The Mercury Villager is a minivan that was marketed by the Mercury division of Ford. The first of two minivans sold by Mercury, two generations were sold from the 1993 to 2002 model years. Competing against the Chrysler minivans and the General Motors APV minivans, the front-wheel drive Villager was introduced between the Ford Aerostar and the Ford Windstar. Throughout its production, the Villager was a product of a joint venture between Ford and Nissan; developed by both manufacturers, the Villager and the Nissan Quest were produced by Ford at its Ohio Assembly plant in Avon Lake, Ohio (alongside the Ford Econoline/Club Wagon). After the 2002 model year, Mercury discontinued the Villager, replacing the model line for the 2004 model year with a revived Monterey (a Mercury counterpart of the Ford Freestar). Background Nameplate The Edsel division of Ford introduced the Villager nameplate for the 1958 model year, with the Edsel Villager serving as its mid-range station wagon. Offered in a four-door configuration with a fully-painted exterior, the Villager was marketed through the 1960 model year. Following the demise of Edsel, Mercury reintroduced the Villager nameplate for the 1962 model year as part of the Comet compact series. Again denoting a station wagon, the Comet Villager was offered with simulated woodgrain trim. From 1962 to 1984, Mercury marketed the Villager as the Mercury counterpart of the Ford "Squire" trim, denoting wood-trim station wagons (excluding the full-size Mercury Colony Park). The Comet Villager was produced from 1962 to 1967 and was followed by five more uses of the Villager name, including the Montego (1970–1976), Bobcat (1975–1980), Cougar (1977 and 1982), Zephyr (1978–1981) and Lynx (1981–1984). Following the introduction of the 1983 Marquis, the Villager nameplate was dropped from wood-trim station wagons; while offered with wood trim, the Marquis adopted the Brougham name (the Mercury Sable that replaced it was never offered with the option). Development At the beginning of 1988, Ford and Nissan entered a joint venture to develop an all-new minivan sold by both automakers. Under the terms of the agreement, the development and engineering of the vehicles was done by Nissan (in the United States); the company also supplied the engine and transmission. Ford would manufacture the vehicles in its own facility, providing components for the vehicle. Development officially commenced later that year, codenamed VX54. The program would replace two existing Nissan product lines developed in Japan (the Van