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Time To Make Ford Folks Happy Again. This Month It’s…
The Mercury Cougar
The Mercury Cougar followed the Mercury tradition of marketing counterparts to an existing Ford vehicle, in this case the Mustang, with more luxury and convenience features. It was intended from the outset as a “plush” ponycar, situated between the Mustang and Thunderbird. It had much better road manners than the Thunderbird, which had evolved into a larger personal luxury car with appointments more befitting a Lincoln by 1967. It was initially developed as nothing more than a re-badged Mustang, but along the way it got its own sheetmetal, marketed as “European” style, and features. Hidden headlights, a first for a Mercury vehicle, were evident from the beginning and helped the Cougar present a completely different face than the Mustang with its split grill and vertical chrome slats for an “electric shaver” look. The rear turn signals were another notable feature, they were sequential and lit up from inboard to outboard when the turn signal indicator was used as on the Thunderbird. The $185 upgrade to the XR-7 model continued the European influence with a simulated wood trim dash, black gauge faces, toggle switches and an overhead console. If an automatic transmission was ordered it was controlled via a T-handle on the floor console. The Cougar could also be had with nearly every Mercury option except automatic climate control and power windows.
First Generation 1967-1970
The 1967 model far exceeded the initial sales estimates, with Cougar sales accounting for 40% of all Mercury division sales that year. It also won Motor Trend‘s Car Of The Year award, a first for a Mercury vehicle.
It shared engines with its Mustang stablemate, although there was no six-cylinder option as with the ‘Stang…it didn’t fit the “plush ponycar” image. The base engine was the 289 cu. in. V-8 making 200 HP in 2-barrel carb form or an extra 25 ponies if one opted for the 4-barrel. The GT model got you a 390 cu. in. 320 HP “Marauder” power plant. The Cougar also had a 3-inch longer wheelbase than the Mustang.
For 1968 the 289 engine was slowly replaced by the 302, with a bump to 210 HP for the 2-barrel and 230 HP for the 4-barrel. A 2-barrel “Marauder” 390 with 280 HP was offered in non-GT models. The GT-E version was offered for the first time with a 390 HP 427 V-8 as well as a mid-year 428 Cobra Ram Jet rated at 335 HP that in reality was much higher. It also had to comply with new Federal safety mandates, meaning it now sported side marker lights and shoulder harnesses. An electrically operated sunroof was offered, a first for any Ford vehicle, although it was a rare option.
A 1969 mid-cycle revision saw the straight lines evolve into a “Coke-bottle” shape as on the ’69 Mustang. Along with the deletion of the vent windows the Cougar now sported a new full-width grill with horizontal chrome slats, gone was the “electric shaver” look of ’67 and ’68. 1969 also saw the 289 dropped in favor of a 351 cu. in, 250 HP (2-barrel) or 290HP (4-barrel) Windsor engine as standard. The 390 was offered only with the 4-barrel producing 320 HP, and the 428 Cobra Jet was back, producing the same 335 HP in either Ram Jet or non-Ram Jet guise. No production cars got the Boss 429 engine although two factory drag cars were outfitted with it. A convertible with a power-operated top was offered for the first time on the base and XR-7 trims.
In mid-year the 290 HP Boss 302 engine with a 4-barrel carb was offered in the Cougar Eliminator version. A twin 4-barrel “racing” model was rated at the same 290 HP, but you know the extra carb pushed the output much higher than that. Any Cougar V-8 could be had in the Eliminator but the Boss 302 was exclusive to it. The Eliminator was the Mercury equivalent of the Mustang Mach 1 and got its own performance tuned suspension, upgraded wheels and tires, a front air dam and a rear spoiler. Blacked-out trim, racing-style mirrors and body stripes differentiated the Eliminator from the outside.
1970 saw the split “electric shaver” grill returned with a very pronounced body-color center section, along with new front fenders and bumper. New safety features included a locking steering column and high-back bucket seats. The 2-barrel, 250 HP 351 Windsor engine was still standard, but opting for a 4-barrel now got you the 351 Cleveland engine, bumping output to 300 ponies. The 390 was dropped, leaving the Boss 302 and 428 Cobra Jet as the performance engines with the same HP as the ’69 models.
Second Generation 1971-1973
In 1971 the Cougar got a longer (112.1 in.) wheelbase while still being based on the Mustang platform, however now it was marketed as less of a “plush ponycar” and more of a sporty luxury model, competing against upper-division GM A-body cars like the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and Buick Skylark. Front disc brakes were now standard. The chassis was also widened 3 inches to better accommodate big-block engines. A 2-barrel carb 240HP version of the 351 Cleveland was now the base engine with the 4-barrel Cleveland as an option. Gone was the Boss 302 and Boss 429, replaced by a 370 HP 429 Cobra Jet, with or without Ram Air. The 3-speed manual was dropped, leaving only the 3-speed automatic or the very rare four-speed manual transmission.
