I shot it, so now I need to say something about it. Well, I don’t know what year it is, as Carfax draws a blank based on its license plate, and I can’t tell these apart. let’s try something else.
Yes, there were subtle changes to the body, especially the front end, but I can assure you I did not take note of that at the time. I didn’t take not of these box Panthers at all at the time, as I thought they were rather badly out of date; a rolling retro-mobile right off the dealer lot. The Mercury Family Truckster. But I appreciate what they’ve come to represent: the dead end of an era. And this one is in pretty decent shape.
Classic brougham. Actually, those seats look more inviting to me that some of those overdone tufted, loose pillow affairs. These look almost like they could have come out of a Volvo 700 series. Almost. The dash not so much so.
A storied name, soon to be no more. The “wood” trim surrounding the “wood” is a bit odd, eh? That doesn’t really make any sense. Not that sense had that much to do with this stuff anyway, but still.
All those layers of trim are a bit busy, especially on the back end. Quite the contrast from a W124 wagon, as an extreme example.
The rolling gingerbread cottage. That’s about all I can come up with; your turn.
It’s a 1985 model. For CA plates, the smog check database is handy. I’ve idly used it to see if some of my old cars are still on the road (in CA at least, they could have headed south or elsewhere) This car apparently had a problem passing a few years ago but no problem the most recent time.
https://www.bar.ca.gov/pubwebquery/Vehicle/PubTstQry.aspx
Those seats really do look like the Volvo 700-series seats, wow. I wonder if they are as supportive or if the beauty is only as skin deep as the rest of the car 🙂
They are pretty comfortable, at least to me, as that same seat was one of the very few things that made the transition to the early Aero cars with no real change. So I’ve got over 150K worth of seat time in one and despite the fact that they are over 25 years old and pushing 300k total miles they are in pretty darn good condition They do have air bladder style adjustable lumbar.
I agree, the seats on these cars were decent. That is another area Ford went ahead of GM at this time. Ford actually substantially improved their seating, while the GM seats were pretty much the same as the late 1970’s. Having owned both, the Fords definitely had better seating. And FWIW, my Olds Custom Cruiser even had dual power seats with dual recliners. Even with all that adjustment, the basic seat design just wasn’t as good.
Yep, it’s an ’85. The grille and no “automatic overdrive” badge on the lower portion of the front fender confirm it.
And the lack of a center high mount stop lamp 🙂 .
I owned both an 88 Colonie Park and a 86 Volvo 740 GLE wagon. Both had leather seats. They were somewhat similar in appearance. The Volvo’s were heated while the Merc had never heard of such things. The Volvo’s still looked almost new 20+ years and 350k miles later. The Mercury’s actually wore pretty well but the drivers seat finally got torn on the side bolster. I’d say the Volvo’s were best for long periods of time sitting in them and you didn’t sink down into them as much as the pillows in the Mercury. Funny, I never thought about it till now how those two cars were so very different but both built for the same purpose. What’s also funny is that the 4 cylinder in the Volvo didn’t seem really any slower than the V8 in the Mercury!
I too, had no luck looking up this car’s license plate which is odd since these plates were issued over ten years ago. I know California and Oregon share a border, however, I still get excited when I see old cars from the Golden State in Portland. The older the car the better and vintage license plates are a plus.
I do not see as many of these cars from FoMoCo compared to GM’s B-Bodies so does that mean they are not as reliable and more prone to rusting than the GM cars? Thanks for sharing photos of this car Paul.
Around here and in my travels I see a lot more Box Panthers still on the road than B-bodies. The later cars that have port EFI and the improvements to the AOD are pretty hard to kill and they just start and go like they should with minimal intervention. The carbs that GM hung onto for way too long on the B’s mean they don’t just go for decades w/o touching the engine and finding someone who knows what a carb is let alone how to properly tune on is getting harder and harder by the day.
The Ford/Mercury Panther wagons didn’t sell in the same numbers as GM’s B wagons, sold under 4 brands. So that is why not as many.
I get that it probably won’t be used anytime to do any canyon carving, but someone obviously loves it and it looks to be in wonderful shape..
Agreed. And there’s plenty to love. I had one just like this except dark blue paint and cloth interior. Peg was her name. Bought her on the cheap and served me well for about 2 years in the late 90’s. Room for 8+ occupants or 4 X 8 sheets of building materials.
People still like them; I do too. If this is an ’85 it would be fuel injected with a four speed auto – not an unpleasant car to use.
