Mercury Zephyr was a compact car sold by the Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford Motor Company in the North American market from 1978 to 1983. Along with its corporate cousin the Ford Fairmont, it was the first use of Ford's long-lived Fox platform , which did not completely leave production until after the turn of the century.

Zephyr, taken from a poetic name for the west wind , has a considerable history in the Ford line. It was used in the late 1930s for a smaller, less expensive Lincoln, which provided the basis for the first Continental. Later on, it was used on a European Ford model. For 2006 it is expected to return to the Lincoln line once again.

The Mercury Zephyr shared most of the Fairmont's characteristics, being available with four-, six-, or eight-cylinder engines and appearing in coupe, sedan, or wagon form. At introduction, the Zephyr was most easily told from the Fairmont by its curved grille and four square headlights, Fairmonts having a flatter front and only two, larger square lights. Later, though, an adaptation of the Zephyr's four-light front was also used on Fairmonts.

The car was reskinned and sold later as a Mercury Cougar and then as the small version of the Mercury Marquis .

See also

• Ford Zephyr
• Lincoln Zephyr

External links

Fairmont page with some Zephyr material