The Mercury Montego is a nameplate that was applied to three separate generations of vehicles marketed by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company. Taking its name from Montego Bay, Jamaica, the nameplate made its first appearance for 1967 in the Canadian market as part of the Mercury-derived Meteor model line. For 1968, the Mercury Montego made its debut across North America, becoming the Mercury counterpart of the Ford Torino intermediate-size model line for two generations.

For the 1977 model year, Ford revised the intermediate-size product ranges of both its Ford and Mercury divisions; as part of a mid-cycle update, Mercury discontinued the Montego nameplate and expanded the Mercury Cougar line to include a full range of sedans and wagons (with the Ford Gran Torino becoming the Ford LTD II).

After a 28-year absence, the Montego nameplate was revived for the 2005 model year, this time applied to a full-size sedan. Slotted in size between the Mercury Milan and Grand Marquis, the 2005 Montego was the Mercury counterpart of the Ford Five Hundred. For the 2008 model year, the Montego adopted the nameplate of the car it had replaced, becoming the final generation of the Mercury Sable.

For 1968, Mercury introduced the Montego as part of its intermediate Mercury Comet product line, consolidating the Comet Capri and Comet Caliente into a single nameplate; the high-performance Mercury Cyclone became a distinct model line. As the Comet was the Mercury counterpart of the Ford Fairlane, the Montego was introduced alongside the Ford Torino. For 1970, Mercury intermediates adopted the Montego name entirely (with the Comet name being resurrected (and downsized) in the following year for the Mercury counterpart of the compact Ford Maverick).

The first-generation Montego was offered as a four-door sedan, two-door hardtop, four-door station wagon, and two-door convertible. The model line was offered in base and MX trims (replacing the Comet Capri and Comet Caliente, respectively).

For 1970, the Montego underwent a mid-cycle exterior redesign to add a forward-thrusting hood and grille design. The convertible was withdrawn, replaced by a four-door hardtop. For all sedans, a MX Brougham trim was added (with a woodgrained MX Villager station wagon), distinguished by concealed headlamps.

• 1968 Mercury Montego MX Convertible
• 1969 Montego MX convertible
• 1969 Montego MX convertible, rear
• 1969 Montego four-door
• 1969 Montego MX Villager station wagon
• 1970 Mercury Montego 2-door hardtop (with non-standard wheels)
• 1971 Mercury Montego 2-door hardtop

For 1972, the second-generation Montego was introduced alongside the redesigned Ford Torino.^[3] In a major design shift, the intermediate Ford/Mercury model lines shifted from unibody to body-on-frame construction; similarly to the General Motors A-platform, the Montego adopted a split-wheelbase chassis (114-inch for two-doors, 118-inch for four-doors and station wagons). True four-door hardtops were replaced by "pillared hardtops" (frameless door glass remained, supported by a thin B-pillar), while two-door Montegos retained hardtop roofs, though with much wider C-pillars.

The Cyclone had reverted from a stand-alone model line to an option package for 1972 for the Montego; only 30 1972 Cyclones would be produced, making it among the rarest Mercury vehicles. As a replacement for the Cyclone, Mercury introduced the Montego GT, a counterpart of the Ford Gran Torino SportsRoof for the first time; the Montego GT was offered from 1972 to 1973.

As a standard engine, the Montego was equipped with a 250 cubic-inch inline-six, with five different V8 engines available as options. Starting in 1974, the Mercury Montego was available with a 460 V8, shared with the Mercury Marquis/Colony Park.

The redesign was initially met with success, as 1972 Montego sales increased 136% over 1971;^[4] the MX Brougham saw the largest increases in sales, as the two-door increased its sales by 897% while the four-door increased by 1,021%.^[4]

Following the 1973 gas crisis, sales were depressed by industry-wide fuel economy concerns. The redesigned 1974 Mercury Cougar shifted from the Ford Mustang chassis and upsized to Montego two door bodies which were also shared with the mid-year addition of the Ford Elite. The new Cougar which was more competitive in the growing intermediate personal luxury car segment produced model overlap causing slower sales of the Montego along with the success of the Mercury Monarch, as buyers shifted from intermediates and full-size cars towards fuel-efficient compact sedans.

For 1975, the six-cylinder and 302 V8 engines were dropped from the lineup, leaving the 351 V8 as the standard engine.

For 1977, in a mid-cycle redesign of the Ford intermediate lines, several nameplates were shifted. Mercury rebranded the Montego as the Cougar, in favor of offering a full range of body styles for the Cougar line alongside the flagship XR7 personal luxury coupe; Ford rebranded the Torino/Gran Torino as a facelifted LTD II, with the Elite rebranded as a downsized 1977 Thunderbird.

• 1972 Mercury Montego GT 2-Door Fastback
• 1973 Mercury Montego GT 2-Door Fastback
• 1974 Montego MX Villager station wagon
• 1974 Montego MX Brougham interior
• 1975 Mercury Montego 2-Door Hardtop
• 1976 Montego Villager station wagon

For the 2005 model year, Mercury revived the Montego nameplate after a 28-year hiatus. The Mercury counterpart of the Ford Five Hundred, the third-generation Montego entered production on July 12, 2004.^[5] Slotted below the Grand Marquis, the third-generation Montego was introduced as a replacement for the Sable alongside the 2006 Milan.

In place of the three trims of the Five Hundred, the Montego was offered in two: Luxury and Premier.

The third-generation Montego was manufactured at the Chicago Assembly facility in Chicago, Illinois alongside the Ford Five Hundred and the Ford Freestyle; the latter was a CUV wagon serving as a replacement for the Taurus/Sable station wagon.

In the 1968 NASCAR Grand National stock car season, the fastback Fairlane body style proved much slicker than other makes, but the nose of the Mercury Cyclone Fastback was the main reason pointed to it being even slightly faster than its Ford counterpart. Cale Yarborough drove a Wood Brothers Cyclone to victory in the Daytona 500, and the Mercury bodies would remain a major force in NASCAR through 2 generations of bodies.

The battle over aerodynamics would prompt Chrysler to respond with specialized "winged wonder" Daytona and Superbird bodies after its own fastback bodies proved disappointing.^[10]