, they’ve neither had a truly long successful run, nor an unsuccessful run long enough to kill them, until it was(who knows if it wasn’t, maybe they would have lucked the next hit?) and the original Comet was no exception. It was an unwanted orphan from the Edsel brand, yet it turned out to be one of Mercury’s many life preservers, and better differentiated than the big Mercs to boot.
You are right about the early Comets–those were well differentiated. I was mainly thinking of the Maverick clone Comet which really was nothing more than a nose and different tail lights.
If you go back far enough, just about all of the big three had pretty different car lines, from engines to styling and body structure. As time went on, economics forced some consolidation of those things. As more time went on, government interference (regulations) forced even more consolidation until most car lines within a manufacturer became clones of the other lines. One by one, some of the clones began disappearing.
In the pilot he used a 1967 Mercury Marquis rented from Hertz before going to the 1968 Park Lane. Should also note that as per the 1967, 1968 and 1974 PPG paint chips for those years black was not offered as a color. Unlike every car today. The closest one could get was a dark poly blue. The 67 and 68 Park Lanes are almost the same except for the the grille and chrome accent in the rear tail lamps.
Black was offered according to paintref.com. I definitely recall it as a choice on Fords and am sure I have seen black Mercs back in the day, though not many. The 73-74 Mercury was striking in black.
Took a look at my sheet and damn there it is way down at the bottom without a color chip. I have no idea how many times I have looked at this over the years, for codes, and never saw that single line at the bottom. Eyes scanning for color chips and a few words slip under the radar.
I wondered if that was the case. I used to own the color chip folder for my 67 Ford. It is funny that Mercury saw the need to give all of the same colors different names. Of course GM and Chrysler would do that too.
Paintref.com gives the codes of several paint manufacturers for a given color, which will then list other models that used the same color code. The Ditzler/PPG code for Mercury’s Onyx black goes 27 pages, back to late in the Model T’s run and through multiple car and equipment manufacturers.
It would be nice if we even had half that choice today.
You know, I don’t know that I’ve ever actually seen an episode of either Hawaii Five-0 series. (Among ’70s detective shows, I’m much more partial to Columbo.) I hadn’t realized that it ran until 1980. I guess it was essentially replaced by Magnum, P.I., which was also on CBS and began late in the same year.
Both the Zenith ad and Mercury ride ad images are broken for me; I don’t know if there’s a problem with the images or just my browser.
Ah, Columbo… such a classic.
The villain nearly always drives a fancy European car. As does the Lieutenant, of course.
Being a huge Columbo fan myself, I can highly recommend this blog:
https://columbophile.wordpress.com/
McGarrett’s Mercury had made a several appearances as a ‘special guest star’ in a few episodes of rebooted ‘Hawaii Five-0’ with Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan (son of James Caan).
The premise being that in the newer series Hawaii Five-0, is that the ‘74 Marquis was Steve’s father’s car, and that the two of them were restoring it together.
Fun Fact: This ‘74 Marquis is the exact car driven by Jack Lord’s McGarrett in the original series Hawaii Five-O.
Love or Hate the newer series, there are many other other instances (the kids call ‘em “Easter Eggs”) whereby Five-0 pays homage to Five-O.
The exact car, as in the one used in filming the original series? Nice detail indeed, if so. Who stole the fender skirts though?
I read this a few years back (my memory may be fuzzy), but supposedly, someone took possession of the car after Five-O ended, and when Five-0 started up, he provided the car to the company for use. It’s only been on a handful of episodes, but it is in fact the same exact car. I read about this online, so take it FWIW.
Here we go… I found the article I read about the Marquis….
http://driving.ca/mercury/auto-news/entertainment/book-em-danno-a-ride-in-hawaii-five-os-mercury-marquis
So yep! Same car….
Jack Lord’s McGarrett typified the “Main Character Does Everything” trope, with little subordinate autonomy.
But a Mercury instead of a strippo Custom 500? With the current signature car a Camaro, the tradition of photogenic, up-market Five-O vehicles continues with a vengeance…
The funny thing is, in the Modern Five-0, which could be considered to be an hour long Chevy commercial, the Camaro is Danny’s car, but Steve being a control freak (former Navy Seal), never lets him drive it when they are together.
