With its low mileage and impeccably clean presentation, today’s Nice Price or No Dice Grand Marquis looks to be the perfect old-school cruiser. Unless, that is, if its price is cruisin’ for a bruisin.’
In America, the Ford Fairlane is a mid-sized family car from the 1950s and ’60s. It’s also the title character of the 1990 comedy flick The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, starring Andrew Dice Clay and written by Danial Waters, the guy responsible for the vastly more enjoyable Heathers two years earlier. Few of us remember Dice, his Ford Fairlane movie, or even the cars from which the movie took its name. That made for a tough time for the 1966 Ford Fairlane 500 wagon we had on the docket yesterday. It was a bit rough around the edges and, perhaps most egregiously, lacked a third-row seat, making its $17,950 price tag too hard to swallow. It was so hard, in fact, that you all shunned it with an 89 percent No Dice loss.
Back in the 1960s, Ford, among other manufacturers, differentiated its upper-scale models—in its case, Mercurys and Lincolns—by giving them longer wheelbases, substantially different styling, and up-market interior trim options not found on the lowly Fords.
That strategy, along with annual styling updates debuting each and every fall, proved too expensive in an ever increasingly competitive market, so by the time today’s 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis hit the showroom, there was little other than the grille, badging, and tail lamp design to differentiate it from its lower echelon Ford Crown Victoria platform mate.
Fortunately, this particular Grand Marquis has been tarted up with the marque and model-exclusive Montigua option package, meaning it will stand out from the crowd.
The Montigua option was a dealer-ordered package created by E&G Classics, a company out of Columbia, Maryland, best known for its aftermarket automotive grilles and Continental kits. E&G went out of business in 2020.
On The Grand Marquis, the Montigua option adds a half-landau padded vinyl roof that curiously wraps around the rear door windows. There’s also some unique badging. This car has chrome wheel arch lip covers as well, but I can’t find out if that’s part of the Montigua package or just an unconnected addition.
The Grand Marquis under that unique vinyl roof is in spectacular condition both aesthetically and functionally. According to the picture in the ad of the digital instrument cluster, the car has 70,555 miles under its belt, and the seller claims to have taken the car on several road trips, during which time it performed flawlessly.
Despite the dearth of miles, the car has had a good bit of maintenance, including a new fuel pump and filter, new shocks and struts, and five new Michelin tires.
Based on the pictures, you couldn’t ask for anything tidier. Even the undercarriage looks clean enough to eat off of, although doing so would require flipping the car upside down. The interior is just as nice and features leather seating surfaces, power this and that, and a cigar lighter that still has its virginity intact.
For mechanicals, the car offers a 220 horsepower 4.6-liter Modular V8 engine and four-speed automatic transmission. Antilock brakes and traction control are along for the ride, so while not a modern driving experience, it should still be a reasonably safe one. The title is as clean as the car, and the seller asks $9,995 for that title.
What’s your take on this amazingly clean Mercury and that $9,995 price? Does that seem like a deal to go full boomer on the road? Or is that price too aspirational for even a Grand Marquis?
You decide!
Phoenix, Arizona, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Don R. for the hookup!
Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up on email and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.
