Mercury Mariner makes debut in N.Y.

The Mercury Mariner crossover, a sibling of the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute, is introduced at the 2003 New York auto show on April 17, 2003. It was the first car-based crossover marketed by Mercury and slotted below the truck-based Mountaineer SUV.

The Mariner went on sale in late 2004 as a 2005 model, with U.S. sales peaking at 34,843 in 2007.

While it shared a platform with the Tribute and Escape, the Mariner was distinguished by Mercury's waterfall grille, a two-tone interior, turn signal repeaters borrowed from the Ford Maverick sold in Europe and monotone cladding. Only an automatic transmission was available in the Mariner.

It was also the first Mercury with a four-cylinder engine since the Mercury Cougar coupe, which was last sold in 2003. Mercury expanded its lineup in 2005 with the Mariner Hybrid.

Ford disclosed plans to eliminate the Mercury brand in June 2010 and, according to the Automotive News Data Center, Mariner production ended in December 2010.