The first generation Cougar was designed
to be a luxury Euro-style coupe. It also has been known
ever since as "the Mustang's bigger cousin",
since it rode on a stretched Mustang chassis. While
true, it never really gave the Cougar the chance to
shine in its own right. But for those in the know (namely
Mercury fans) the Cougar was exactly the right car,
at exactly the right car, at exactly the right time.
In 1967, the Cougar sold over 150,000 cars and was named
Motor Trend Car of the Year. The 1967-68 body
styles were similar, and the 1969-70 cars were slightly
tweaked. The most popular thing was its affordability,
and they sold like wildfire. Any colors and options
that you wanted could be had, especially when the convertible
debuted in 1969. All Cougars of this era featured the
very cool sequential turn signals and hidden headlamps
that opened with the switch. Models included the ever-popular
XR7, GT-E, XR7-G, Dan Gurney, and the bad boy, the Eliminator
(of which some had the Boss 302). The Cougar did extremely
well in the Trans-Am racing of that time period. Cougars
came with a standard V8, from the 289 V8 to the monster
429 Cobra Jet. Some early Cougars even had the same
"rare" engines as the Mustangs.
The Cat grew bigger in 1971 and continued that way until
1973, with a softer rounding of the edges and fixed
headlamps. Mercury had now begun to move the Cougar
away from its performance heritage towards a more luxury
image. Basically, the only engine was the 351 V8. The
convertible version carried on through the 1973 model
year. It was a decent car but with the impending energy
crisis on the horizon, Ford didn't really dump a whole
lot of cash into this car. Sales steadily declined each
year.
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BROCHURES
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Due to the energy crisis and increasing government emissions
laws, the Cougars from these years barely had enough power
to get themselves going, even with the huge 460 cubic
inch motor. These Cats used the LTD II /Mercury Montego
platform, and were virtual clones of those cars, save
for the front ends. The convertible was discontinued for
1974. Detroit iron was now at a crossroads: the styling
of the day demanded big cars, but with the energy crisis,
Americans needed smaller cars. Downsizing of the Cougar,
however, would take a few more model years.
1977 began the box years — not a curve anywhere.
Now on the Thunderbird chassis, the Cougar enjoyed its
best-ever sales year in 1978, with over 213,000 sold.
Still available with the 302 and 351 V8s, too. Interesting
to note was the 3-tier taillights and the humped trunklid;
those same cues would be used on the 1983 model.
Beginning in 1980 the Cougar was really not a Cougar —
more like a Zephyr with a Cougar badge. The new Fox chassis
was implemented from the Fairmont/Zephyr, with MacPherson
struts and more rigid unibody construction. But anyone
at Ford will tell you that the Cougars and Thunderbirds
lost their direction for these 3 years. The Cougars were
shorter and lighter than the previous Cats, but had very
little sense of style. These cars also offered the very
first 4-cylinder and V6 motors in Cougar history. The
2-door XR7s were literally Thunderbird twins, and the
other models were taken directly from other Ford cars
and rebadged a "Cougar" when in reality, they
were Zephyrs. In 1981 a 4-door Cougar appeared, and there
was even — yes, it's true — a Cougar station
wagon in 1982, replete with optional fake wood grain.
As expected, sales hit an all-time low and it would take
nothing short of a major miracle to breathe new life into
the Cougar name.
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OTHER LITERATURE
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1977
And what a breath of fresh air it was! Still on the Fox
platform but slightly shorter, 1983 the Cougar was now
a style leader. Known as the "aero" Cat, Ford
designers penned an instant winner, with soft, rounded
corners and the aforementioned styling cues to tie in
to Cougar history. Sales shot up instantly, with sales
in 1986 at over 135,000. Also, Cougar XR7 was reborn with
a potent turbocharged 4-cylinder.
Ford wished to continue the style leadership it virtually
owned in the mid-'80s, so it freshened up the Cat in 1987
with flush glass and headlamps, while still retaining
the same basic shape. Initially this car was to debut
in 1986, but Ford wanted to milk one more year out of
the hot-selling Cougar, so the new "aero Cat"
was pushed back until 1987. This started Ford's new tradition
of 2-year cycles (more or less) for the Cougar. Since
the all-new Cougar was due in 1989, these 2 model years
— while short — gave the Cougar a memorable
impression on the buying public. For its 20th anniversary,
Mercury made roughly 5,000 20th Anniversary Edition Cougars
that all sold before the car was even made! Unfortunately,
sales would never equal those of this era again.
