(EXPANDED FROM 10/7/2022)
Mercury’s Colony Park never got much attention, but it saw steadily increasing sales through the second half of the 1960s.
For example, in 1966 almost 19,000 of the top-of-line Mercury wagons were produced. This was despite a fairly lofty list price of $3,502 for the six-passenger model (add $96 for the nine-passenger variant). That was $320 more than the Mercury’s sibling, the Ford Country Squire.
Mercury also offered an entry-level wagon called the Commuter. However, this nameplate had been less popular than the Colony Park since back in 1962. By 1968 output for the two wagon series together had inched up to almost 30,000 units. This represented 23 percent of full-sized Mercury production.
Wagons had the most stable sales of the full-sized Mercury lineup during the second half of the 1960s. This could have been partly because wagon buyers were a more utilitarian sort who were less influenced by annual model changes.
Mercury avoids competition from Buick and Olds
An additional factor in the stability of Mercury wagon sales may have been that they had less competition. Buick and Oldsmobile temporarily abandoned the full-sized wagon field in favor of stretched mid-sized models such as the iconic Olds Vista Cruiser.
That left only the Dodge, Pontiac and Chrysler brand in the premium-priced field. For 1966 the new, top-of-line Dodge Monaco wagon had the most similar list price to the Colony Park ($3,436), the Pontiac Bonneville Custom Safari was priced somewhat higher ($3,747) and Chrysler’s Town & Country was the most expensive U.S.-produced wagon ($4,086).
In 1966 the Colony Park’s output was slightly higher than the Town & Country’s (which was under 18,000 units). Meanwhile, the Mercury’s production was twice as high as the Custom Safari’s (under 9,000 units). Dodge production was not broken out by body style for 1966, but the previous year the then-top-end Custom 880 wagon surpassed 10,000 units.
Unusual features give Mercury a competitive edge
Mercury had long placed an emphasis on wagons. In 1957 production almost reached 36,000 units due to lower-slung styling and an unusually large number of models. These included two- and four-door hardtops. Pictured below is a 1958 two-door model called the Voyager.
After a lull during the first half of the 1960s, wagon sales picked up in 1965. This was when Mercury received a new body that would run through 1968. One unique feature was vents built into the D-pillars, which channeled air onto the rear window. This supposedly helped to keep it cleaner.
In 1966 the Mercury and Ford wagons gained one of the more significant innovations of that decade. A tailgate folded down in addition to opening sideways like a door. By 1969 this feature would become the norm for larger, U.S.-built wagons.
The pictured Colony Park has a plainer interior than the one shown below in a 1966 Mercury brochure, where the front doors included a splash of fake wood grain and the upholstery was a bit fancier.
By the late-60s almost all U.S.-built wagons added fake wood-grain trim onto the side and rear exterior sheetmetal of their high-end models. However, in 1966 Mercury was the only premium-priced brand besides Dodge that offered it. Pontiac would join the club in 1967 and Chrysler in 1968.
1966 was a transitional year for Mercury styling
Mercury designers were still searching for the right persona for the brand in 1966. Front-end styling briefly shifted away from the coffin-nosed shape of the 1965 models. That look, which purposely mimicked the Lincoln Continental, would return in 1967-68. Below are 1965 (top image) and 1968 models.
The 1968 model had a much more complex bumper shape and a power-dome hood that was accentuated by a deeply recessed grille. Also note the V-shaped side styling, which helped to give the car a less boxy look.
One thing that was lost in the Mercury’s 1967 reskinning was a traditional Colony Park feature. Since the nameplate was introduced in 1957, its wood grain trim arched up to the top corners of the front fenders. From 1967 onward the upper two-thirds of the front fenders were entirely filled out with wood grain (Wikipedia, 2026).
This may have better fit the big Mercury’s new sheetmetal, but it was also less distinctive. That was particularly problematic as the rest of the U.S. auto industry began to adopt wood-grain trim across its entire lineup of high-end wagons. Thus, the 1966 Colony Park is noteworthy because it was the last year when it really stood out from the crowd styling-wise.
NOTES:
Production figures and prices were from Gunnell (2002) and the auto editors of Consumer Guide (1993, 2006). The 1966 Colony Park featured in this story was on display at the LeMay Collections at Marymount. This automotive museum is not to be confused with the more swank but less satisfying America’s Car Museum in nearby Tacoma, Washington.
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Auto editors of Consumer Guide; 1993, 2006. Encyclopedia of American Cars. Publications International, Lincolnwood, Ill.
- Gunnell, John; 2002. Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946-1975. Revised 4th Ed. Krause Publications, Iola, WI.
- Wikipedia; 2026. “Mercury Colony Park.” Page last edited April 17.
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES
- autohistorypreservationsociety.org: Mercury (1966)
- oldcarbrochures.org: Buick (1966); Chrysler (1966); Dodge (1966); Oldsmobile (1966); Pontiac (1966)
The interior photos suggest the door panels and seats have been re-upholstered. I’ve owned a 1966 Colony Park, and also had a Commuter wagon for spare parts. The heat-applied wood trim panel on the door cards are missing, the horizontal trim lines are not correct, and the pleated seating surfaces are incorrect. The outer bolsters on these seats should not be confined to the outer part of the seat, the correct bolster panel goes around the front section of the seat surface, with the pleated area confined to the center seating section. Also, if one looks closely at the pleats on the passenger side of the front seat back, the sew lines are not even. As the subcontracted seat supplier used a special sewing machine with 20 or more sew foots making identical sew lines simultaneously, one would never see mis-aligned sewing seams.
Bill, thank you for explaining that. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t do a better restoration job.
True. The Colony Park seat trim pattern is the same as a Montclair sedan’s. It didn’t correspond to what was in a Park Lane, which I always found odd.
My parents bought a 66 Montclair new and had it for 10 years. They were beautiful cars.
Presumably Mercury wanted a less fragile interior in the wagons. I know that Plymouth Fury wagons did a similar switch with plainer lower level upholstery in high level wagons–less stitching, more functional fabrics añd vinyls.
That’s quite an astute observation about the Colony Park, Steve. Based on the sales figures you provided, it must have been quite profitable for Mercury. Hardly a surprise then that they kept it as part of the range through to 1991. It makes me think that if Ford had the foresight to do what Buick has done by transitioning away from cars, you’d still be able to buy a Colony Park from a Mercury dealer; never underestimate brand equity.
Buick is and was a dead brand in the US. Buick sells less than 200K units per year, like Mercury in the 2000s. The Buick GMC dealers sell less than a million units per year, which is down from over 3 million BOP/GMC vehicles 40 years ago
The Commuter was completely dropped from the line for 1963. Mercury continued the 1962 wagon shell and covered the 1962 taillight sockets with finned trim for the woodgrain.