The Mercury Turnpike Cruiser is a series of automobiles that were produced by the Mercury division of Ford for the 1957 and 1958 model years. Named to commemorate the creation of the Interstate Highway System, the Turnpike Cruiser was marketed as the flagship Mercury model line, slotted above the Montclair when Mercury was positioned upmarket to luxury status when Edsel was introduced in 1958. The Turnpike Cruiser was produced as a luxury two-door and a four-door hardtop sedan. During the 1957 model year, a convertible (called the Convertible Cruiser) was offered on a limited basis, serving as one of the first replica pace cars for the Indianapolis 500 auto race. Mercury fitted the Turnpike Cruiser with a wide variety of advanced features for the time of its production, including a retractable rear window marketed as the "Breezeway", compound-curve windshield, mechanical pushbutton transmission controls and a trip computer. In total, 23,268 examples of the Turnpike Cruiser were produced over two years. For 1959, Mercury discontinued the Turnpike Cruiser, phasing its content into the Park Lane product line. Model overview The Turnpike Cruiser derives its name from the 1956 Mercury XM-Turnpike Cruiser concept car, a two-door hardtop which largely served as a preview of the 1957 Mercury model line. For 1957, the Turnpike Cruiser was offered as the premium top level Mercury model line with a similar approach to luxury shared with the updated four passenger Ford Thunderbird with a listed retail price of US$3,758 for the coupe ($ in dollars ) and US$4,103 for the convertible ($ in dollars ) and was marketed against the Buick Roadmaster and Oldsmobile 98. The Turnpike Cruiser was a body-on-frame chassis while the Thunderbird had unibody construction. For 1958, the Turnpike Cruiser was phased into the Montclair line, and the premium top level role was given to the newly introduced Park Lane. Chassis The Turnpike Cruiser shared its rear-wheel drive chassis with the Monterey and Montclair, using a 122-inch wheelbase. Using body-on frame construction, the front axle of the Turnpike Cruiser was fitted with independent ball-joint front suspension with coil springs; the live rear axle was fitted with leaf springs. 11-inch drum brakes were fitted to all four wheels. For 1958, the chassis (using a 124-inch wheelbase) was adopted by Edsel for its premium Corsair and Citation model lines. Powertrain For 1957, the Turnpike Cruiser was fitted with a 368 cubic-inch V8, producing 290 hp.