Why did Mercury put a zero on the end of the HP rating?? 150 vs. 1500??

[motoxconnection]

Just wondering, but why did Mercury put a zero on the end of the HP ratings on the labels and for marketing?? Like the 115 hp would be the 1150 and so on. Just wondering why they did that and I am sure you guys have the answer. Thanks.

Rich

[1BadAction]

so you would ask questions about why they did it. :D

Seriously... Never thought about it, but cool question. :p now you have me wondering.

[MagicFloat]

Probrably no particular reason,other than Marketing thought is had a nice ring to it:) A more interesting question is why was the Mark 28 22 hp,Mk 55 40 hp,Mk 58 45 hp,Mk 75 60 hp,etc. :p

[rpm racing]

Probrably no particular reason,other than Marketing thought is had a nice ring to it:) A more interesting question is why was the Mark 28 22 hp,Mk 55 40 hp,Mk 58 45 hp,Mk 75 60 hp,etc. :p

most likely the difference between crank shaft hp and prop shaft hp

[mk30h]

They did it in 1960, moving away from calling their engines Mark series which was confusing. For example a Mark55 was a 40hp introduced in 1955, a Mark75 was a 60hp introduced in 57 while the Mark78 was a 70 hp introduced in 1958.

When they moved to the Merc designation it was more logical just add a 0 to the hp (in most cases) eg 10hp became 110 6 hp Merc 60, and so on. Merc borrowed this from another outboard company which was by then out of production- Martin. Martin 6hp was designated Martin 60 and the 20 hp was the Martin 200. Another thing they borrowed from Martin in 62 was the black colour of the engines.

[Mark75H]

most likely the difference between crank shaft hp and prop shaft hp

No, the hp was all crankshaft rated. The Mk75 was 60 hp at the crankshaft, probably 52-53 at the prop shaft.

Maybe Kiekhaefer liked the Lincoln Contenental Mark I and Mark II names or maybe he thought it sounded German enough to be tough, without being threatening.

[outboard bob]

No, the hp was all crankshaft rated. The Mk75 was 60 hp at the crankshaft, probably 52-53 at the prop shaft.

Maybe Kiekhaefer liked the Lincoln Contenental Mark I and Mark II names or maybe he thought it sounded German enough to be tough, without being threatening.
The MARK designation is from GERMAN money THE GERMAN MARK

[mk30h]

I doubt its from the German Mark. More likely I it follows a military designation, like the Spitfire Mark Series and various Tanks or the forties. Don't forget this was only 9 years after WWII ended and vetrans would be the primary buyer. After all the Ford Mustang was more reminisant of the early P51 mustang cocpit than a pony.

[AirRide]

They did it in 1960, moving away from calling their engines Mark series which was confusing. For example a Mark55 was a 40hp introduced in 1955, a Mark75 was a 60hp introduced in 57 while the Mark78 was a 70 hp introduced in 1958.

When they moved to the Merc designation it was more logical just add a 0 to the hp (in most cases) eg 10hp became 110 6 hp Merc 60, and so on. Merc borrowed this from another outboard company which was by then out of production- Martin. Martin 6hp was designated Martin 60 and the 20 hp was the Martin 200. Another thing they borrowed from Martin in 62 was the black colour of the engines.Actually, the Mercury model 110 was a 9.8 horsepower model that was 11 cu. in displacement. The 6 horsepower, and later, the 7.5 horsepower were the exact same engine as the 9.8, just restricted at the carburetor. AirRide:)

[David]

The color black came from Charlie Strang's mother. She said that black made things look smaller. I think 'slimming' was the word quoted in Ironfist.