McGarrett had three triple-black Mercurys through
the 12 seasons of Five-0:
* 1967
Mercury Marquis (2-door hardtop)
* 1968
Mercury Park Lane (4-door hardtop)
* 1974
Mercury Marquis Brougham (4-door hardtop)
1967 Mercury Marquis. It was used only in
the pilot episode, although it appeared in stock footage thereafter. It was
black and sported a red interior. It is interesting to note that 1967 was the
first year for the Marquis, which was meant to be a 2-door sports version of
the Park Lane, which was introduced in the 1958 model year. When the Park
Lane was phased out at the end of the 1968 model year, a 4-door model of the
Marquis was introduced to take its place. The Ford Motor Company ceased
production of the entire Mercury line at the end of 2010.
1968 Mercury Park Lane. The 1968 Mercury Park
Lane was used in entirety in Seasons 1-6, as well as in part of Season 7
(except for stock footage of the '67 Marquis). It was seen on occasion in new
footage - usually involving hazardous driving - in Seasons 8 through 10, as
well as in stock footage. It met its end in "Tall On
the Wave" (Season 10), when it dove nose-first into a sand dune as Danno pursued a friend, who was under suspicion of murder.
We saw what appeared to be the Park Lane smeared with gray tempera paint in
"Number One With a Bullet" (Season 11).
The Park Lane was hauled off to a warehouse at Diamond Head
Studios (now Hawaii Film Studio) and stored. Years later, Michael Timothy of
Illinois managed to locate the car. He acquired it and
shipped it home, where he restored it. Read about and see pictures of it in the
following article:
A Tale of McGarrett's Car. http://www.fiveohomepage.com/50mercury.htm
1974 Mercury Marquis Brougham. The 1974 Mercury
Marquis Brougham was used in part of Season 7, as well as throughout Seasons 8
through 12. Here are links to articles about and
pictures of McGarrett's '74 Marquis:
I
Rode in Steve McGarrett's Car. http://home.comcast.net/~waxtadpole/car.htm
For
Sale: Used Car Driven By Five-0 Chief. http://archives.starbulletin.com/96/04/16/features/story3.html
History of the Mercury Park Lane
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Dates
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Details
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1956
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The name “Park Lane”
first was used for a Ford two-door station wagon.
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1958-1960
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Mercury Park Lane was
built by the Mercury Division of the Ford Motor Company as a Mercury Monterey
with extra trim.
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1961-1963
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The Park Lane was
dropped while Mercury focused on its lower-end models.
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1964-1968
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Mercury Park Lane was
built by the Lincoln-Mercury Division of the Ford Motor Company. It was
reinstated to bridge the price gap between Ford and Lincoln automobiles.
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|
Some Park Lanes had a
“Breezeway” window; that is, a powered reverse slanted rear window that
lowered into the body. Although it did not sell well, it is credited with
marking the beginning of Mercury’s sleek car designs, when Mercurys stopped looking like Fords. The Breezeway window
had been used previously on the 1957-1958 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser and the
1958-1960 Lincoln Continental.
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In this period, the
Marauder package gave the Park Lane a fastback roof design.
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1967-1968
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The Park Lane picked up
a Brougham package, which offered more trim, nicer seats and door panels,
etc.
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Available in 4-door
sedan and 4-door hardtop models
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1968
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This year, only,
available in 2-door fastback model. Some 2-door fastbacks and convertibles bore
wood-grain side panels, called Yacht Paneling. These did not catch on with
buyers.
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Late 1990s-2010
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Some Mercury Grand
Marquis carried a revival of the Park Lane badge.
|
Sources:
1965 Mercury Park Lane
Breezeway: Classic Car Review. http://voices.yahoo.com/1965-mercury-park-lane-breezeway-classic-car-review-1372791.html
1968 Mercury Park Lane. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1968-mercury-park-lane.htm
Internet Movie Cars
Database. http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_505295-Mercury-Park-Lane-54E-1968.html (photo)
Mercury Park Lane. Conceptcarz. http://www.conceptcarz.com/z20467/Mercury-Park-Lane.aspx
A
Bit of Car Trivia
Someone
visited the site who wanted to know why McGarrett's
car did not have police lights. That's a good question, one I've wondered
about, myself. It seems that, at the very least, he'd have had a bubble light
he could stick on the roof whenever he took off after someone. As I recall,
those "portable" lights were available in those days.
When
I was last in Honolulu, I heard a siren and heaved to the curb in time to
see a Mercury Grand Marquis speed past. It did have police lights, but, no, it
was not triple-black, only gray. That was a fun event for me, for I've long
wondered why the state didn't give McGarrett a
lighter colored car in that hot and sunny location.
McGarrett's Car
Chases
The Best
Car Chases. This You Tube clip is fantastic! It features scenes from "Hookman" (Season 6), "Over 50? Steal"
(Season 3), "Burning Ice" (Season 4), and others. You won't want to
miss this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFByYnJ5R2s&feature=player_embedded
McGarrett's Evasive Driving
Techniques. This You Tube clip shows good evasive techniques. I guess McGarrett attended law enforcement officer driver training
at the FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZqH8Zi1uBI&NR=1
Ripping
through Paris. This You Tube clip shows that McGarrett
is still alive and well and ripping through the streets of Europe. Best of all,
he hasn't aged a bit since Season 6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF5WwON970s&playnext=1&list=PLE05475A041E47AB8