A convertible was still an option but the hardtop shared the roofline and “flying buttress” C-pillars with the redesigned Mustang. To differentiate it from the Mustang, Cougar adopted styling elements from larger cars in the Mercury line. The front end now featured a prominent center section and a distinctive feature of first-generation Cougars, the hidden headlights, was gone and replaced by four exposed headlights. The taillights were now horizontal within the rear bumper like other cars in the Mercury line. Cougars could still be had in standard and XR-7 trim but the high-performance Cougar Eliminator was, well…eliminated as the model shifted away from high-performance and more towards luxury, but the GT option remained with upgraded suspension, tires and engine cooling components. Powertrains were the same for both trim levels but the XR-7 had exterior and interior design elements unique to that trim level.
In 1972 insurance rates and gas prices caught up to the Cougar, as they did all muscle cars, and the 429 Cobra Jet was dropped. Ford also adopted SAE Net horsepower ratings along with the rest of the industry and horsepower numbers suffered. The only engine left was the 351 Cleveland and it came in three forms, a 166 HP two-barrel, a 245 HP four-barrel, or a Cobra Jet version of the 351 producing 266 HP, all rated SAE Net.
1973 saw engine choices dwindle to two, a re-tuned 2-barrel 351 Cleveland making 168 HP and the Cobra Jet version at 264 HP. It’s interesting that the lower HP engine gained two ponies while the Cobra Jet lost two. Front 5 MPH bumpers were mandated this year and the grill was redesigned as a result. Even with the diminished horsepower and engine choices the Cougar still sold over 60,000 units in 1973, but this number was well down from its ’67 debut when they sold nearly 151,000.
I almost owned a 1972 XR7 with a 4-barrel 351 Cleveland, but on the test drive I thought it felt off and a run up on a mechanic’s lift revealed a tweaked frame. I bought a ’72 Plymouth Duster 340 instead.
Third Generation 1974-1976
In 1974 the Cougar was restyled yet again. The Mustang platform was dropped in favor of the Mercury Montego/Ford Torino platform. Mercury began re-marketing the Cougar as a personal luxury car, a “junior Thunderbird” rather than a “plush ponycar”. The wheelbase grew to 114 inches with the platform change. The standard Cougar was dropped, leaving only the XR-7.
The new three-piece grill paid homage to its predecessor and a new hood ornament, a “creeping Cougar” reminiscent of the leaping Jaguar hood ornaments appeared. The Cougar now sported opera windows, a must for any American vehicle claiming to be a luxury car in the mid-1970s. It could be had with the same two 351 Cleveland engines from the previous year, but now a 2-barrel 158 HP 400 cu. in. engine and a 4-barrel 216 HP 460 cu. in. engine were options. Interiors were nearly the same as the Montego.
1975 saw more luxury features added but the car gained weight in the process, in fact the ’75 was a full 1000 lbs. more than the ’67. The 351 Cleveland was replaced by the 351 M making a paltry 148 HP but the 400 and 460 were still options. Styling was virtually unchanged. Engines and styling were unchanged for 1976 as well.
Fourth Generation 1977-1979
In 1977 the Cougar was restyled yet again as part of Ford’s redesign of its intermediate cars. The base Cougar was back in two-door, four-door and station wagon form, but the station wagon was dropped in 1978 in favor of the Mercury Zephyr wagon. The XR-7 was still the top of the line and became a full sibling of the Thunderbird. The standard Cougar’s Ford counterpart was the LTD II and was available in an optional Brougham trim level for coupes and sedans.
All sheetmetal above the bumper was redesigned with the sharper lines predominant on most late ’70s American cars, the grill was now more square and the front sported four square headlights instead of round ones. The XR-7 had its own rear fascia that differentiated it from the Thunderbird and was offered with standard 15-inch wheels and power steering and disc brakes. The base engine was now a 302 Windsor V-8 with 134 HP for coupes and sedans and the 149 HP 351 Windsor for wagons. An optional 161 HP 351M and 173 HP 400 were offered, the 460 being dropped from intermediates for the sake of fuel economy. The 400 was discontinued in 1979. Few body changes occurred in the 3-year run of this generation, gone were the heady days of the ’60s and early ’70s where customers could expect front and sometimes rear styling changes every model year.
