Editing Mercury Montego (section)

==Third generation (2005–2007)==
{{Infobox automobile
| name = D333
| image = 2004-2006 Mercury Montego.jpg
| caption = ''2005 Mercury Montego Premier''
| class = [[Full-size]]
| production = July 2004–April 2007
| assembly = United States: [[Chicago, Illinois]] ([[Chicago Assembly]])
| predecessor = [[Mercury Sable]]
| successor = [[Mercury Sable#Fifth generation (2008–2009)|Mercury Sable]]
| body_style = 4-door [[sedan (car)|sedan]]
| wheelbase = {{convert|112.9|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
| layout = [[FF layout]]/[[F4 layout]] ([[Transverse engine]])
| platform = [[Ford D3 platform]]
| length = {{convert|200.4|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
| width = {{convert|74.5|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
| height = {{convert|61.5|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
| engine = 3.0&nbsp;L ''[[Ford Mondeo V6 engine#VVT|Duratec 30]]'' [[V6]] 203 hp
| transmission = {{ubl|
|[[AWTF-80 SC|Aisin]] ''TF-80SC'' 6-speed automatic 
| [[Batavia Transmission|ZF Batavia]] ''CFT30'' [[continuously variable transmission|CVT]] 
|}}
| related = {{ubl|
|[[Ford Five Hundred]]
|[[Ford Taurus (fifth generation)|Ford Taurus]]
|[[Ford Taurus X|Ford Freestyle]]
|}}
| model_years = 2005-2007
}}{{See also|Ford Five Hundred}}
After a 28-year hiatus, Mercury revived the Montego nameplate for 2005, moving it to a full-size sedan.  Introduced as the successor of the Mercury Sable (alongside the smaller Mercury Milan), the Montego was slotted between the Milan and Grand Marquis in size.  The divisional counterpart of the [[Ford Five Hundred]], the model line entered production on July 12, 2004.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ward's Automotive Yearbook 2005 |publisher=Ward's Communications, Inc |editor=Binder, Alan K |year=2005 |page=112}}</ref>   

The third-generation Montego was manufactured at the [[Chicago Assembly]] facility in [[Chicago, Illinois]] alongside the Ford Five Hundred and the Ford Freestyle; the latter was a CUV wagon serving as a replacement for the Taurus/Sable station wagon. 
[[File:2005-07 Mercury Montego.jpg|left|thumb|2005 Mercury Montego ]]

=== Design ===
The third-generation Montego used the [[Ford D3 platform]].  Developed in collaboration with Volvo, the D3 platform is the first full-size Ford platform to use front-wheel drive, with all-wheel drive as an option.  Shifting away from the body-on-frame Panther platform, the D3 chassis utilizes unibody construction.  Only two inches shorter than the Grand Marquis in wheelbase, the Montego was nearly 500 pounds lighter in curb weight.    

The Montego was equipped with a single engine, shared with the previous Taurus/Sable, a 203hp version of the 3.0L DOHC ''[[Ford Mondeo engine#VVT|Duratec]]'' V6.  Front-wheel drive versions were equipped with an [[AWTF-80 SC|Aisin]] 6-speed automatic; AWD versions were equipped with a [[Continuously variable transmission|CVT]] sourced from a [[Batavia Transmission|Ford/ZF joint venture]].

==== Total Vehicle Geometry (TVG) ====
The Montego, Five Hundred and Ford Freestyle were manufactured using a Volvo-derived system called Total Vehicle Geometry (TVG) to ensure fit, finish and craftsmanship &mdash; by requiring comprehensive participation by all engineers as well as suppliers and vendors.  Heavily using computer-aided design, TVG tracks all design modifications, translating them into the central CAD database which in turn allows each engineer access to current project data.  The system improves part tolerance at the body-in-white stage as well as early cabin integrity testing, via air leakage testing.  TVG improved fit and finish at the first prototype stage and decreases pilot manufacturing times.<ref name="montegointro" />  

For side impact protection the bodywork is braced at the B-pillar via an energy-channeling structural cross-car roof tube and a corresponding undercar energy channelling cross-tube &mdash; with the front seats mounted above the lower tube, locating them above a side impact energy path.  The system derives from a side-impact safety design marketed by Volvo as its [[Side Impact Protection System]] (SIPS).<ref name="montegointro">{{cite web
  | title = 2005 Mercury Montego Introduced
  | publisher = The Auto Channel, February 7, 2004
  | url = http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2004/02/07/179649.html}}</ref><ref name="Volvostruc2" />

=== Exterior ===
[[File:California - USA (3158684209).jpg|thumb|left|2005 Mercury Montego, rear]]
As with the Grand Marquis, the 2005 Montego was offered solely as a four-door sedan.  The tallest Mercury sedan in over 50 years (over five feet tall), the Montego was only two inches lower in height than a [[Jeep Cherokee (XJ)|Jeep Cherokee]] SUV.  