Since Ford made a good buck off the previous-generation
Cougar, it decided to take a gamble and stretch out the
Cat in 1989. The new MN-12 platform also was home to the
Thunderbird and eventually the 1993-1998 Mark VIII. An
all-new independent rear suspension, SLA front suspension,
and a very rigid chassis provided a great platform, truly
one of the best on the planet. Styling was more slab-sided,
and the cowl was greatly lowered. The big news was that
the XR7 had a brand-new supercharged 3.8 V6, which could
be ordered with the very rare 5-speed. The base LS Cougar
had the standard V6. These two years were the only in
rear-drive Cougar history that a V8 engine was not offered,
because the standard 5.0 V8 intake would not fit under
this dramatically lowered hood line. But Ford engineers
were promising that the 5.0 was on the way, and none too
soon: it was very evident early on that this Cat was a
little overweight.
The HO 5.0 was finally here in 1991, and the 200 hp it
delivered was just enough to get this big 3,500 lb. Kitty
moving. The exterior was freshened up with a new trapezoidal
grille, cat's-eye headlamps, pierced bumpers, and revised
trim. The XR7 lost the supercharged V6 but gained the
HO 5.0 standard. The V8 was optional in LS models. Also
in 1992, a 25th Anniversary model was made, painted in
a dark green color (which was fairly controversial with
Cougar owners at the time), and special interior and wheels.
As with the 1987 Anniversary cars, only about 5000 were
made.
1993 was sort of the in-between year for the MN-12 cars.
In a cost-cutting move (aka "one-price shopping"),
the LS model was dropped, and all Cougars became XR7s;
however, they all weren't the performance-oriented XR7s
from years past. Styling was still the same as the 1991-1992
models, save for body-colored door handles, mirrors, roof
trim, and new wheels. Sales also began to rise due to
the one-price strategy and dealer incentives. This would
be the final year for a pushrod V8 motor in a Mercury
Cougar.
The big news in 1994 was that the 5.0 was replaced with
the new technically-sophisticated 4.6 SOHC motor. An all-new
electronically controlled overdrive transmission (4R70W)
also debuted with the new engine. And finally, the Cougar
gained a new wraparound interior, which is one for the
history books — absolutely beautiful in execution.
A new grille, taillights and trim also helped differentiate
these Cougars, which are arguably the best looking of
the newer body style Cats. Styling was dead on the mark,
and future desire for these Cougars (especially the 4.6
cars) should be strong.
In an effort to try to modernize the Cougar it had neglected
for 7 years, Ford ordered up a new shortened front end
for the 1996 Cougar with "jewel-look" composite
headlamps. Inside the Cat gained paisley cloth seat patterns.
The powertrains continued right up until the end, with
some minor power tweaking in 1996. Also added was the
1997 Sport Model with a factory rear spoiler. Ford did
make a 30th Anniversary model, partially to continue tradition,
and partly to make a limited edition car before the rear
drive model was cancelled. Demand was so strong that a
second run of 30th models had to be produced. However,
nostalgia was not nearly enough to save the Cougar, Thunderbird
and Mark VIII from extinction. The rapid rise of SUV's,
the shrinking rear drive coupe market, and the general
direction of Ford Motor Company sealed the fate of the
big Cat. However, rumors of a front-drive incarnation
of the Cougar were growing.
Unveiled at the 1998 Detroit International Auto Show,
the 1999 Cougar was built on the solid front-drive Contour/
Mystique/ Mondeo CDW27 platform, fresh from Europe. Base
engine was a Zetec 2.0 liter/120hp 4-banger, with the
2.5 Duratec V6 with 170hp optional. The 5-speed was back,
too. Ford definitely put some effort into this car, with
new generation air bags, side-impact air bags, and anti-lock
brakes. The Ford Division did not get its own U.S. version
— it was a Mercury-only car (although in Europe it
was known as the Ford Cougar). The Cat was carried over
mostly the same for the 2000 model year.
The 2001 model year brought a minor freshening of the
Cougar, with new front headlamps, new bumpers, new spoiler,
more wheel options and an updated interior. The long rumored,
performance-oriented Cougar S model was set to debut in
the spring of 2001, but very early in the model year Ford
canned it. Instead they offered two variations midway
through the year: the Zn (Zinc), appropriately painted
yellow, and the C2. Both models had upgraded wheels and
interiors but no added horsepower. For 2002, the Zn model
was eliminated, but the C2 model remained. A new model,
the XR, also debuted in limited-edition run (3000 produced).
Surprisingly, there was a 35th Anniversary Cougar model,
even though technically there was not a 1998 Cougar. Strictly
limited to just 3000 units, and available in black, red
or silver, this special edition had unique 17" wheels,
unique 35th badges, custom embroidery on the seats and
floormats, and a Roush-style hood scoop.
Once again, Ford Motor Company has pulled the plug on
Cougar production, as 2002 was its last year. Slumping
sales, a changing market, more competition, and not enough
fresh models are all reasons why Ford has shelved the
Cat again. Now Mercury is also gone so the Cougar is deceased.
