In 1958, the Ford Motor Company added yet another flagship to the Mercury line with the Park Lane.

More than most car brands, Mercury saw its pricing and product lines continually adjusted as the Ford Motor Company searched for the sweet spot in the crowded mid-priced field. In 1955, a new flagship was introduced to the Mercury lineup, the Montclair (see our feature here). Then in 1957 a new top-of-the-line model, the Turnpike Cruiser, was added to the lineup, knocking the Montclair down one peg. Just one year later in 1958 came the Park Lane, Mercury’s latest flagship. The Turnpike Cruiser was then relegated to a slot in the Montclair line.

The Park Lane name wasn’t totally new at the Ford Motor Company. In 1956, Parklane (one word, in the Fairlane style) was the name of a sporty, one-year-only Ford station wagon. The product planners broke it into two proper words, Park Lane, for the new Mercury premium model. And premium it was. At 220 inches, more than 18 feet, the Park Lane was seven inches longer than other Mercurys, with a three-inch longer wheelbase, 125 inches vs. 122 inches. Most of the added length was in the rear deck and quarter panels.

To further differentiate the Park Lane from the rest of the Mercury line, the standard engine was a 430 cubic-inch V8 with 360 hp borrowed from Lincoln. (The others got by with standard 383 CID and 312 CID V8s.) Multi-Drive Merc-O-Matic transmission was also standard with a Keyboard Control push-button selector on the left side of the instrument panel. The Super Marauder, Ford’s hottest V8 in ’58 with 430 CID, three two-barrel carbs, and 400 hp, was optional at extra cost.

Three body styles were offered: A four-door pillarless hardtop called the Phaeton Sedan, the pillarless two-door Phaeton Coupe, and a Convertible. Naturally, interior appointments were first-class all the way. As was the pricing. At $3,944, the Phaeton Sedan cost north of $2,000 more than a Monterey, and placed Mercury in direct competition with the Buick Super and Oldsmobile 98.

Fewer than 10,000 Park Lanes were sold in ’58, but that wasn’t necessarily all the car’s fault. The entire mid-priced market tanked that year due to the so-called Eisenhower Recession. Chrysler, Buick, Olds, and the rest all took a bath, while the new Edsel, Mercury’s corporate sablemate, was mortally wounded. Still, the Park Lane emblem carried on at Mercury (with a break in ’61-’63) in various forms through 1968 when it was replaced by the Marquis, a badge that stuck with Mercury as the Grand Marquis all the way to the end on January 4, 2011.