Fancy locations have often been used for car names. Sometimes they’ve been far-away locales, like Buick’s Riviera, while Plymouth gave us models named after prestigious hotels. But how many cars are named after two different locations? Our Pick of the Day is one of those unusual cars: the 1956 Mercury Montclair Sun Valley. This one is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada. (Click on the link to view the listing)
The Montclair joined the Mercury stable for 1955, becoming the model above the Monterey for primacy. The name came from a northern New Jersey suburb in Essex County. If you’re outside the region, you may have the predisposition to refer to the Garden State as the “Armpit of the Nation,” but I managed to live in the state for my final two years of high school and know New Jersey is an eclectic place. Perhaps images of Newark pervade your paradigm, but there’s a lot of tony places in suburban northern New Jersey, and Montclair historically has been one of them. Certainly, the jokes about Jersey weren’t a thing when the Montclair was introduced.
This special Mercury model is also named after another fancy place, this one being Sun Valley. If you’ve ever been to Los Angeles suburb of Sun Valley, you may wonder if it used to be a nice place in the 1950s because it’s not quite so nice now. However, among the 10 or so Sun Valleys in the U.S. and around the world, there’s a good chance that Mercury’s Sun Valley was named after the Idaho resort city and the region surrounding it. Did you know that it initially was America’s first destination resort and it was developed by the chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1936? Fascinating.
Fascinating also is the Mercury Montclair Sun Valley. Initially introduced for 1954 as the Monterey Sun Valley, this special model featured Plexiglass for the front half of the roof, which allowed the sun to shine inside while being protected by a hardtop roofline. Along with the companion Ford Crestline Skyliner, this techy model was something that no one offered other than Ford Motor Company. For 1955, both Plexiglass models were adjusted somewhat, with the Ford being renamed the Fairlane Crown Victoria Skyliner and the Merc moving up the Sun Valley to an all-new model called the Montclair. Interestingly, the Sun Valley was a true hardtop, unlike the Ford.
While the 1955 Mercury was all-new, it really came into its own for 1956, especially with how it was trimmed. While not considered on the level of, say, a 1955 Chevrolet or even Ford’s lineup, the 1956 Mercury was a looker, especially with the side trim and available two-toning and “Flo-Tone” paint that included a pocket underneath the side windows. The effect was dramatic, and it’s no surprise that customizers embraced the Mercury from this era.
This 1956 Mercury Montclair Sun Valley demonstrates everything that makes this particular model one of the landmark cars of a landmark era. Flaunting its style in Classic White and Lauderdale Blue, this Sun Valley has “undergone a meticulous rotisserie restoration” and “has less than 100 miles since its transformation.” What transformation? “Under the hood, it’s powered by a powerful Tri-Power 292 V8 engine paired with a Gear Vendors overdrive automatic transmission, offering both vintage performance and modern drivability.” Also note the custom interior.
If you think about it, the Mercury Montclair Sun Valley involves three locations, including one quite appropriate for the Atomic Age. Can any car top that? For $57,048, you can sit inside this unique 1950s cruiser and dwell on an answer.
Click here for this ClassicCars.com Pick of the Day.
Source: www.classiccars.com