 The first step taken to make Mercury more cost effective within Ford, was to shed its higher priced Montclair and Park Lane models.The Monterey, previously the entry-level full-sized Mercury offering and priced slightly higher for the 1961 model year than comparable 1960 models, became the new top-of-the-line model.It was joined by the new, lower-priced Meteor 600 and Meteor 800.