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The Mercury Sable is a range of automobiles manufactured and marketed by the Mercury brand of Ford Motor Company. Introduced on December 26, 1985, as the replacement for the Mercury Marquis, the Sable marked the transition of the mid-sized Mercury product range to front-wheel drive.
Over its production span, the Sable was Mercury's badge-engineered counterpart to the Ford Taurus, below the Grand Marquis in the Mercury range. From the 1986 to 2005 model years, it was produced as a mid-sized, four-door sedan and five-door station wagon. For 2006, the Sable was replaced by the full-sized Montego and mid-sized Milan. It was reintroduced for 2008 as a full-sized car, offered as a four-door sedan.
Because of declining sales, the Sable was discontinued after the 2009 model year, leaving no Mercury counterpart for the sixth-generation Taurus. The final Sable was produced on May 21, 2009; in total, 2,112,374 Sables were produced during its 1985 to 2005 production run.
While designed entirely in North America, the Taurus/Sable was designed under a similar approach as the Ford Escort, using an interdisciplinary team approach; each element of the vehicle was designed concurrently, including manufacturing and assembly. Along with input from potential buyers (in stark contrast to the Edsel), Ford used reverse engineering of competitive vehicles as a design input tool.
During the development of the Sable, Mercury had become one of the final American brands to adopt front-wheel drive into its vehicle line. In 1982, as a sedan/station wagon version of the Chevrolet Citation, General Motors produced the quartet of the Chevrolet Celebrity/Pontiac 6000/Oldsmobile Cutlass/Buick Century; a year later, Chrysler expanded its K cars into the mid-sized segment with the first front-wheel-drive Chrysler New Yorker. Coinciding with the 1986 launch of the Sable, General Motors downsized Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac full-sized sedans to front-wheel drive, only slightly larger than the mid-sized Sable.
For 1983, Mercury underwent a brand revision, with the Cougar reverting to its traditional role as a two-door personal coupe alongside the Ford Thunderbird; while retaining the same chassis underpinnings, the Thunderbird and Cougar underwent a complete exterior redesign, becoming the first Ford cars produced with highly aerodynamic designs, a central objective of the Taurus/Sable design. The 1983 Cougar was well received in the marketplace (outselling the 1983 Thunderbird); Ford would choose to abandon "boxy" car designs altogether, influencing other car manufacturers to follow suit during the 1980s. Following the Thunderbird and Cougar, Ford introduced the 1984 Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz. The compact front-wheel drive replacements for the Ford Fairmont/Mercury Zephyr, the Tempo/Topaz marked the first use of aerodynamic body design by Ford for a sedan.
Though outsold by the Taurus (which would go on to become the best-selling car in the United States) by a wide margin, the Sable would prove successful on its own, competing with the Grand Marquis to serve as the highest-selling Mercury model line. The Sable was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list on its release in 1986 and again in 1990 and 1991.
As Ford did not market the Mercury brand in Mexico, Ford of Mexico marketed the model line as the Ford Taurus. In South Korea, the Mercury Sable was marketed by Kia alongside the Mazda Luce (Mazda Luce/929) as they assemble Kia Pride as Ford Festiva in export market.
In contrast to the Taurus, the first-generation Sable (nor any of its successors) was not offered with a manual transmission.
| 3-speed ATX automatic |
| 4-speed AXOD automatic (1986–1990) 4-speed AXOD-E automatic (1991) |
| LS |
| LS |
The Sable was also styled with a 6-window roofline, but borrowed design elements from the European Ford Scorpio liftback sedan, using blacked-out B, C, and D-pillars for a "floating roof" effect. Though two inches longer than the Taurus, the rear wheel openings were cut off at bumper height (though not Fender skirts) to visually add additional length. In what would be associated with the styling identity of Mercury for nearly a decade, the Sable introduced a low-wattage lightbar between its headlamps, later adopted by the Mercury Topaz, Tracer, and Villager (skipping the Cougar and Grand Marquis). The lightbar feature largely emphasized the lack of a conventional grille (while primarily a "bottom-breather" design, the Sable used vestigial air intake slots in the bumper below the lightbar). The Sable and the Taurus followed the configuration pioneered by the 1950s Citroën DS; the Ford Mustang SVO and Ford Sierra also lacked a conventional grille.
