1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser
The 1957 Mercury was the first time the Ford Motor Company built a Mercury that wasn’t a dolled up Ford. In 1957 the Mercury had its own body and the best you could get was a Turnpike Cruiser. I have lusted after these cars since I was a small kid back in Iowa. When I first saw those antennas sticking out of the air intake on the roof above the windshield I thought it was the most futuristic thing I had ever seen on a factory produced car.
The futuristic design was not all this Turnpike Cruiser had to offer. It was considered the most heavily gadget laden car ever. Consider this, although the “Twin Jet” air vents were the most notable feature of the car, the rear window was power operated and actually dropped down into the trunk. This was called the Power Breezeway Ventilation.
In addition to this remarkable design features, the Turnpike Cruiser also had the following as standard equipment: Power Steering, Power Brakes, Power Windows, plus power Seat-O-Matic, a Monitor Control Panel with Tachometer and average speed computer! Some of these features would not be seen in regular use for over 50 years!
With all the chrome and unique parts plus the numerous power accessories, I suggest this is a car you want to buy restored and not one you want to restore!