Yesterday at Good Guys in Scottsdale I saw a Ford version, with the same wheels, entering the parking area.
Yes, the busy “style” is quite a contrast to a 124 wagon. First ones of those were three to four times more costly than the Mercury too – another contrast.
These were never my favorite version of the Ford/Mercury full-sized wagon. I always thought they were a me-too product, trying to ape the GM full sized wagons.
Thanks to the rust in Ontario, that Dodge Intrepid would be not quite as rare a sight here as the Mercury.
The owner has eclectic taste in music. Beside the Statler Brothers and George Strait cassettes, there’s Billy Idol.
Terribly outdated lines, but lots of happy memories in ’84 + ’87 versions. Pretty decent vehicles apart from styling.
All that money on gingerbread, but you could still see the cut out for the Ford’s tail light.
I never noticed that on mine!
I really want one of these. But the old -school wagons are expensive around here, much more costly used than the equivalent sedan.
Back in the day, such wagons were anathema to my hot-rod loving self, and simply the worst expression of plebeian soccer-mom suburbia. These days I think they’re so cool for their retro style. I’m on the fence about the wood grain. It’s an authentic touch, but I think they look better without it,
They do!
Nice looking survivor, but a little bit dyspeptic write up! This car has earned some love, after 33 years and still being in remarkably nice original condition. It may have been far from the cutting edge, even when new, but Ford still sold them because people still bought them. Not everyone wanted a Caravan or Voyager minivan, or the new Astro or Aerostar. Of course, sales were dropping every year as the big woody wagon went more and more out of style. Still, people bought them right up through 1996.
As mentioned above, Ford’s panther styling and handling may have been less appealing than GM’s Bs, but their drivetrains were far superior. I liked the darker woodgrain on the Mercurys. The bright trim surround didn’t make sense in terms of imitating real wood, but it looked sharp and by this point it wasnt about fooling anyone. Everyone knew the vinyl was just a style, which a good number of people liked. Even the insurgent minivans often had woodgrain back then.
I owned an 84 CS for a time and the seats were one of its best features. Very comfortable, with an adjustable backrest on the drive side even, unlike contemporary Bs.
Selling cars is a dog-eat-dog business, and anyone that doesn’t at least try and go with the market is doomed to failure.
With that said, It’s a shame how the minivan just killed the traditional, full-size RWD station wagon in less than a dozen years. First the Panther with the rounded, 1992 aero restyle that eliminated the wagons, then the last RWD GM bubble in 1996. Yeah, there was the brief Dodge Magnum station wagon revival from 2005-08 (a bit ironic when one considers Chrysler started the minivan boom), but that was much more a ‘sport’ wagon variant on the smaller Charger sedan (and it didn’t sell well or last long, either).
Of course, it could be said that the station wagon never really went away; it just morphed into an SUV/CUV with available AWD. With that kind of minivan/SUV onslaught, well, the big domestic station wagon never had much of a chance of surviving.
Also there were tons of Taurus/Sable wagons made during peak-minivan. These Panthers were perpetually on the verge of elimination since 1983, cheap gas saved the full size lines, otherwise the plan was to essentially have the midsize LTD, and later the Taurus be the new full size Fords, including wagons.
The Station wagon morphed into the Minivan more than it did a crossover IMO. Real wagons are far more useful than crossovers and minivans were more useful still. Today minivans are facing extinction too, they usurped the mommywagon image from traditional wagons and just managed to remain popular enough for another generation to grow up with them and despise them as adults. Crossovers are still young yet before the next wave of generational backlash comes.
I remember these now-dinosaurs. Used to see quite a few of them in S. FL where I reckon they were decent family haulers. These aren’t ‘Unicorns’, but I’ve not seen one in quite a while since I moved to GA in 2008.
→ I couldn’t help but notice some cassette tapes tucked into the ‘holder’ on the seat. Just yesterday I felt like dragging out some of my aging ‘J. GEILS BAND’ cassettes for the purpose of playing them. Some of them are 40 years old; I bought most of them used. Anyway, I played BLOODSHOT and NIGHTMARES . . . AND OTHER TALES OF THE VINYL JUNGLE three times each and HOTLINE once. Next up for my deck is their 1972 live album “FULL HOUSE” . . . I dig their brand of ’70s bluesy rock [which they, more or less, gave up in 1978 for more ‘pop-oriented’ sounds that were to lead to greater success a few years later].
