Ford Faqs

Ford’s product-led renaissance swept into the Chicago Auto Show with an “ideal” vehicle made even better, the redesigned 2008 Mercury Montego renamed the Mercury Sable. “Montego owners love their vehicles,” said Michael Richards, Lincoln Mercury general marketing manager.

“That was proven when Montego received the highest overall score in AutoPacific’s 2006 ‘Ideal Vehicle Award,’ which recognizes the vehicle that most closely meets its customer’s expectations. Mercury prides itself on understanding its customers and giving them everything they want and need in their vehicles, a tradition that will continue with the new Sable.”

If Montego drivers love their car, why would Ford even think about renaming the sedan? The Sable name today maintains an impressive 60 percent consumer awareness level. With the new 2008-model, Sable will offer the same differentiation that already is proving to be a success in the marketplace with the Mercury Mariner and Mercury Milan. “The Mercury Mariner attracts more new customers today to Ford and Lincoln Mercury than any other nameplate, except the Ford Mustang. And about half of Mercury Milan customers are women,” said Cisco Codina, Ford’s group vice president of North America Marketing, Sales and Service.

The new Sable comes at a time when the brand is on a roll. Mercury brand as a whole just leaped to the No. 2 spot in the JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study which surveys problems in vehicles after three years, making Mercury second only to Lexus. In addition, Mercury is seeing an increase in conquest sales, customers coming to Mercury from another brand, with these conquest sales reaching more than 40 percent depending on the model.

Sable’s modern look is inspired by the Mercury Milan mid-size sedan. All-new from the A-Pillar forward, the Sable features unique fenders, hood, Mercury-signature Satin Aluminum waterfall grille, front fascia and fog lamps. The clean, integrated front-end design centers on the waterfall grille projecting over the front fascia and sweeping into the sculpted hood. Sable’s distinctive LED tail lamps now feature a predominantly white lens with red accent stripes. A new rear fascia has a cutout for the chrome dual tip exhaust, a visual cue that the 2008 Sable packs a lot of power under the hood.

That power comes from a new powerful 260 horsepower (based on preliminary data), 3.5-liter V-6 engine and six-speed transmission that delivers nearly 30 percent more power than previous models. While Sable delivers more horses, engineers have worked to keep fuel efficiency similar to the previous model. Powerful and efficient, Sable’s powertrain also marks the company’s first application of a PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle) V-6 engine. PZEV vehicles produce minimal air pollution and zero evaporative emissions, i.e. emissions that escape when gasoline evaporates.

Sable’s strong point has always been its SUV-like utility. Command Seating offers SUV visibility and provide easy ingress and egress for both front and rear seat passengers. A cavernous, 21.2 cubic feet of class-leading trunk space can swallow up to eight golf bags. The fold-flat, 60/40 split second row seats and the fold-flat front passenger seat work together to provide space to stow items up to nine-feet long. A two-tier clamshell center console, new for 2008, offers a large upper storage bin and a second, larger storage area that goes all the way to the vehicle floor.

All of this utility comes in a sophisticated sedan and for 2008 Mercury’s designers have upped the ante for interior styling. “Sable customers tend to have a more unique sense of style,” Conforzi said. “They have come to expect a different level of sophistication in the surface finishes and tailoring.” Engineers also replaced the Sable’s original all-wheel-drive (AWD) system with a new system that is similar to the one used in the Mercury Milan and Mariner. Complementing AWD is available AdvanceTrac electronic stability control system that monitors speed, throttle position and steering wheel angle to predict and correct wheel slip or loss of traction.