Counterintuitively, the big Colony Park wagon actually rode a shorter wheelbase than the Marquis sedans it was built alongside.
Lead trim: Colony Park 351 cu in V8 (1978 standard) · up to 360 hp
Mercury Colony Park1969–1978
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Mercury Colony Park yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactCounterintuitively, the big Colony Park wagon actually rode a shorter wheelbase than the Marquis sedans it was built alongside.
Alongside a redesign for 1969, Ford integrated its station wagon lines within the nameplates of their sedan counterparts, making the Colony Park part of the Mercury Marquis line. Unlike the Marquis sedan it was based on the 121.0 in wheelbase of the Ford Country Squire and Ford LTD (220.5 in long, 81.1 in wide, 4,740 lb), and only the Colony Park had concealed headlight covers and the simulated woodgrain panels (the very similar Monterey wagon did not), to make the Colony Park and Marquis visually similar to the 1969 Lincoln Continental and Mark III. The 1969 model listed at US$4,457 and 25,604 were made; the Colony Park and Monterey wagons were the senior level to the slightly shorter Montego wagons. This generation introduced vacuum-operated covered headlights and a reworked Magic Doorgate that swung outward without rolling the window down. For 1973, with 5-mph bumpers, Ford and Mercury wagons got a completely new roofline and were marketed as "pillarless hardtops" with frameless door glass (a revival of an appearance from 1957 to 1960); slightly narrower than the 1959–1960 generation by 0.4 in, this generation was the longest and heaviest station wagon ever sold by Mercury, at nearly 5,000 lb. The standard engine was a 400 cubic-inch V8 with a 429 cubic-inch V8 as an option; in 1972 the 429 was replaced by a 460 cubic-inch V8 sourced from Lincoln; for 1978 a 351 Windsor V8 became standard (outside California and high-altitude areas), with the 400 and 460 as options, though most surviving examples have one of the two larger V8s, the 351 giving little fuel-economy gain. About 7,850,000 full-size Fords and Mercurys were sold over 1969–1978, the second-best selling Ford platform after the Model T. Production peaked at 25,747 in 1973 and was 11,913 in 1974.
Collectors Spotted in the Mercury Colony Park Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Mercury Colony Park yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
4 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colony Park 351 cu in V8 (1978 standard) | 1978–1978 | 5.8 L V8 | 145 hp | 273 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Colony Park 400 cu in Cleveland V8 (standard) | 1969–1978 | 6.6 L V8 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Colony Park 429 cu in V8 (option, 1969–1971) | 1969–1971 | 7.0 L V8 | 360 hp | 480 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Colony Park 460 cu in V8 (1972–1978) | 1972–1978 | 7.5 L V8 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
For 1981 the Colony Park wagon picked up fuel injection and a 4-speed overdrive automatic shared with the Lincoln Continental — the first transmission of its kind fitted to any American full-size car.
Counterintuitively, the big Colony Park wagon actually rode a shorter wheelbase than the Marquis sedans it was built alongside.
The 1966 Colony Park debuted Ford's two-way "Magic Doorgate" — a tailgate that could fold down like normal or swing open sideways like a door.
This Colony Park redesign actually shrank the car — about five inches shorter, six inches less wheelbase, and 500 fewer pounds than the 1960 model — and sales went up anyway.
The 1959 Colony Park only got its own exclusive chassis because Ford killed off the Edsel Corsair and Citation it was built to share with -- a platform by accident, not design.
The '57 Colony Park's party trick — a tailgate with a power-retractable rear window — was such a good idea Mercury reused the hardware for the Turnpike Cruiser's famous 'Breezeway' window.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
Cooling the C6 RS6’s twin-turbo V10 took seven separate radiators and four electric fans under the bonnet.
The original RS6 debuted Audi's clever hydraulic Dynamic Ride Control suspension — and enough owners got tired of its leaking dampers that they ripped the whole system out for plain coilovers.
The C7-generation RS6 Avant never officially reached America at all — buyers there got the RS7 Sportback instead, running the exact same engine and platform in a different body.
For a few years, this Outback's six-cylinder trim came with genuine McIntosh audio — the same esteemed hi-fi name found in home theaters, one of the only cars ever to get it from the factory.
Subaru didn't have the budget for an all-new SUV, so it dressed up a Legacy wagon instead. A Subaru of America executive later put it bluntly: "[the Outback] saved our company."
The new Outback's full-width tail light bar has a 2 ft ruler built in, for measuring whatever you are about to load.
This Outback shared Top Gear's Car of the Year crown — an unusual honor for a jacked-up wagon to split with the Ford Mondeo in 2007.
A wagon beat the SUVs at their own game: this Outback generation won Motor Trend's Sport/Utility of the Year award for 2010.