Some cars leave a paper trail; the Mercury Sable left a name, a year — 1985 — and a place in Mercury's list. What follows is what can be said with a source behind it.
The story
The Mercury Sable is a range of automobiles that was sold by Mercury from the 1986 to 2009 model years. The namesake of a East Russian weasel valued for its fur, the Sable served as the divisional counterpart of the Ford Taurus for its entire production. Slotted below the Grand Marquis in size, the model line was the largest front-wheel drive sold by the brand. For its first four generations, the Sable was a mid-size car, offered as both a four-door sedan and five-door station wagon.
After the 2005 model year, the model line was discontinued as Mercury replaced the Sable with the full-size Montego and mid-size Milan sedans. For 2008, a fifth generation of the Sable was introduced, as the nameplate was revived to replace the Montego (as Ford also reintroduced the Taurus). Coinciding with poor sales and the ultimate retirement of the Mercury brand, the Sable was discontinued after the 2009 model year. Through its entire production as a mid-size car, Ford assembled the Sable alongside the Taurus at its Atlanta Assembly (Hapeville, Georgia) and Chicago Assembly (Chicago, Illinois) facilities; the latter facility produced the model line as a full-size car. On May 21, 2009, the final Sable was produced; in total, over 2.1 million Mercury Sables were built, making it the third-most produced Mercury model line (behind the Grand Marquis and Cougar).
Its place in the line
In the Mercury line-up the Mercury Sable has a clear place: it replaced the Mid-size: Mercury Marquis / Full-size: Mercury Montego; it handed the line to the Ford Taurus Limited (indirect). The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Jeep Wrangler, the BMW 5 Series, the Ferrari F40. Nearby in the Mercury catalogue sit the Mercury Bobcat and the Mercury Capri.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Mercury Sable has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.