by Garrett Derkovitz

My 1986 Grand Marquis always get the attention of someone on the road. Anyone who drove one of these or something similar always has a story to remember about theirs. Most any of the old timers get a kick out of seeing something that they used to see every day. My Uncle Paul told me he used to work on them from time to time back in the day and told me all the different things about how it was designed. I found that you can learn a lot when you buy an old car. It’s an experience I will continue to enjoy.

Mercury was founded in 1938 to bridge the gap of Ford’s cheap everyday cars, and Lincoln’s high priced luxury cars. Created by Edsel Ford, Mercury lived a long life creating many different kinds of cars that will be remembered as the years go on. The beginning of the 2000’s was the beginning of declining sales every year and then on January 4^th 2011, the last car to roll out of Mercury’s factory was the Grand Marquis.

The Grand Marquis first generation started in 1979 and this box style shape it had lasted until 1991 before the revamped the car completely. Similar in most its counterpart the Crown Victoria, this car shared many features but always kept its own look to get the attention of all onlookers. A few of the most distinctive features are the opera lamps that the Lincoln Town car had; also, its chrome grill and rear break lamps. Top to bottom, you’ll be cruising in style with all of today’s cars on the road.

For a long time I was saving money to buy myself an old car so I can have some fun with it. Searching around on craigslist one day, while scrolling through picture I accidently clicked on one I wasn’t particularly interested in. Glimpsing around the link, I discovered they wrote a detailed bio on the car and read how they wanted it to go to a good home. This peaked my interest and that same night, I emailed the owner saying I was interested and if all checked out, I would be happy to pay the price he was asking for.

After a month or two of planning, I and my friends Tom Connor and Adam went on an all day trip to and from Jersey Shore, PA. We arrived late after exploring the countryside of Pennsylvania, and slowly going down the last road, I was looking for the right street corner. Eventually I saw the top of the car over some hedges and said aloud “there she is!” My buddies all looked in confusion saying, “that’s it?” looking at the car in the driveway next door to our destination. I shook my head and pulled up in front of Mr. Williams, the previous owners house and without hesitation go to look over the car. With everything I knew I should look for, I completely forgot to look under the car but lucky me that it was in very clean shape.

Test driving it actually gave me the jitters and I worried it would be harder than it looks, but when I finally got behind that wheel, to my shock it was easier to drive and more comfortable to drive than I could’ve imagined. So I paid the man and with two cars now, we went home and were hoping our phone batteries wouldn’t die. My phone was the first to go on our trip before we even got to our destination.

After a long drive we got home and then everyone went their separate ways, but the fun wasn’t over yet. The next day was my favorite moment because I got up and my dad was sitting in the living room and asked me where I was. I then said, “you don’t know yet?” Saying this just seem to agitate him then I said “you didn’t go outside yet?” He then looked out the window but couldn’t see the car yet so his initial reaction when he looked back at me was, “what did you hit?” Of course, I said nothing and as I kept throwing him around, I said finally that I should show him instead of telling him. So we walk outside and walked around my neighbor’s house and he finally saw the front end of it. As we walked closer, he stopped and turned saying “you can’t afford that!” and I just say, it’s already paid for. He then reviewed it; test drove it, and walked about his own business. Then mom woke up later and interrogated me in the kitchen but she wasn’t playing my game I did on my father earlier. So I showed her and took her for a spin around the block. She couldn’t keep a straight face and got a smiley when I closed the door and the neighbor from down the street walked up to see it. Those two days and every moment I spent with this car will hold a spot in my heart forever. But the real kicker was when I met a wonderful girl and took her to the drive-in inside this beautiful car.

In the year of 2018, I not only finally got my dream car, I finally got my dream girl as well. I hope that I can continue to take care of this car until the day I die for in just half a year, I made more memories that I will have for a lifetime. I would recommend this car to any young person to start out with for you’ll never find the new one’s like this.