The recent post by Paul Niedermeyer showing ’57 Fords on a car carrier had a link to one of Paul’s earlier articles featuring a rather worn but still functioning 1957 Ford Skyliner retractable hardtop. In that article, Paul states “I’m rather sorry to imagine it eventually getting properly restored, as there probably aren’t many functioning Skyliners in this kind of condition anymore. And you know how I am about originality, authenticity and patina.” I think I know what Paul means by this. It immediately brought to mind this 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser that I just found on eBay.
In 2014, a ’57 Turnpike Cruiser was featured on CC, but it was a bright red, shiny, rather sterile, fully restored example in a museum somewhere. And it had all the unnecessary extra goop on it like a continental kit, skirts, etc. No, this example that I just discovered is a lot more “honest”, although it does need a serious amount of work.
In case you don’t know already, the Turnpike Cruiser was a futuristic “production dream car” loaded with all kinds of advanced, “straight out of tomorrow” styling and mechanical features, priced at the top of the 1957 Mercury line. I can just imagine customers walking into a Lincoln-Mercury dealership in the fall of ’56 and laying their eyes on this lithe, encrusted beauty gleaming in the showroom. I mean, if you wanted THE ULTIMATE, this is it, baby!
I can see the motivated salesman pointing out all the far-out features: the “Quadri-Beam” headlights; the “War of the Worlds” roof level air intakes which sprouted little (fake) radio antennae (“Why?”); the power retractable rear window; the tachometer and average speed computer clock; and so many other features “not found on any other car at any price!” If you wanted a car to impress the neighbors, park this strato-cruiser in the driveway of your suburban tract house and let the neighbor parents and their kids just sit there and drool! It would seem as if the “World of Tomorrow” prophesies of the 1939 New York World’s Fair had finally come to pass!
As noted, this car’s for sale and is located in Moreno Valley, CA. In my “buy the car and restore it” fantasy (which isn’t going to happen), I would fix all the mechanical problems, get a professional restore on the front seat, door panels and dash pad; get all those fascinating gauges working, restore the flattop steering wheel, repaint or touch up the original white paint (preserving most of the rest), and buff out the Moonmist Yellow. I would also search the world to find the missing body trim pieces. I might even leave the blackwall tires on, since whitewalls were actually optional, and a lot of cars in the ’50s didn’t have them. Make it nicely driveable and relatively good looking from 20 feet, while keeping much of the authentic “patina”. Just to have a “mostly unrestored” Mercury Turnpike Cruiser–the way they typically looked after the shiny new aura had started to wear off (which in the case of these cars didn’t take very long).
The standard 368 cubic inch “Lincoln Y Block” V8 rated at 290 horsepower.
The “Skylight Dual-Curve” windshield: sheet glass wrapped (or tortured) to its limits! It might be hard to locate a replacement “antenna” (and find a way to securely attach it).
A flat monster. Would motorists of 2020 even recognize this as a CAR if it were stopped ahead of them in traffic?
Consumer Reports had some interesting things to say…
Hmmm…. not too bad!
The “Monitor Control Panel”
You have to go through a lot of fuss to get going–insert key, turn key to ON, press N/S button to run the starter, release parking brake (if engaged), pull PARK bar, press D, and accelerate. What if you forget to pull PARK and drive off–do you snap the parking pawl? In the quest for futuristic “ease”, things just get more complicated!
If you got the smaller V-8, there was a “Power Booster Fan” that disconnected automatically when driving at higher speeds. This “saves up to 17 horsepower other cars waste.” A little gauge let you know if the Power Booster was OFF or ON. Could you actually feel or hear any difference while driving? Are there any Mercurys left with this gauge and switch still working as intended?
Anybody who has had to crawl under one of these old bombs to grease the chassis with a gun will appreciate this option–power lubrication that lubricates everything at the touch of a button. “Multi-Luber” in Merc-speak.
Inside cover of Owner’s Manual states, “You now own a totally new kind of car–a car that is unique in concept and completely daring in execution.” Don’t you love it when they keep selling you the car even after you’ve bought it?
Manual pp. 24-25: You’re driving a Turnpike Cruiser now, so you need a list of all the turnpikes in the United States. Did anyone actually benefit from having this information?
Everything about this car is crazy . . . ah, “innovative” . . . which is why I like it so much! In a world of serious-minded adults and conservative corporations, something like this shouldn’t even exist–and yet, here it is! The designers and the advertising copywriters were trying SO hard. Too bad sales were well below expectations–the Turnpike Cruiser was made for just one more year (1958), and then vanished forever, like so many of man’s ethereal dreams.