I think “Full House” might just be the best live rock album ever. At least right up there with “Get Your Ya-Ya’s Out”. Oh, and “Frampton Comes Alive”.
“Now don’t you touch those knobs cause our bluegrass is too funky for you!”
+1
Well I like 80s boxy and it has a lot of that. I like the big cushy seats. The turbine wheels are among the best looking wheels made at anytime for anything, in my opinion. The wood with more wood with chrome trim is, well, kinda icky to me. I meant to type “tacky” but somehow “icky” came out because it must be in my cache of words. But icky works too. But I am glad it is still driving around representing whatever the hell it is representing.
A Volvo 240 wagon of this era may not have wood trim, but has almost as much un-necessary bright and black trim.
And it cost more and was slower. Mercury looks to have been a pretty good choice to me.
Well somebody over here liked one enough to mail it to NZ, One of these overtook me a week or two ago, it was the Mustang convention in the Bay but all sorts of other stuff came down too, the joys of crawling on overtaking lanes at 30kmh is the variety of cars that overtake, last night frinstance it was a 57 Ford coupe satin black wide chromies loud twin system nice car owned by Mongrel Mobsters (local gang) I saw them fueling it earlier, Much nicer than the plastiwood wagon to look at.
I don’t like Panthers, but the Marquis handled the downsizing the best, the pseudo 77 Cougar nose worked a lot better than the Crown Vic’s nondescript Oldsmobile-like blandness and they manage to look somehow less upright as a result. Oddly I feel like there are more surviving examples of the Mercury wagon than the Ford one, at least in these parts. Neither have much to brag about in their wood executions but once again, the more traditional bladed fenders of the Marquis seems much more at home on it as a throwback design. If you’re going to be known for being a dinosaur, own it, and in that measure I feel this works pretty well.
under-wheeled
these Ford products always looked like the bodies were put on a chassis meant for a smaller car – looked very clownish, especially next to the superior GM wagons
and Ford transmissions were horrible – ask the police about the failure rate on panthers
Scoutdude is right on the money when he says talks about the carb versus EFI. A big part of why many of these are still around is the 1986 and newer cars had Ford’s MPFI on the 302 engines. This system was low maintenance and reliable, especially compared to GM’s convoluted E4ME (Q-jet Feedback) carb. The E4ME was an okay carb when everything is working okay, but it is complex, and few people knew how to fix them. Was the Ford powertrains superior, as someone commented? Having owned both, the Ford’s were less maintenance intensive and had better drivability than the carbs, but both in proper tune are very comparable. The 302 did have a definitely leg up in power over the 307 Olds, but was pretty comparable to the 305. I preferred the GM transmissions though (TH200-4R and TH700-R4) over the AOD.
The reason for the narrow wheel width is Ford didn’t put a wider axle under the wagons like GM did, despite the wider rear body. I also thought the dual rear facing seats on the Ford were a poor idea (it was required due the fuel tank location on the Fords). The rear facing seat was far more useful.
Yes, those dual facing rear seats had been only marginally useful as seats when Ford wagons had the length and width common in the 60s and 70s. I cannot imagine that these were even that good.
“The E4ME was an okay carb when everything is working okay, but it is complex, and few people knew how to fix them.”
YES YES YES.
If GM had gotten it’s head out of it’s rear-end and given us a reliable FI system for ALL V8s by say 85-86 or heck even 87 I’d still be singing the praises of my 87 Cutlass.
But since they didn’t, eff em!
I’ve had 4 wagons of this body style. The new style ’79 LTD Crown Vic was a company car, 351 with a VV carb. Unreliable carb and ignition system. Overall a junky car.
I bought a used ’79 Colony Park. Interior of a Lincoln. Had the EECII ignition with the VV carb. JUNK! Took it out and retrofitted with standard electronic distributor and box. Very reliable after change over. Excellent fit, finish, and ride.
Bought a used ’88 Squire. Loved it. Bought a used ’91 Colony Park. Absolutely loved it. Both trouble free and comfortable ride. I especially liked the air ride on the CP.
Unfortunately the three I owned were totaled, without injuries. I often said any of the three would follow me to hell and bring me back.
Many did not like the wood grain DiNoc on the car, but it was great at hiding parking lot dings.
If they were again offered I would buy a new one in a heartbeat.
