The Mercury Grand Marquis was a full-size rear-wheel drive sedan sold by the Lincoln-Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company; the Grand Marquis was the flagship of the Mercury lineup. The nameplate itself had been in use since 1975 as the premium trim level of the Mercury Marquis; the Grand Marquis became its own distinct model in 1983. The car was essentially Mercury's twin of the Ford Crown Victoria with which it shared its Panther platform along with the Lincoln Town Car. After the discontinuation of retail sales of the Crown Victoria at the end of the 2007 model year, the Grand Marquis... had largely taken its place as the entry-level Panther-platform model. The Grand Marquis was manufactured at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant in Canada though it was also produced from 1983 to 1985 in Ford's St. Louis, Missouri facility. With the discontinuation of the Mercury brand, the Grand Marquis ended retail production in October 2010 while production for fleet sales continued until January 2011. The last Grand Marquis, which was also the last Mercury ever produced, rolled off the assembly line on January 4, 2011.
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