So let’s all hope that this unlikely survivor finds a good home. I hope it receives some form of restoration and goes back on the road. However, as with so many cars we see come and go, we will probably never find out its true fate.
A “Good Bones” example of an unusual “niche” model car!
But with the increasing popularity and refinement of auto in dash air conditioning systems these cars quickly became obsolete.
Lots of new trucks have opening rear windows.
To more easily toss the empty beer can(s) into the bed?
Don’t forget the “trunk ornament” at the base of the rear window. Not sure if it actually lit up (sort of a proto-third brake light) or not.
I believe that it turned on with the rest of the exterior lights.
In 1958, the rear deck ornament was moved inside on the parcel shelf. Sweet.
Paint it in a greyscale color and it would fit right in with the current truck/suv styling.
Everything old is new again.
There’s no denying that cars like this should be preserved for posterity, by Good God is that thing just plain ugly from every single angle.
+1.
Good to know the original spare is in the trunk. After 60 odd years, I’m sure it is in great shape.
I bet it still has the little nibs on the tire (that I used to pull off!) from the casting process!
Talk about hype… the brochure’s reference to so-called “New Air-Cushion Suspension” consists of rubber “doughnuts” at the rear spring front anchor points.
Hey, the tires are genuine “air cushion suspension” devices! No hype there. 🙂
I guess your right. Shrug
That’d be right up there with advertising scrap tires as: “Available for bid, quantity of wire, rubber covered…”
LoL
I’ve seen that interior door handle with trim ring design on the ’56/’57 Lincoln and the engine turned aluminum dash trim on lots of cars – including my Mustang Bullitt.
Our local Ford dealer owns a (non-original & fully restored) ’57 TC pace car convertible; it is usually on display in one of several showrooms.
Apparently yellow paint is more protective than white paint…
O indicating “off” and X indicating “on” on the Power Booster is counterintuitive.
The upholstery pattern on the front seatback, visible in the windshield shot, adds even more weirdness to this already weird-looking car.
What’s that thing that looks like a timer to the right of the clock? It appears to be calibrated A-B-C-D-E on top and 1 through 6 on the bottom.
Timer looking dial are the presets for the memory seat. Wow. Not the only oddball from Mercury. How about a Phaeton? Geez, not even a open car..
“O” icon represents the blur of a rotating fan, net power is not being boosted because of the fan’s parasitic power robbery. Thus power booster is off.
“X” icon indicates a stationary (idle) fan, power IS being boosted because the fan is not skimming horsepower.
I suppose “Power Saver” might have been more truthful?
But the fan icons are just illustrations for the brochure; driver had no control over fan operation, which was automatic.
Actually… I wonder if dash indicator made it to production? What would’ve been the feedback mechanism?
There was a lot of excitement around the country about the improvement in highway configuration. Turnpikes and especially the coming freeway interstate system made automobile travel safer, faster and more comfortable.This lead to bigger, softer riding, convenience filled cars.Yes, some things were lost as the driving experience was homogenized, and many smaller towns were bypassed. But the roads were now safer and trips were made more quickly. I suppose that autonomous vehicles are the next evolutionary step. I don’t see myself buying into that paradigm.
Love the condition of this car. The Turnpike Cruiser was the first salvo in the effort spearheaded by “Whiz Kid” Francis “Jack” Reith to move Mercury up-market. This was part of the larger corporate plan to match GM across the board, which culminated with the introduction of the Edsel.
The 1957 Mercury was a disappointment, and its lackluster sales record was one of the first signs that Ford’s ambitious plan to match GM was in big trouble.
For 1958, the upscale Mercury Park Lane debuted – the “Super Mercury” that was supposed to take on the senior Buicks – and the ballyhooed Turnpike Cruiser was quickly shoved into the background. Reith was blamed for the failure of the 1957 Mercury, along with its quality issues (although the 1957 Ford was just as bad in that regard, and he wasn’t in charge of that division).
Sadly, Reith died in 1960 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officially it was an accident, although some people believed otherwise.
In terms of quality, since these were just somewhat bigger “Fords”, sharing much of their underpinnings, it’s no surprise they were equally bad quality-wise.
Mercury’s decline in ’57 was ugly, losing 1.3 points of market share. And ’58 was a disaster.
It is kind of surprising that the dip was only 1.3 points, given how far up the price ladder Mercury shot from 1956 to 57 and the hot sales of Chrysler’s 57 line. 1955-56 had been strong years for Mercury, but as you note it all fell apart and got worse.