I’ve always loved faux woody wagons since I was a kid. As I got older it sort of blew my mind that woody wagons were once real wood. No doubt my favorite of all time would of been a ‘71 or ‘72 Country Squire, or perhaps a ‘66. Never cared for the GM clamshells, the fastback look on a wagon never made sense to me. The full-size GM redesign in ‘77 were wonderful, the ‘91 redesign not so much. Ford’s full-size downsize redesign in ‘79 was great, also in that Mercury finally looked decent, rather than the bloated and overwrought look they carried through the 70s. That was one time when cookie-cutter corporate styling came in handy. The full-size Ford wagons always looked great, from 1960 until their demise in ‘91, though a few years were better than others. All this said… I’d drive that beauty of a Colony Park. Like. A. Boss.
I think I should add that I know I can’t be the only one who loves the faux woody look on a wagon. There aren’t really any wagons anymore that could carry that look, convincingly…except, perhaps a Suburban. The Suburban sells like hotcakes to a certain socioeconomic demographic. The Suburban also didn’t really take off with that set until the demise of the original Grand Wagoneer, which was once a fixture in most upper middle class neighborhoods, none of which came without woodgrain in it’s later years. All this thinking has me leading up to this: While the demand certainly isn’t great enough for woody appliqué to be installed at the factory level, I think there could very well be enough demand for an aftermarket “wrap” of sorts, applied as a dealer-installed option. I don’t think I’m crazy, and I don’t see why not?
There is a wagon that can carry the look convincingly in my opinion and yes the aftermarket has stepped up to make it a reality. https://www.google.com/search?q=ford+flex+woody+kit&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1
I remember 1991, knowing that these were being discontinued. I was newly married and had no children – and no use for such a thing. But I briefly entertained the idea of buying one, knowing that I would never get another chance. But they were thin on the ground at dealers and there must have been enough people who thought like me because there were no leftovers in my area, and thus no deals to be had, thereby eliminating the only reason I could justify one.
Did you also photograph the Intrepid? They can’t be more common than Box Panthers at this point.
I used to see one of these regularly parked in the Jordaan neighborhood of Amsterdam. It looks as long as the boats in the canal. Must be an adventure to drive it on the narrow streets there!
I’m sure it would be a challenge to drive one in Amsterdam! However, not as much as you might think. These cars had excellent visibility. The driver position is relatively high. You could see the edges and corners of the hood and the end of the hood has a hood ornament. The rear visibility is fine and you can see right where the back end of the car is. Relatively short wheelbase makes for a tight turning radius. If I had to choose a big American to drive in Europe, it would be a panther wagon.
You’d be surprised at how many delivery vans that are as long and wide as those American barges are plying the streets in Europe, including the narrow streets.
Americans seem to forget about the larger European cars such as Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, Bentley Mulsanne, etc. The owners are adept in navigating theirs through the narrow streets and squeezing in the tight parking space…
One thing that makes the difference is steering geometry for tighter turning radius. Saturn SL1 and SL2 as well as Toyota Cavalier for the Japanese market were modified with wider steering geometry.
I owned one of these in burgundy for a winter beater while I was going to college, an ’85. I thought it was a poor copy of the Caprice Classic wagon my parents had when I was younger despite all the extra “gingerbread” the Colony Park had. Performance and mileage was not good and it just felt cheaper than I remembered the Caprice. Still, it was a pretty solid car that served me well through a record-breaking winter in 1997. That thing was almost unstoppable, provided you kept your momentum up.
Wow! How many station wagons have cool coach lamps like the Grand Marquis Colony Park? This generation had them from 1979-1991. Yes, 1991! I love those classic touches! Here is a pic of the last year for this model.
As a kid, I road in the back of a ’64 Chevy Impala wagon, so I understand the purpose of these “Beasts of Burden”. The simulated wood grain paneling added just an extra bit of flair to the driveway.
Long may it roll!!🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗
I’m a bit late to this, but I just happened upon this posting and saw the CA license plate…looked familiar. I digged through my dashcam archives (I save all interesting/notable cars I capture in traffic over the years). Sure enough, I found it – this exact 1985 Mercury Marquis Colony Park, as I spotted it in January 2015 on the Newport Road/I-215 overpass in Menifee, CA. Same license plate ‘5VMR921’ in my pic and the main pic. Good to see it’s still running and that I’m not the only one who took interest in it.If the uploader sees this, I’m curious where you took the pic? Still in CA, I assume. This is the first time I’ve personally spotted the very same car as one featured on this website, but I beat you guys to it by almost 4 years 😛