Fifth Generation 1980-1982
Mercury downsized the Cougar for 1980, placing it in the mid-size segment for the first time. The car was now 15 inches shorter. 4 inches narrower and 900 lbs. lighter than the previous generation. It now shared sheetmetal with the new Ford Granada. It was based upon the Ford’s new Fox platform for the first time like the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr, sporting a 105.5 inch wheelbase. They extended the wheelbase three inches like its Thunderbird counterpart for the XR-7. The XR-7 body differed little from the Fairmont/Zephyr besides the opera windows and Continental-style trunk lid that seemed oddly out of place on the mid-sized redesign. This was the start of division-wide “badge-engineering” of cars in the American auto industry, where cars on the same platform but from different divisions were barely recognizable from one another save for front and rear styling. Grills, taillights and some interior luxury appointments were all that separated a Ford from a Mercury, a Chevy from a Pontiac, Oldsmobile or Buick, and later even from a Lincoln or Cadillac. Ford had experimented with the concept with the Ford Pinto/Mercury Bobcat twins in the mid-70s, but it really took off in the 1980s and wasn’t limited to economy models.
Starting in 1981 and becoming a long-running tradition for Mercury, GS and LS trim packages became available on the Cougar and XR-7, GS focusing on appearance and LS focusing more on luxury items like power windows and a keyless number-pad entry system.
The XR-7 was offered with two V-8s, albeit a small 255 cu. in and a 302. The base Cougar made do with the 140 cu. in. four-cylinder or the 200 cu. in. inline six unless you paid for the optional 255 cu. in. V-8 as in its Grenada stablemate.
Sixth Generation 1983-1988
1983 saw the Cougar shifting platforms yet again, this time to the Mercury Marquis (not the larger Grand Marquis) mid-size. Cougar remained a counterpart to the Thunderbird, both re-marketed as “luxury sport coupes” with the Cougar reverting to coupe-only form. Aerodynamics came into play in this generation with the advent of computer-aided design (CAD) which dropped the drag coefficient from 0.50 to 0.40 despite being less aerodynamic than its Thunderbird sibling. It still rode on the Fox platform. The exterior design was a reaction to the negative market response to the previous generation. Cougar adopted a notchback design with upswept rear windows while Thunderbird opted for a fastback design. Front and rear bumpers, front fenders and hood and the windshield were shared with the T-Bird, so the “badge engineering” of the previous generation was scaled back a bit but still remained.
The standard engine was now a 3.8 liter V-6 making 120 HP. The option was a 4.9 liter V-8 that made a mere 10 ponies more despite the added 2 cylinders and larger displacement.
From 1984 to 1986 the Cougar was available with a 2.3 liter turbocharged inline-four cylinder engine that was shared with the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. This powerplant made 145 HP with the automatic transmission and 155 HP with the manual. This engine and the manual transmission were dropped in 1987 in favor of the 4.9 liter V-8.
Several changes made their way in but a re-styling was in order for the 20th anniversary in 1987. Nearly every exterior panel was changed and Cougar got its own grill with a large cat emblem. It also received aerodynamic composite headlamps and the 15-inch alloy wheels of the Mustang GT, as well as its 5.0 liter V-8.
Seventh Generation 1989-1997
Redesigned again for 1989, the Cougar and Thunderbird got their own platforms exclusive to those two, gone was the sharing of platforms from other Ford or Mercury vehicles. The wheelbase was now 113 inches, longer than a Mercedes 560 SEC. Handling was also benchmarked against large European luxury cars like the Mercedes, BMW 6-Series and the Jaguar XJS. It retained rear-wheel drive while GM coupes and the new Acura Legend were front-wheel drive. The new design was evolutionary, not revolutionary, building upon the previous generation. A 3.8 liter V-6 was the only engine choice, the new hood being too low for the 5.0 liter V-8. LS trim levels got a 140 HP version while the still (relatively) high-performance XR-7 got a supercharged 210 HP version.
Cougar and Thunderbird were discontinued after the 1997 model year, with Cougar re-emerging in a completely different form 2 years later.
Eighth Generation 1999-2002
The eighth and final generation of the Cougar shared a platform with the Ford Coutour-based Probe redesign. The new Cougar was front-wheel drive for the first time, evolving from a 2-door personal luxury car to a 3-door sport compact in an attempt to bring younger buyers into Mercury showrooms.
Engine options were a 125 HP 2 liter four cylinder and a 170 HP 2.5 liter 24-valve V-6. Both manual and automatic transmissions were offered. The V-6 was offered with a Sport Package that included four-wheel vented disc brakes, 16 inch alloy wheels, and the removal of the speed governor. This allowed the automatic to reach 135 MPH and the manual to reach 145 MPH given enough road. High-performance Cougar S and Cougar Eliminator models were made as concepts but never produced.
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