How many Mercury Eights are left in New Zealand?
Super rare 1 in 222,613 on the road Built 1942-1951 American
Updated from the NZTA Motor Vehicle Register, counted as at 31 August 2026. Recounted every month.
This is the car that launched the Mercury brand in 1939, created by Edsel Ford to fill the gap between Ford and Lincoln, with a larger version of the flathead V8. The smooth, low 1949 to 1951 models became the favourite raw material of American customisers, chopped and lowered into so-called lead sleds, and James Dean drove one in Rebel Without a Cause.
Still on the road, by model year
The most are from 1947: 6 still registered. Every year is listed under the chart.
Every model year
| Model year | Still registered |
|---|---|
| 1942 | 1 |
| 1946 | 3 |
| 1947 | 6 |
| 1948 | 3 |
| 1949 | 5 |
| 1950 | 1 |
| 1951 | 2 |
What Super rare means
Spotto grades every car by how many are still registered in New Zealand. With 21 still registered, the Mercury Eight is Super rare: the grade for cars with 5 to 24 left.
By how many are left it ranks 5th of the 20 Mercury models and equal 1,663rd of all 2,903 cars in Spotto's catalogue.
The six grades: Common, 8,000 or more · Uncommon, 1,200 to 7,999 · Scarce, 175 to 1,199 · Rare, 25 to 174 · Super rare, 5 to 24 · Unicorn, fewer than 5.
Seen one?
Spotto grades every car on New Zealand roads by how many are still registered, down to the generation and the badge. Log the ones you spot, build a collection, and see who else has found one.