 The first step towards this goal was the elimination of the compact-bodied Comet.Although Mercury had no mid-sized car for the 1964 and 1965 model years, the Comet continued to sell well during this time.Because the Comet name had better recognition than Meteor, the Comet name was transferred to Mercury's mid-sized car based on the Ford Fairlane beginning with the 1966 model year, in effect finally replacing the Meteor model and name that had last been built and used in 1963.