What's New for 2000

The Marquis receives additional safety features, including an emergency trunk release, child seat-anchor brackets and Mercury's Belt Minder system. The interior gets a new trim color, Dark Charcoal. One new exterior color will be offered, Tropic Green. The handling package's rear-axle ratio changes from 3.27 to 3.55. The Grand Marquis Limited will be offered later in the 2000 model year.

Review

It is so cool that a car like this still exists. While just about every other American manufacturer has run screaming from its past, the Grand Marquis embraces it with a big V8 under the hood and two rear wheels doing the pushing.

Despite this all-but-extinct layout, the Grand Marquis offers some high-tech options like ABS and traction control. It also comes standard with dual front airbags, rear-door child safety locks, and dynamic side-impact protection. For 2000, the Grand Marquis receives many of the safety changes that Ford has implemented across most of its model line. The emergency trunk release allows people who are trapped in the trunk to release the hatch. The child seat-anchor brackets in the back seat provide parents and caregivers an improved method to buckle in their child safety seats more securely. The system secures child safety seats using tethers that attach to the anchor brackets, in addition to traditional safety belts. The Belt Minder system consists of a chime and an indicator light to remind drivers and passengers to buckle up.

Power comes from a 4.6-liter V8 with 200 horsepower and 275 foot-pounds of torque. These numbers can be upped to 215 and 285, respectively, by ordering the handling package that includes dual exhaust, 16-inch aluminum wheels, a higher rear-axle ratio, larger-diameter front and rear stabilizer bars, and rear air springs. Automatic load leveling is a side benefit with this option. If you're after luxury and not performance, options like automatic temperature control, auto-dimming rearview mirror, and premium AM/FM stereo with trunk-mounted CD changer can be ordered separately or as part of a luxury package.

The shape of this car contributes to its rather brick-like coefficient of drag (.37) and at 17 mpg in the city it's certainly no econobox. With Mercury constantly improving this traditional model, the company has managed to bring together something old and something new. A V8, rear-drive sedan with traction control and ABS is something most American automakers abandoned long ago. If nothing else, Mercury gets credit for going its own route and not playing follow-the-leader.