As with its Marquis predecessor, the Sable station wagon was designed with a rear liftback, but introduced a new configuration for the rear hatch, allowing the rear window glass to be opened separately from the rest of the rear hatch.
Alongside the Taurus, the Sable was the first American-produced sedan to use aerodynamic composite headlights with replaceable halogen bulbs; to begin their use, Ford (and other auto manufacturers) lobbied the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to have them approved, with the 1984 Continental Mark VII becoming the first American car to use them.
While the Sable shared largely the same interior features as the Taurus, in a departure from tradition, the Sable was designed with a model-specific dashboard (partly integrated into the door panels). Sable sedans were equipped with a 50/50 split bench seat as standard equipment (joining the Grand Marquis as a six-passenger Mercury sedan); as an option, front bucket seats were offered (reducing capacity to five). The Sable wagon was offered with an optional rear-facing third-row seat, bringing seating to seven or eight; for the first time since the 1977 Cougar wagon, Mercury offered the design in its midsize station wagon.
During its production, the first-generation Sable underwent few changes. For 1989, the exterior underwent a mid-cycle revision; the amber parking lamp lenses were replaced by clear units and sedans saw revisions to taillamp lenses. For 1990, the Sable underwent a redesign of the dashboard to accommodate the addition of a driver-side airbag; a CD player was added as an option.
As Mercury never offered the first-generation Sable with a manual transmission, no Mercury Sable equivalent to the Taurus MT-5 nor the Taurus SHO was ever introduced.
| 1986 | 95,635 |
| 1987 | 121,313 |
| 1988 | 121,285 |
| 1989 | 130,657 |
| 1990 | 103,749 |
| 1991 | 96,698 |
The interior of the Sable underwent a redesign of the door panels, dashboard, and interior controls. Following the 1990 addition of a driver-side airbag, the Sable gained a passenger-side airbag as an option for 1992 (becoming standard in 1993). For 1993, the steering wheel was redesigned (returning the horn to the center of the steering wheel).
The base "GS" and luxury "LS" trim levels were carried over from the previous generation. A front cloth bench seat was standard on GS sedans and wagons, although cloth bucket seats were available on GS sedans only. Higher-end cloth bucket seats were standard on LS sedans, but a bench seat was a no cost option. A front bench was standard on LS wagons, with bucket seats optional. Leather seating surfaces were available on all LS Sables.
In 1992 for MY 1993, unpopular optional features such as the "Quickclear" heated windshield were eliminated. For 3.0L V6 engines, the drive belt system became a single-belt setup for 1993 (previously, the 3.0L alternator had used a separate belt). Also, some 3.0L 1994 models began receiving the new AX4N transmission.
The wagon version was available with mostly the same options as the sedan versions. Wagons had a maximum of 81.1 cubic feet of cargo area with the 60/40 split rear seat folded down. They featured a 2-way liftgate (raise the entire liftgate or just the window), a roof rack with crossbar and tie-downs, an optional rear-facing third seat, a lockable under-floor compartment, and an optional fold-out picnic table. With both rear split seats in the upright position, standard cargo capacity was 45.7 cubic feet. Wagons that were equipped with the front bench seat and rear folding seat could seat eight people; while over two feet shorter than the 1991 Mercury Colony Park, the Sable wagon became the sole eight-passenger vehicle offered by Lincoln-Mercury (as the Mercury Villager minivan seated seven).
1995 was the final model year of the second-generation Sable; the rare LTS trim level was added. It featured leather bucket seats, Taurus LX–style alloy wheels, special cladding, and many leather wrapped interior trim parts. The LTS trim had either the standard 3.0 L Vulcan V6 or the optional 3.8 L Essex V6.
| 1995 |
| 1992 | 127,530 |
| 1993 | 138,980 |
| 1994 | 112,783 |
| 1995 | 115,763 |
While mechanically identical to its Ford Taurus counterpart, the sedans of the two model lines shared less sheetmetal than before, with only the front doors, hood, and front fenders common between the Taurus and Sable (as before, the Sable served as the basis for Ford and Mercury station wagons). In contrast to the oval-influenced roofline of the Ford Taurus, the Sable was styled with a sloped roofline with a rectangular rear window; the model received its own front and rear fascias. In place of the long-running lightbar, the Sable received a chrome-trimmed grille with oval headlight housings. In a design first for the model line, the Sable was fitted with the same interior as the Taurus (with the exception of seat fabrics).
