The car above has special significance for me, and non-CCer types would probably respond with, “Why would you care about that ugly wreck?” What things individual people are drawn to is one of the great mysteries of life; and as my father once observed, “No matter how crazy or stupid something is, somebody is going to love it.” Well, the lines on this Mercury are a little bit crazy by modern standards; and it’s not stupid, but rare and fascinating. This car is also something of an enigma which perhaps CC readers can help unravel.
Looks like it’s about to devour something–or some one!
This car sat for many years in a apartment house parking lot on the corner of Morris Avenue and Edgar Street in Summit, NJ. I was born in Overlook Hospital in Summit, and my parents lived in neighboring Chatham, so it is quite possible that we drove past this car on our way home from the hospital that day. (I think my eyes were closed and I wasn’t paying that much attention.) After I got my driver’s license, I would occasionally travel along this stretch of Morris Avenue, and I would see this car–always in the same place, never moving. So one day in 1989, I took these pictures. And it’s a good thing I did, because a couple of years later, this strange archeological artifact from an antediluvian time known as “The ’50s” vanished mysteriously without a trace.
What exactly this car is, is also something of a mystery. The standard automotive reference works refer to it as a “Medalist”, however that name appears nowhere on this particular example. Mercury’s primary sales brochure (entitled “1958 MERCURY, Four Great Series with Sports Car Spirit and Limousine Ride”) lists Monterey, Montclair, Park Lane, and Station Wagon models–no Medalists. However, another brochure (“A Personal Message to Mercury Owners”) shows a picture of a 2-door Medalist like this one with the description, “Only your Mercury dealer has a value like this–the new low-cost Mercury that features big car value at a small car price. Ask your dealer about Models 58-C and 64-B.” Yeah–I can just see someone walking into a Mercury dealer in 1958 and saying, “I’d like to see something in a 64-B, please!”
Official press photo of a 1958 Mercury Medalist 2-door sedan. “MEDALIST” is clearly visible on the front fender.
Car I saw–“MERCURY”, not “Medalist”.
Four-door version I shot at a car show in 1987. Front fender lettering also reads MERCURY.
Back view of same car.
And if that isn’t confusing enough, Consumer Reports in their 1958 Annual Auto Issue referred to this car as a “Custom”:
Let’s look inside. There is a conventional automatic transmission lever; “Keyboard Control” push-buttons have been replaced with a single red button or light. What’s it for? Ejector Seat? Hyperspace?–I don’t know.
I start thinking about who originally bought this car, and why it sat neglected and forlorn for so long. In the “Ford Family of Fine Cars”, The Medalist (Let’s call it that for now) was priced above the comparable top-of-the-line Ford Fairlane 500, and mid-way between Edsel’s Ranger and Pacer models. Mercury dealers were getting desperate at this time, as sales were about half of 1957’s total, which was in turn lower than in very prosperous 1955 and ’56. The ’58 Medalist was probably an attempt to bring in customers with a lower price, although it wasn’t too successful at doing that, as only 7,750 2-doors and 10,982 4-doors were sold, while total 1958 Mercury sales came to 133,271. So this Medalist is a pretty rare bird (or whatever creature it is). Maybe somebody was watching Ed Sullivan on TV (sponsored by Lincoln-Mercury), ambled into a local Mercury dealer, didn’t like the high prices, but was convinced by a sharp salesman to buy this low-priced white beauty. The life this car led and how it survived as long as it did remains unknown.
Sure looked nice when it was new!
Compare the low-cost Medalist with the highest-priced model, the Park Lane: “Most beautiful expression of Mercury’s Clean Line Modern Styling.”
I have a theory that space aliens from Area 51 were brought in to design the rear section. Either that, or the inspiration is Salvador Dali or Hieronymus Bosch. The Park Lane rear is even more extreme!
What is it about cars like this that attract me so? The 1955-62 period was a time when cars had a sleek, “Spirit of Motion” aspect to their styling, accented with futuristic, Space Age elements like rockets, bumper bombs, hooded headlamps, fins, wrap-around windshields, neo-Art Deco instrument panels, and other finely wrought details that gave the cars a “larger than life” quality. The total effect suggests effortless, high speed, smooth travel (perhaps through interstellar space, rather than ordinary roads and highways of the United States). Gleaming in the showroom, the newest creation appeared to be science fiction-turned-science fact–a dream car that would be exciting to own and drive–and vastly superior to the older model you were trading in.
