Shown here is a scan of the model idenfication chart from the 1958 Mercury Service Manual.
It actually shows a number of models that were never produced. There is the Monterey Special Sedan series and the Park Lane Turnpike Cruiser. What were these models ? The Park Lane Turnpike Cruiser must have been going to be one mightly flashy car if it was to combine all the features of the Turnpike Cruiser and the Park Lane.
Even more interesting is that the chart does not show the 2- and 4-Door Medalist models. However, the model numbers for these two models (64B and 58C) are shown as being those for the 2 and 4-Door Monterey Special. What happened ?
Here is my theory. Since the end of the war the American car industry had grown from strength to strength. Throwing off the constraints of wartime conditions, the American public were in a frenzy of consumerism. They clamoured for cars with more and more gliz, gadgetry and go and the auto manufacturers busied themselves satiating America's relentless demands. And so for the 1958 model year Mercury planned a dizzying array of cars with something guaranteed to please every buyer. However, 1958 turned out to be the worst world recession since the end of the war and the auto industry was to be one of the hardest hit as buyers decided to "wait and see." Consumer sentiments also shifted that year as Americans thought more towards thrift and economy. I think that when Mercury realised that 1958 was going to be a tough year they clawed back on the number of high-end models at the last minute and dropped the Monterey Special Sedan and Park Lane Turnpike Cruiser series. With buyers anticipated to have a more tempered buying attitude Mercury hurridly introduced the spartan Medalist series as the basic entry-level model and gave it the model numbers that had been allocated to the Monterey Special Sedan models.