While visibly sharing much of its exterior with its Ford Five Hundred counterpart, the third-generation Montego held several distinct design features.  In Mercury design tradition, the Montego was styled with a vertical waterfall-style grille with satin aluminum exterior trim (limiting chrome to the roofline).<ref name="montegointro" />  Exclusive to the Montego, HID headlamps and LED taillamps were standard equipment (the latter, the largest array of LED lights on any Ford vehicle worldwide).<ref name="montegointro" />   

Ford chief designer George Bucher said: "it was a challenge to sculpt a Ford-styled body around a Volvo chassis, and added that designers used what he calls plainer surfaces with taut lines to give the car a modern look without losing its passenger-car proportions."<ref name="Volvostruc2">{{cite web
  | title = 2006 Ford Five Hundred
  | publisher = Larry Edsall, Twincities.com
  | url = http://cars.twincities.com/reviews/ford/five-hundred/2006}}</ref>

=== Interior ===
[[File:2006 Mercury Montego interior.JPG|left|thumb|Interior]]
Contrasting with both the Grand Marquis and the Sable, the third-generation Montego was available solely in a five-passenger configuration.  As with the Mercury Marauder (and the Grand Marquis LSE), the Montego was fitted with a console-mounted transmission shifter.  As with the Milan, the Montego was fitted with a 60/40 fold-down rear seat.  Along with expanding the 21 cubic-foot trunk space, the folding rear seats (and optional forward-folding front passenger seatback) allowed for objects up to 10 feet in length to be transported inside.         

At its launch, two airbags were standard, with four more available as an option (front-seat airbags and side-curtain)<ref name="montegointro" />   

A design feature of the Montego includes its overall height to add interior space to the vehicle.  To appeal to buyers of both sedans and sport-utility vehicles, Ford raised the viewpoint of the driver.  Marketed as ''Command Seating'', the Montego features high [[H-point]] seating (the location of the occupants hip-point relative to the road or the vehicle floor); its [[H-point]] is closer to the ground than that of a sport utility vehicle, but higher than a typical sedan, easing entry and exit. Also, the distance from the H-point to the floor of the vehicle is reflective of more upright seating. At its press launch, Ford said the Five Hundred's H-point is up to four and a half inches higher than its competitors.  The Montego also features theater seating, where second row seats are higher: in the front row, the distance between the H-point and the heel point, where the occupant's foot touches the floor, is 12.7 inches &mdash; in the second row the distance between the H-point and the heel point is 15.7 inches.

=== Trim ===
In place of the three trims of the Five Hundred, Mercury marketed two trims of the Montego: Luxury and Premier.

Slotted in between the Five Hundred SE and SEL, the Montego Luxury featured cloth seats as standard, with leather seats as optional.  

The Mercury equivalent of a Five Hundred Limited, the Montego Premier featured leather seats as standard; all-wheel drive and a sunroof were among the few available options.

===Sales===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Calendar Year
! American sales
|-
| 2004<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/01/04/204860.html |title=Ford Achieves First Car Sales Increase Since 1999 |publisher=Theautochannel.com |date=2004-11-17 |access-date=2009-04-28}}</ref>
| 2,974
|-
| 2005
| 27,007
|-
| 2006<ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.ford.com/article_download.cfm?article_id=27379 |title=Ford Motor Company 2007 sales |date=January 3, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212180838/http://media.ford.com/article_download.cfm?article_id=27379 |archive-date=February 12, 2009 }}</ref>
| 22,332
|-
| 2007
| 10,755
|}

===Discontinuation===
[[File:08-Mercury-Sable-1.jpg|thumb|2008 Mercury Sable ]]
Following a poor critical reception, the Mercury Montego and Ford Five Hundred fell under sales projections from the 2005 to 2007 model years.  For the 2008 model year, the Montego and Five Hundred underwent a mid-cycle update, with pre-production prototypes unveiled at 2007 auto shows.  Along with evolutionary changes to the body, the powertrain underwent a series of upgrades, as a 263hp 3.5L V6 became the standard engine; both previous transmissions were replaced by a Ford-sourced 6-speed automatic. 

The exterior received new bodywork forward of the windshield (to better distinguish the two model lines), with a revised rear fascia (clear-lens taillamps; license plate relocated to rear bumper).  The interior saw minor trim revisions; the windshield wiper controls were moved from their previous stalk to the left-side column stalk.  

After his installation as Ford CEO, [[Alan Mulally]] ordered the model lines renamed before entering production, claiming higher brand value and recognition.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070207234651/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17003763/]  For 2008, the Montego was renamed the Sable, taking on the nameplate of the vehicle that it originally replaced.  {{clear}}