Yeah, I noticed that, too.
The product placement of Chevrolet vehicles isn’t as bad as irritating close-up, in-your-face, ‘take that, Apple!’ of Microsoft® Surface® products during a first few series.
The bickering between Steve and Danny in Camaro is legendary…
Indeed, and some of the best moments of the show. They’ve even taken it a step further with the current “setting up a restaurant for when they retire” story arc, having Danny and Steve argue over items on the menu and decor choices for their restaurant.
Five-0 definitely has humor elements that the much more serious Five-O did not have, but all in all, I think they stay true to the original. I like BOTH series, personally.
Since the Official Car Of “My Boss Insists On Driving My Car” is a very beat-up, almost laughably shabby and slow-as-molasses old Corolla, maybe when the Camaro lease expires Danny can find the “right” greige late ’90s Prizm.
As iconic as Jack Lord’s black Merc is, an official car (baby-blue or Crest toothpaste green AMC Matador) and personal car (yellow or orange VW convertible) would’ve made more sense.
Kim family in North Korean still has one un excellent shape used as a hoarse. Why do North Koreans have such fetish on the imperialist machine?
If the hearse that you are referring to is the one used for the funeral of Kim Jong IL, that car was a Lincoln.
I’d imagine it’s been getting a lot of use lately, judging by recent events there.
Speaking of Kims, Daniel Dae Kim plays Chin Ho in the new series. He and Grace Park (also of Korean background) recently quit over the producers’ unwillingness to match their pay with that of the other stars.
I used to watch Hawaii 5O when I was a lad. Jack Lord was a big fan of Elvis. They even looked a bit like each other. I watched Elvis’ Aloha From Hawaii special a couple of weeks back & Elvis gave a shout out to him in the audience. GN, was your Wowo a big Elvis fan?
Also, did anybody notice the Micholob beer bottle in the picture of McGarrett radioing from the trunk of his car?
I did. It was little details like that that made 5-0 so authentic. I loved the original show. I hate the new one.
Elvis was The King! Yes, Wowo was a big fan, as were Berta and Dell. Between Memphis and Mississippi, he had them all sewn up!
Never cared for the TV show. Stylewise, I prefer McGarrett’s ’68 Park Lane to his ’73 Marquis. The older car has a very Lincolnesque front end plus some curves to the profile. One messy little detail on the ’68 is the rear side marker reflector (it’s not illuminated) shown with McGarrett. It looks like a cheap aftermarket add-on poorly installed.
Noticed that RT omitted the Marquis’ fuel consumption stats which were probably a ‘moot point’ for Detective Captain McGarrett.
I grew up with that show! Born in ’64 I was just 4 when it started, but was 16 when it ended its run in 1980. Hawaii Five-O’s successor was Magnum P.I. which ran from fall 1980 to spring 1988, and I loved that show even more, primarily because of Tom Selleck.
Always liked these big ’73-’78 Mercs, they were indeed junior Lincolns but still maintained a style and look all their own.
Great memories- thanks for the writeup. As far as the Marquis fuel consumption, I remember my dad’s answer when asked one day what kind of mileage mom’s Marquis got. “I have no idea… and I’m afraid to check.”
Old site, but good info here.
http://www.fiveohomepage.com/50mercury.htm
I didn’t even know there was a new 5-0. That’s what not having cable for 20 years gets me, and I’m good with that.
At any rate I have been to Hawaii, and the Merc seems like an odd choice as it’s bigger than Lanai. If the Merc was brown with a green vinyl top they would be indistinguishable.
I guess the producers agree with me, when they moved on to Magnum PI they equipped him with a much smaller and sportier Ferrari. Can you imagine if they’d stuck him with McGarrett’s Mercury? 😛
You’re not missing anything, the new 5-0 is a terrible show.
My sister commented that the new 5-0 was best viewed with the sound & doom lights off.
Nice car although I prefer the 1975-78 styling and the 1969-72’s over the 1973-74’s, growing up I rarely saw the 1973-74 full size Mercury’s yet saw many 1975-78 full size Mercury’s around even well into the 1990’s, performance and acceleration isn’t too bad for 1973 standards either.