The other reason I suppose is nostalgia. When I was, say, between 4 and 12 years old, cars like this were occasionally seen, either on the road or tucked in unlikely places. They remind me of how I felt at that age–young, innocent, and pure–when the world was fresh and new, filled with fascinating things to see, feel, and explore. Today has its wonders too, but there will always be something magical about those early years, and the cars that represent “Peak Optimism” in American design.
I’m currently writing a science fiction book and am using cars of the late 50’s and early 60’s as inspiration for my ship designs. The main ship called the “Silver Sabre” is designed to resemble a Forward Look Chrysler. I might try to work a ship called the “Medalist” in there somewhere!
I’m using names of defunct American car companies to create the ship brands. Despite it’s design, the Sabre is a Hudson Longhaul Sport model. Mercury would be perfect one to use at some point!
Thanks for the article, you took some great pictures.
First, I am completely onboard with falling in love with a beat-down old wreck like this. And I am completely confused with the combination of the red/black inner door panel and the turquoise-ish seat. Someone replaced something here. And for a New Jersey car, this one cannot have been driven much as it is surprisingly rust-free given its condition.
I had never thought about the model lineup. I know that the Medalist showed up in 1956 and disappeared for 57. I also know that 58 and 64 are FoMoCo body numbers for a 2 door sedan and a 4 door sedan, and I believe that the C and B are for trim levels within that body style.
I would bet (though this is a guess) that the combination of the new Edsel and the deep recession that year panicked Mercury into offering a “price leader” that was not originally contemplated. I also see where many sources call that price leader a Medalist, the magazine you cite called it a Custom and the brochure refused to name it at all. The Medalist (or whatever it was) disappeared again for 59, so my guess would be that it just didn’t get the nameplate. Mercury was trying to play in a new price class and perhaps the Medalist name was something they were afraid to dredge up for fear of undercutting the new image they were trying for. I do not believe the “Medalist” nameplate showed up on any production cars.
One more data point showing what a complete mess Mercury was in the late 50s.
Something is odd with the numbers on the Classic Car Database. The 2 door sedan prices are listed:
Ford Fairlane V8 $2147
Ford Fairlane 500 $2289
Edsel Ranger $2300
Mercury Medalist $2617
Mercury Monterey $2422
Something is wrong with the price info on the Medalist. The 4 door sedan is shown at $2547, and most other FoMoCo models put the 2 door sedan about $50 cheaper than the 4 door. Even ignoring the Medalist, there was not much daylight between Ford, Edsel and Mercury here.
I would bet that the Medalist/Custom/Whatever was probably close to the $2300 of the cheapest Edsel. Was this the opening shot in the evisceration of Edsel?
I got the prices from Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-75.
All 2-door sedans, except Pacer:
1958 Fairlane 500 V-8: $2473
1958 Edsel Ranger: $2484
1958 Edsel Pacer (4-door sedan): $2700
1958 Mercury Medalist: $2547
In actual practice, dealer markups/discounts, level of optional equipment, etc. would change what a customer actually paid for any of them.
The Ford Motor Company itself was a mess during this era.
The initial plan that identified the need for another medium-price car had shown a significant price gap between the Mercury and the Lincoln. Mercury was quite successful in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a competitor to Pontiac and Dodge.
These plans were completely scrambled by 1957. Mercury moved upmarket for 1957, while the Edsel ended up offerings models priced both above and below Mercury for 1958!
The 1957 Mercury was much less successful than had been anticipated, because it had moved up in price (quality control problems didn’t help). A nasty recession, which began in the summer of 1957 and hit the medium-price class hardest, was another blow to Mercury. Meanwhile, the Ford Fairlane 500 and 1958 Thunderbird were selling well and poaching customers from the medium-price marques – including Mercury.
No doubt the Medalist was a last-minute, desperate attempt to get Mercury back into the low-medium price segment.
Ironically, an even less expensive car – the Comet – would save the division (or at least keep the dealers in business in the early 1960s). People seeking inexpensive transportation ultimately preferred compacts to stripped-down full-size cars.
The full-size Mercurys didn’t get back on track until the debut of the 1969 line-up, with the luxurious Marquis playing a key role in that effort.