The trim lines saw a minor revision, with the Sable G introduced as a new entry-level model and the Sable LTS discontinued. The Sable G was offered solely as a sedan, with several standard power options (but only an AM/FM radio). For higher sales volumes, the GS and LS made their return, offered both in sedan and station wagon form. For the Sable G and GS, the standard engine was the 3.0 L Vulcan V6, producing 145 hp. For the Sable LS, the standard engine was a 3.0 L DOHC Duratec V6, producing 200 hp; optional in the Sable GS, the Duratec engine was an enlarged version of the engine from the Mercury Mystique.
For 1997, the Sable underwent several cost-cutting revisions; several features of the LS became available on the GS as options. For 1998, the Sable underwent a mid-cycle revision, distinguished by new headlights and a centered Mercury emblem in the grille; the Sable G was discontinued. The Vulcan V6 engine became standard on all Sables, with the Duratec optional only on the LS for 1999. In an effort to stimulate sales, Mercury cut the price of the Sable by up to $2,000 for 1999 (by revising the availability of options).
| 4-speed AX4S automatic 4-speed AX4N automatic |
| 1996–1999 |
Due to the Mercury brand's discontinuation in Canada, the fourth generation Sable was never available in the Canadian market; thus, it was unique to the United States and Mexico.
The 2005 Mercury Montego and 2006 Mercury Milan were launched as replacements for the Sable. Shortly after the Montego's introduction the Sable was discontinued, along with the Taurus wagon; the Taurus sedan continued to be produced, but primarily for the fleet market. The last Sable left the Atlanta plant on April 29, 2005.
| 4-speed AX4N automatic |
| LS |
While approximately 10 inches shorter and 500 pounds lighter than the Grand Marquis, the fifth-generation Sable was the first produced as a full-size car. For the first time, the model line was offered exclusively as a four-door sedan (no Mercury counterpart of the Taurus X wagon was developed). Front-wheel drive remained standard, with all-wheel drive becoming an option for the first time.
In the transition from the Montego to the Sable, a number of changes were made to the body and chassis. Alongside the addition of the 263 hp 3.5L V6 and 6-speed 6F automatic, the exterior underwent several revisions, including a revised front bumper and grille, redesigned headlamps; the LED taillamps were retained, but given white lenses. The fifth-generation Sable adopted the trim lines of the Montego and Milan, with an unnamed standard trim level and a top Premier trim.
| 6-speed 6F automatic |
During MY 1987, Mercury introduced a special edition of the Sable called the "LS Monochrome Edition", which as an option would color the bumpers, side trim, and wheels white. It was only offered during MY 1987; the production quantity is not known and it is also unknown how many still exist.
During MY 1989, Mercury created a "50th Anniversary" edition of the Sable, to celebrate Mercury's 50th anniversary. Keeping with the name, only 50 were sold, combined between GS and LS models. This Sable was actually a test bed for creating a luxury sport version of the Sable called the LTS, similar to that of the Ford Taurus SHO. It was meant to use the SHO's chassis, interior, and suspension, but not the engine. After the launch of the SHO, and all the publicity and praise it received, Ford shelved the Sable LTS to focus on the SHO, and because it feared it would cannibalize sales of the SHO. The Sable LTS remained in a "development hell" until mid-1994 when it was introduced as a high end version of the Sable, but by then, it was just a highly optioned LS. An unknown number of these Sables still exist, but a pristine condition GS in this trim was sold on eBay in 2007.
A special one-of-a-kind Sable convertible was created in 1987 for the 1988 Detroit SAE auto show. It was built from a sedan chassis and featured a completely custom two-door body with a custom folding top. However, it was shelved; the only one sat in a warehouse for years until it was given a VIN, titled, and driven. It was sold on eBay in 2006.
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