My Father and I would watch “Five Oh” together and count how many full wheel covers flew off the cars in the extended chase scenes (and mysteriously appear at the end of the chase.)
Those of you hate’n on the newer Five-0 may want to have a look at at an episode that they did to pay homage to the Original Five-O called “Hookman”. Some of you said that the old one paid attention to detail citing that Michelob bottle. I recommend watching the Original Five-O’s version first, and then watching the new Five-0 version. The attention to detail, right down to the camera angles and even some dialog is impressive. Even a few locations used are identical. Yes, Five-0 is a more modern take on the old Five-O episode, but they stay very true to the original in this homage.
That comment in the article showing how the Merc corners is hilarious. “Moderate lean”, as opposed to a cruise liner in a storm?
To XR7Matt: (for some reason, no reply button was connected to the post).
In fact 86-91 Sables and Tauruses did share sheet metal. Doors are identical except for trim. I replaced rusty ones on a Taurus with rusty ones from a Sable. That’s close enough for me!
The physical fit is the same but the external sheetmetal is different. The Taurus has a character line stamped in below the beltline, while it’s totally flat on the Sable. They went to shared doors for the 1992 redesign
.
At last, an article about a car I have in my garage! Very thorough, and well done.
A few minor updates to the article and comments: in addition to the ’67 and ’68 Mercurys, McGarrett briefly also drove a ’73 (as evidenced by the last photo in the article) before settling upon the ’74. I’ve watched all the episodes on DVD to confirm this. Black was available in both years (sorry, tbm3fan!) per the dealer color brochures. One other small point — though the big Ford and Mercury dashes were quite similar, they were not identical. The center of the Ford version was slightly angled towards the driver, while the Mercury version was flat.
My particular car supposedly served a similar purpose when it was new — the guy I bought it from told me it was originally a CA government car. Since the Marti Report tells me it was sold to FoMoCo Leasing on a DSO of 84, that is plausible. And my car is pretty loaded, right down to the self-leveling rear suspension, ATC, mini-vent windows and AM/FM Stereo tape player.
Beautiful car. I think I saw it in Collectible Automobile. For how long have you had it?
Nice post. Thanks.
born in Brazil in 77, since a little kid I used to watch many 70’s and 80’s american cop shows, usually the one my father picked. Hawaii 5.0, Columbo, Kojak, Streets of San Francisco… and the list goes on and on. Not a surprise that I grew up really addicted to cars…
There’s one thing there really gets my attention nowadays whenever I watch some of these shows: people speak a very clear English (the same applies to many but not ALL movies of the same age). I’ve always wondered if (A) people really talked like that (or more or less similar) back then or if (B) it was just intentional to sound “correct”. My guess would be B. Any one disagree with that ?
I have the opportunity to (and I do!) watch the original Hawaii 5-0 every day, due to a retro TV channel (MeTV: Memorable Entertainment). I think about how many sets of brakes and tires that McGarrett would wear out in a short period of time, as he ALWAYS accelerates and brakes HARD!! Car and Driver had a running gag for years about the Marquis: each year they would bemoan the fact that L-M did not offer a “DeSade” option! LOL! 🙂
I am a big fan of the original Hawaii Five-O Tv series I have complete collection on dvd keep watching it regularly its timeless and am fan of vintage 60s & 70s Tv and film. I am also collector of vintage American and other vintage cars. As this topic about Mercury Grand Marquis I did almost buy a 68 Mercury Parklane v original had 87K miles. here in Beirut LEBANON v bad and congested roads such a big car and its big both width and length ( bigger than my already big 78 Coupe Deville) was Not best idea. My next alternative I always wanted a 70s Buick product so I bought v original 72 Skylark coupe 350 4B with 55K original miles.
Was there ever a better opening sequence in television history than that on 5 – 0? The sleek jets, huge waves, Tahitian dancer, pulsating theme song (big hit by the Ventures), ending with a helicopter shot of the great man himself standing on the balcony of the Illikai hotel. Made me lust to visit this exotic paradise.