In another bit of irony, the Marquis succeeded as a competitor to the Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight and Buick Electra – while the 1957 models flopped when they went up against the contemporary Buicks and upper-level Oldsmobiles!
The Ford Motor Company itself was a mess during this era.
That says it all.
The big mistake was in not recognizing that the spread between low-end brands and high end brands was slowly but steadily decreasing. They were still in a 1940s mind set to think there was room for another brand.
And by the time the ’57-’58 plan unfolded, that was only accelerating.
And they only exacerbated the issue with the four seat Thunderbird.
Yup!
Once again, Paul & I agree.
Ford’s “mess” was probably not helped by the company going public in 1956. Having to attract external shareholders – and then answer to them – obviously influenced decisions in the Glass House at that time.
The Continental and Edsel divisions were in development at that point, and reassured investors that the infusion of new capital would be used to make Ford as big as GM. When it became apparent that the two new divisions were bleeding cash, the reaction from the 12th floor is not surprising.
I suspect that there was more than a little Henry Ford II as part of this mix. It is my understanding that he considered Ford Motor Company’s place behind both GM and Chrysler to be a personal affront. I think he really believed that with modern management and more divisions Ford could surpass GM and regain that No. 1 spot that he likely considered as a birthright. “Make Ford Motor Company Great Again”, you could say. 🙂
Sad situation. It had 1980’s sky blue / yellow NJ plates, so it may have a full life. These were completely unreadable from more than 10 feet away.
Strippers were bought by fleets and cheapskates. Since Mercury had always been a fancy Ford, there wasn’t much market for a stripper Merc. People who wanted fancy didn’t want austere at the same time.
The Pontiac Chieftain made somewhat more sense because people bought a Pontiac to get a Chevy with an 8. Some cheapskates wanted or needed more horsepower along with the sense of austerity.
Washington County AR Sheriff had stripper Mercury patrol cars until the demise of the Mercury brand. Never figured out why.
You know, I’ve lived in that area for the past 21 years, and probably thought that they were driving Crown Vics. Honestly, near Mercury’s final days there was little difference between the two marques, and that probably applied to the price, as well.
Can’t for the life of me recall the name of the Lincoln-Mercury dealer that was on the corner of College and Township, but it wasn’t Nelms, Lewis, or one of the other recognizable dealership names around here.
There was a 1956 Medalist; it used script markings on the front fenders. There was no 1957 Medalist.
Mercury cast some new “Medalist” block letter trim pieces for initial 1958 cars but eventually ran out of them. Mercury knew there would be no 1959 Medalist. So it just substituted “Mercury” block letter trim (which could be used elsewhere) on the Medalists produced later in the year. Why bother recasting the part for such a low volume car?
I am curious about the Medalist badges for 1958. This is a great explanation, but is there an extant example of a car that actually wore them (other than in factory promotional shots)? I have yet to see a picture of one, but I am by no means an expert on these. The model was a midyear introduction so it would not have been part of the initial tooling for 58 models. I suppose demand for the cars could have outstripped expectations, but there were fewer than 19,000 built. This was far from a breakout success, considering that this was almost exactly the number of Scotsmans that Studebaker built in its disaster year of 1958.
A Google Image search is your friend with questions like that. It only brings up a few ’58 Medalists, one of them clearly wearing the Medalist badge (below), also one or two with apparent Mercury badges.
Vanilladude also posted a link further down to another ’58 with the Medalist badge.
I see them now. I had done a brief search and all I found (that I could read) said Mercury.
All I can say is – wow, what a confused mess. You add a new lower priced series. You decide to call it a Medalist by making badges and using the name to release to – somebody. Then you don’t use the name in the brochure or on many of the cars. Perhaps there was still an argument going on between Medalist and Custom when the print deadline came up.
Here’s one badged Mercury
Mercury cast some new “Medalist” block letter trim pieces for initial 1958 cars but eventually ran out of them.
I’m quite sure it was more likely the reverse of that. Given that the mid-year Mercury flyer (brochure) for “brand new low cost series” models 58-C and 64-B shows the car with a Mercury badge on the front fender (below), I think it’s safe to say that’s how it was made originally, and that sometime in its run, the Medalist name and badge appeared to give it a bit more cachet and an actual name.
