autoevolution 31 May 2021, 12:12 UTC · by Caliente is the Spanish word for hot, but there was a time when it was a trim in the now defunct’s Mercury brand. It is a word made famous back in the 1960s and 1970s by the Comet, one of the successful Mercury cars of that era. 13 photos Born in 1960, the Comet was initially a car that was sold with no particular make badge, and you could get one in either standard or custom trims. Two years later, it became a Mercury car, and by the time the second generation came into the picture, in 1964, the trim offering increased and shifted to include the Cyclone (performance version Comet), Caliente, 404, and 202.