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2008 Mercury Grand Marquis
When tried and true is high on the wish list, there's a Mercury in the showroom for you. This is a rear-wheel drive vehicle designed for spacious comfort inside, and a commanding footprint outside. The 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis FlexFuel counters the size and weight of a large car with a requirement for regular grade fuel (or alternative fuels where available) instead of pricier premium.
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Mercury Grand Marquis Interior |
A longtime staple among full-size sedans, Grand Marquis has a legacy built from a solid, standard 4.6-liter V-8 delivering 15 mpg city 23 mpg highway. It continues to carry the automobile flexible fuel (FlexFuel) banner for its Ford Motor parent as Ford moves toward more hybrids on both the car and truck side in the future. But FlexFuel is here in many areas now, and having the ability to use it when one needs a robust vehicle with stretch room inside can definitely be considered an environmental plus.
Grand Marquis has changed little, with no serious design update in its recent past. Still, for 2008, Mercury makes tire pressure monitors standard and expands the attraction of its two model GS and LS lineup with some packages. The GS Comfort Appearance Package adds a little more “cush” to the vehicle's comfortable ride, with leather-trimmed seats, power driver's seat and 16-inch painted aluminum wheels. The GS Confidence Package gets power, heated, color-keyed exterior mirrors plus fog lamps and traction control. An upmodel LS Travel Package adds dual media AM/FM stereo/cassette single disk CD player and conventional spare tire and wheel. A "Palm Beach" edition remains in the lineup for 2008.
Grand Marquis has plenty of competition in the large car market in terms of updated style and performance. But cozying up to an E85 Ethanol pump isn't for all of them. For now, the Grand Marquis is a modestly priced ($25K base) solid, capable if blander performer that can take advantage of one of the newest trends in driving even as is stretches itself toward middle age. |