I played drums in a punk band and we did the Hawaii 5 0 song a few times for laughs. No one really pays attention to the drum part so you can really do whatever you want.
Great write-up, and I especially enjoyed the more personal aspect!
“Tombstone” headrests – never heard them referred to that before but it’s quite fitting! I personally, have never been a fan of those “high-back” split bench seats that were popular upper seat trim options before adjustable front headrests started becoming the norm.
And that Zenith TV ad really takes me back. When I was little, my grandparents still had a similar looking one in their formal living room. It didn’t work but was used merely as a piece of furniture that Nana put here plants on in the front window.
I don’t know if anyone posted this but from earlier article, Lord didn’t seem to like the fat Marquis, preferring the more svelte Park Lane. Plus the Marquis looked like it couldn’t get out of its own way, not matter what Road Test commerce said.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-and-automotive-history-good-lord-the-1972-mercury-marquis-and-its-flirtation-with-infamy/
The Park Lane was McGarrett. The Marquis was an old man’s car.
Consumer Reports also recomended the 73 Grand Marquis over the Caprice and Buick Electra in a 73 Test I have. And I own a 76.
I wonder if he was the inspiration for Uncle Buck and his car?
Anyhow I loved when they would squeal the tires on a dirt road
If that’s RT’s idea of moderate lean, “excessive” must mean the car’s on two wheels.
The full width grille looks better than the ’74’s. I didn’t realize it had only a single year on the new body. The ’72 did look longer, and it was.
Mercury was a long forgotten brand here by the time 5 0 hit the small screen 1948 was the last new Mercury assembled here and it was a Ford with different trim, all post war Fords here had Mercury engines as we discovered pulling them apart if you got really unlucky your 40s V8 car could have a war surplus rebuild with one oversize piston and 7 standard ones, wartime factory rebuilds were make it run and ship it back, after hostilities ended these military rebuilds found their way back into civillian life as cheap replacement engines,
My Dad bought a new ’73 Ford Ranch Wagon, eventually Mercury abandoned their unique dash and the Ford dash was used in both Mercury and Ford full sizers.
His was plusher than his previous ’69 Country Squire. It was his first car with air conditioning, plus power locks and AM/FM stereo (radio only, no tape). Also had the trailer towing package. It was brown, but I liked the color, a nice deep metallic, plus it didn’t have the wood siding since it wasn’t a Squire. I learned to drive on his other car, but after I got my license I would spell my Dad driving during long trips…we pulled a pop-top camper back then, and otherwise I was navigator (got to be good at maps).
Dad had it through ’78, when he bought a new Caprice Classic wagon. Dad didn’ t care for the GM clamshell tailgate, though he looked a a then new ’79 downsized Ford wagon (this was fall of ’78) I forget what he didn’t like, but he instead bought a leftover ’78. He never owned a luxury car per se, but the Caprice was about as well equipped as any car he was to own (for it’s time)…a bit smaller than the Ranch Wagon, but my Mom liked that (she was primary driver when not on trips).
I worked for Hertz as a transporter 2 years (’77 and ’78) guess this was the car he owned then…I got to drive quite a few (mostly domestic) cars, whatever our site had, but strangely never a Pinto, and no Maverick, though I drove plenty of Fairmonts their initial year of ’78. Back then Hertz primarily rented Fords, though I drove almost all domestic marques (including AMC which was still around) but only imports were Datsun and Toyota. My own car at the time was a ’74 Datsun 710, I enjoyed trying the lone Datsun (a ’78 510, not the original, the late 70’s incarnation) though most people didn’t care for them but that also extended to the 710, which wasn’t very common even when they sold them new.
About the time he owned it, I was in high school taking a 2nd year electronics class…which at the time involved TV repair. No personal computers yet, the Altair had yet to debut, we worked on Motorola Quasar “works in a drawer” sets. The instructor would put bugs on circuit board and we’d have to figure out what was wrong…without inspecting the circuit board first. I learned how to do convergence on a picture tube. Not sure how I got my parents to approve taking the class, you could easily get nasty shock…and I wasn’t in the vocational tech, just took the class to learn.