1959 Mercury Country Cruiser Colony Park

Mercury continued to go its own way in 1959, with 'dream-car design' straight out of the jet age. The massive body and chassis were a carryover from 1957-58, but sheet metal was all-new. The top-of-the-line Colony Park featured flashy hardtop styling, aircraft-inspired side sculpturing, and simulated wood paneling.

'Mercury is the one car in its class which does not use a dressed-up body shared with a lower priced car,' noted the 1959 Mercury brochure. But that would change in 1961, when Mercury was demoted, becoming a fancy version of the standard Ford. With this move, FoMoCo's costly late Fifties assault on GM was unsuccessfully concluded.

This 1959 Colony Park made its concours debut at the 2012 St. Johns Concours following a three-year restoration. It was originally purchased on July 30, 1959, from Fred Jones Ford-Mercury in Oklahoma City. Equipment on this luxury wagon includes a 430 cubic-inch V8 with a Multi-Drive three-speed automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, air conditioning, power windows, four-way power seats, remote mirrors, seat belts, and radio.