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The Mercury Mountaineer is a mid-size luxury sport utility vehicle (SUV) that was sold by Mercury from 1997 until 2010. Sharing many of its features with the Ford Explorer, the vehicles were virtually identical in terms of hardware.〔(Edmunds, 2006 Mountaineer review )〕 Externally, they were styled somewhat differently, and the Mountaineer was positioned with a more upscale interior, with the Mountaineer's MSRP coming in at $1,000–$6,000 more than the Explorer.〔(Forbes, 2000 Mountaineer review )〕 It was last redesigned for the 2006 model year with a new frame, looking very similar to its previous model. Some controversy resulted after the media highlighted a number of rollovers involving Explorers and Mountaineers fitted with Firestone tires. The Mountaineer has been praised for its excellent handling and stability.〔http://www.edmunds.com/mercury/mountaineer/2007/review.html〕 The Mountaineer was never sold in Canada. As part of the discontinuation of the Mercury brand, production of the Mountaineer ended in late 2010.〔("Mercury production to cease in late September?" ) from Autoblog (July 12, 2010)〕 == Background == In 1991, largely as a low-cost alternative to the Range Rover, General Motors introduced the Oldsmobile Bravada. Sharing the body of the 4-door Chevrolet S10 Blazer, the Bravada was differentiated by upgraded trim and a dedicated all-wheel drive system. For 1993, Jeep downsized the long-running Grand Wagoneer nameplate onto a variant of the newly introduced Grand Cherokee. However, the smaller version only lasted a single year after finding limited sales. As a response to the Bravada and the Grand Wagoneer, Ford introduced the Explorer Limited. Unlike the outdoors-themed Explorer Eddie Bauer, the Limited was geared towards on-road driving with monochromatic trim and chrome wheels. As part of the redesign of the Explorer for 1995, the Limited remained part of the Explorer lineup. In the mid-1990s, SUVs expanded into the lineup of Japanese luxury brands, including the Acura SLX and Infiniti QX4. As these vehicles, along with the Oldsmobile Bravada, competed more closely with the Mercury and Lincoln brands than with Ford itself, Ford chose to develop SUVs for the Lincoln-Mercury division; Mercury would receive a variant of the Explorer while Lincoln would receive a variant of the upcoming Ford Expedition. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mercury Mountaineer」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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