’57 sales dropped from 328k to 286k, or 13%. Share dropped from 5.7% to 4.6%, or 20%. Not that bad, but it was an all new car. And it’s not like the ’56 Mercury was a hot item either.
Sales collapsed in ’58, down to 133k, or 2.9% share.
The best thing about this car is no continental kit. Seems like every nice Turnpike Cruiser has one of those damn things hanging off the back.
But a restored one’s gotta have whitewalls.
The 1957 gets all the notice, but the 1958 TC was better looking and had most of the bells and whistles.
What, nobody’s called it the Turnip Crusher yet?
Congrats again to CC for bringing to my attention yet another interesting vehicle that I had no idea existed. This is probably one of the most Exner-inspired cars that Exner wasn’t involved in. The flat top of the steering wheel, the far out styling, the crazy gadgetry……it might not be my favorite car, but damned if Mercury weren’t swinging for the fences with this. I can always get behind failures with ambitions–even if they didn’t succeed, I admire their efforts.
I love this! That 1957-60 period for Mercury fascinates me to no end. They really did try to go all glitz and glamour in a GM/Chrysler kind of way, but it just didn’t take. And then Mercury did a complete U turn for 1961 in being just a re-trimmed Ford (again). It could give a guy whiplash.
There are a handful of ’57 & ’58 Turnpike Cruisers. We noted this one for sale recently in Pennsylvania, a nicely preserved original:
https://forums.aaca.org/topic/349891-1958-mercury-montclair-turnpike-cruiser-14600-russell-pa-not-mine/?tab=comments#comment-2097708
It would have sold better if it had fins. BIG fins! Like a proper ’57 car should!
My first car was a 1960 Mercury Park Lane Turnpike Cruiser – $125 back in 1973 complete w/430 V8 & everything.Remember burning up a rear wheel bearing & having to limp it home not to mention my first auto repair job. Major space ship back in the day…
“You have to go through a lot of fuss to get going–insert key, turn key to ON, press N/S button to run the starter, release parking brake (if engaged), pull PARK bar, press D, and accelerate. What if you forget to pull PARK and drive off–do you snap the parking pawl? In the quest for futuristic “ease”, things just get more complicated!”
That final sentence could be part of a review of many a new 2021 model.
The 1958 Mercury is a hidden gem. Just please, keep those hideous and stupid continental kits off of them! Why do certain old guys love that crap?
Fuzzy dice can be quickly thrown away, but those fender skirts and continental kits can’t be as easily chucked.
Has anyone here at CC asked owners that put that junk on restored cars, what their reasoning is to do that?
I didn’t think this through.
Why do some collectors put continental kits on cars?
That is how I should have worded it, Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked it in such a condemning and insulting manner.
There is a reason, I’m sure.
One angle might be that it’s such a superfluous waste in a non-functional add-on that it brings fond reminiscence -if not accurate- of being a car crazy kid, when your biggest worry in the world was some petty thing like which camshaft you were going to try next.
FWIW, the rear bumper of the TC kind of looks like it was designed for a Continental kit. They still look like hell on anything, though.
Looking at this thing and the accompening advertising brochures brings to mind Bruce McCall’s parody about the 1958 Bulgemobiles. Bruce nailed it perfectly!
These cars confused me as a kid. With no turnpikes in California, I associated the term with something I’d seen in a illustrated history book of a 19th century road with a literal turning pike to control passage of ox carts. What on earth did that have to with this space age but already dated-looking car? But the sliding rear window on Mercuries was very cool.
I like the Turnpike Cruiser in the same way I like some other outrageous, go-for-broke designs (like the 1961 Plymouth). Sort of like the Ed Wood category of movie where they’re so bad, they’re good.
Around 1962-3 a friend of mine had a 1957 Mercury. Not a TP Cruiser. I recall the headlights actually falling out of the fender.
God! I am so sick and tired of nasty rust being referred to as cutesy “patina”. Its rust for gods sake! Why in the heck would someone want to preserve and clearcoat rust? That’s insane. Send it to the paint shop for a proper prep and paint job. I think all this love for “patna” nonsense is coming from people too cheap or not able to afford a paint job. I see this kind of garbage on way too many of my car groups.
That rear end looks like cars from two different eras stacked on top of each other: A 50s sedan on top, and an early 70s full size Something-or-Other with loop-bumper taillights on the bottom.
The rear bumper and lower tail lights look like they inspired those of the second-generation Mercury Cougar.