History of the Mercury Cougar
By Ben Brace
The 1967 Mercury Cougar was based upon the second generation Ford Mustang with the following differences. The Cougar's wheelbase was 3 inches longer, it had full width grill with fold-away headlamps and sequential tail lights. Ford/Mercury's styling approach was "European" flavor with the XR7 trim package complete with toggle switches to the sport GT models. The base power plant was a small block 289 up to a big block FE 390 engine. The Mercury Cougar was the Motor Trend magazine's "Car of the Year" in 1967.
The 1967 through 1973 Mercury Cougar's were built along side the Ford Mustang. While 1967 was Cougar's largest production year with over 150,000 built with the two succeding production years averaging over 100,000 cars, production from 1970 through 1973 was around 60,000 vehicles. Production in the years 1967 through 1973 saw the addition of the 351 Cleveland and Windsor Engines, the 302, the 428 in various forms, a 427 engine, the C-6 transmission in addition to the C-4, along with model variations that included the Dan Gurney Special, the CJ, the XR-7G, the Eliminator, in Grabber Blue or Yellow; the 7.0 Litre GT-E and the Boss 302 all similar to the engine and performance variations also available with the Ford Mustang. The rarest Cougar would be the Boss 428 V8 with only two models ever built.
In 1974 the Cougar would be based upon the Thunderbird/Torino chassis. The market was now styled toward the personal luxury automobile and with new EPA regulations engines already had been detuned. All Cougars were XR-7 models with the power plant a 351 Cleveland V-8. The Cougar replaced the Mercury Montego as Mercury's intermediate car in 1977 and maintained the luxury market styling, with Cougar sedans and even a station wagon (Cougar Villager). In 1979 the Cougar became the Thunderbird's twin. The XR-7 was the sport coupe version and the Cougar Brougham was the upscale version. 1979 was the last year of the big Cougars.
In 1980 Cougar's were built on Ford's "Fox" chassis, which was used by the Zepher and the Thunderbird. A smaller V-8 was used briefly as were six cylinder engines along with a station wagon in 1982, but in 1983 there was a major change with the introduction of the "Aero" Cougar's that anticipated the "retro" look way ahead of it's time. From the rear at night, the "Aero" Cougar, which was once again a coupe, looked like the 67-68 Cougar's. Although still a sister vehicle to the Thunderbird, the Cougar body was significantly clad different. Built in Ohio, once again Cougar sales rose. Engine lines included the 302 V-8 but also a V-6 and a turbocharged I4.
In 1987 Cougar restyled for it's 20th anniversary including a limited edition anniversary with a host of special features including the first computer based engine (SEFI 302 V-8). In 1989 the Cougar body was redone and the chassis was now Ford's MN-12 also shared with the Thunderbird with a fully independent rear suspension. No V-8 was available so the base engine was the V-6 until Ford came out with their 4.6 L V-8 that replace the old 302 V-8. Cougar made a 25th year vehicle in 1992 and a 30 year car in 1997 but in 1997 Ford ended all of their luxury standards including the Cougar. Production in the final year was only a little over 35,000 vehicles.
From 1992 to 2002 saw the reintroduction of the Cougar as a sports car based upon the Ford CDW-27 platform, a front wheel drive, 4-cylinder DOHC engine. Despite being marketed in several trim packages including a 35th anniversary vehicle this Cougar never sold well and was discountinued by Ford along with other Ford models in 2002.
In 2010 the Ford Motor Company announced that it would cease Mercury production as a seperate line in the fourth quarter of 2010, however, sales of Mercury automobiles may continue in some locations through June, 2011.
The most collected and memorable Cougars remain the 1967-1973 models years although the Arthritis Foundaiton's Annual Classic Auto Show welcomes all Cougar vehicles.
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