Funny that these and similar era cars carry such a space age connotation, when in fact they were designed before Sputnik ever emitted it’s first beeps overhead. Personally, I would attribute it more to the Buck Rodgers shows of the very early 50s, as that would answer why a lot of art deco also gets included, as the early BR movies were from the 20s and had that “flair” to them.
The front and rear have a repeating grill, with the rear ones being ornamental. FoMoCo designs tended to have very large bumpers in this period. It may have been an unusual choice, but it works (imho). It all ties in neatly with the recent discussion of the 59 Fords, and shows how radical a split in design occurred so quickly.
I think how many cars such as Mercurys or DeSotos some of us saw as kids depended on whether or not there were dealerships near where we lived. Late 50’s and early 60’s Chrysler products were rare in my CNY town, but Mercurys were all over. My friend’s dad had a 1959 Park Lane and my school principal drove a ‘63 Mercury with the inverted rear window that rolled down for ventilation. Was there a Lincoln-Mercury dealer near where I lived? You Betcha.
As a previous commentor noted, the Medalist name was used in 56 and 58 on the cheapest Mercury sedans (no Medalist wagon).
Mercury used the Custom name from 53 to 56. Except for the 56 model year, the Custom name was used on the cheapest Mercury (in 56 it was above the Medalist).
The Custom was originally used on sedans and a sport coupe, but by 56 the Custom was available in all Mercury body styles including convertible and station wagon.
The Custom nameplate disappeared at the end of 56, so this car can’t be a Custom.
So – what you are saying, is that this car is this car:
http://trombinoscar.com/mercury/mc5802.html
Right down to the exterior color, right?
Well, the car I am linking you to says, “Medalist”, just like the mid-year promo photo. It is the Mercury version of a “Scotsman”. 1958 was a horror year for sales, and many makes issued strippers. The Medalist is the Mercury stripper for 1958.
So this makes two with the Medalist script. See my comment further up. Clearly some have it and others just used the Mercury script.
Cue roughly contemporaneous music. 🙂
That’s pretty wacky how some of them say ‘Medalist’, while others have ‘Mercury’.
I wonder what the probability is they came from different factories. That would go a long way to explaining the difference and be a dead giveaway as to where they were built.
As to the car, I actually kind of like the 1958 Mercury in the same way I really like the wild 1961 Plymouth.
Pity it’s not a ’58 DeSoto or Plymouth, in the very good condition (for it’s age) as this article’s car is..
Now that would be worth my time!
I do have a story about a 1957 DeSoto from the late ’80s, but I didn’t have the foresight at the time to take any pictures, so I can’t make it into a CC post.
But you can read about it here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/147108383@N02/25844007907/in/album-72157694315498751/
As an aside, I can’t get over all that chrome side trim, but painted headlight rims? Huh? It would’ve looked better with chrome on the rims and less chrome trim on the sides.
I came across this one in Austin, Texas a few years ago. It definitely had “Medalist” nameplates and was a four-door “Phaeton” (hardtop) ~
There was a Mercury dealer in the next town in those years, two stripper two door ’58 Mercurys were around here. Both belonged to childless couples living in small, modest homes. Both were that solid medium blue, dog-dish hubcaps, black wall tires, at least one a stick shift. As a car-crazed kid, I couldn’t figure out why one had a “Medalist’ nameplate but the other was only a “Mercury”.
FoMoCo was truly a management and product line disaster in those years. Bean-counters have their place but lack the ‘gasoline-in-their-veins’ enthusiasm and vision to run a car company successfully.
Two words…
Robert McNamara.
oh Ford was confused at this point! Think how the Mercury shoppers and dealers
tried to figure it! My Daddy probably helped build this big dog He worked in the
body shop of the Lincoln Mercury plant in Hazelwood Mo. for thirty years
I always recall seeing 57 Mercs on the road when they were becoming old cars
and they were rust buckets as bad as Mopars The old GM cars were not like
this In St Louis our long time LM dealers stayed on during these goofy times
a couple even became Edsel dealers I guess in 58 59 and 60 they just
sold used cars
I remember seeing these, though not very many, when I was young. They scared me.
I remember as a kid one of my neighbors had a ’58 or ’59 Merc and I thought it was awesome!
My husband had a ‘58 mercury two door sedan when we started dating. I remember the push button gear shift. That was in 1966. It was a real good looking car until he wrecked it.