My reaction when I first saw one of these fully optioned '57 Mercury Turnpike Cruisers on the road was to bust out laughing. "Who the hell would buy one of these gaudy house boats?". I assumed the owners may very well be living in them. This was a bold experiment by Mercury that ultimately failed. 18 feet long (without the continental kit) and 4400 lbs, Mercury threw every possible space age gadgets into this beast, with a lot of them, like an early form of cruise control, were balky and confusing. Even the excessive chrome, both inside and out, blinded their owners in the sunlight. It was the first year of the Breezeway operating rear window that, because of its design sucked air in a vortex through the cabin due to the vacuum it generated. What did please owners was the use of the Continental Mkll, 368 V8 w/ 4bbl that produced 290 HP but with a whopping 400 lb/ft of torque. It only got 8-10 mpg, but with gas at 19¢, you could live with it. I had that engine transplanted into my '56 Montclair and I loved it! Only 23,000 were sold that year, and with a slightly redesigned and mildly de-chromed TPC, the car ran into the negative press as well as a Recession and sold only 6000 units in 1958. That was the end of the Turnpike Cruiser. For the money (it could be optioned to be more expensive than a base Lincoln), buyers opted for the Chrysler 300 or a Cadillac. Today, a fully restored and optioned TPC regularly command 6 figures as the ultimate example of the Space Age movement of the 1950s. Danbury Mint did such a great job replicating this over-the-top land yacht and I absolutely love it ( almost 70 years later).
I agree, I have only ever seen one 57 Mercury pass me by on the road, it is so over the top, I said wow. I have four of the five available from DM on display... futurism at it's best.. (two with butt warts Geno. LOL)
This post was modified 5 months ago 3 times by Greg
I have all five issued by DM and love them all. Removing the Continental kit from the models who have them would be like altering history IMO but as the saying goes, it's your money and your car.
@bob-jackman Did not realize that they did 5 of them. I knew of the Red, which I have and the blue one. What were the other colors? Rich thanks for the history and photo's.
@carsman1958 Hi John, the others are the Lilac/black combination pictured, the Yellow convertible also shown. The Indy Pace Car not shown but also is in Yellow. The Indy Pace Car does not have a hood ornament which is correct to the 1/1.
I have all five issued by DM and love them all. Removing the Continental kit from the models who have them would be like altering history IMO but as the saying goes, it's your money and your car.
I agree. The Continental kit is a must to represent the icon it has become. I have the convertible in 1/18 also with the Continental kit.
I have all five issued by DM and love them all. Removing the Continental kit from the models who have them would be like altering history IMO but as the saying goes, it's your money and your car.
I agree. The Continental kit is a must to represent the icon it has become. I have the convertible in 1/18 also with the Continental kit.
Yep; I have never liked the extreme T.C. - too many bells, whistles and trinkets. BUT; if you're going to own one, own this one in this color combo.
I agree, I have only ever seen one 57 Mercury pass me by on the road, it is so over the top, I said wow. I have four of the five available from DM on display... futurism at it's best.. (two with butt warts Geno. LOL)
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the four look fantastic posed together like that Greg.
Hello, I've just received two copies of the model, everything is great execpt the rear leaf springs suspension which is broken on both models, in the thin part, where it attaches to the bottom. Is me unlucky or it's common for the model? May be bad clam shell design, the models is sitting on wheels while it should be lying on its bottom.
Any suggestions on the best course of repair? Cyanoacrylate or a glue gun?
Try as I might over many years of collecting I simply cannot warm up to the Merc Turnpike Cruiser. It's garish and overdone, of course by design, which got it the desired tons of attention back in the day and gives it its rightful place in automotive history. To each his own as they say! 🤔 🙂
