The Mercury Cougar is a series of automobiles that was sold by Mercury from 1967 to 2002. The model line is a diverse series of vehicles; though the Cougar nameplate is most commonly associated with two-door coupes, at various stages in its production, the model also was offered as a convertible and a hatchback. During its production as the mid-size Mercury line, the Cougar was also offered as a four-door sedan and five-door station wagon.
In production for 34 years across eight generations (skipping the 1998 model year), the Cougar is second only to the Grand Marquis (36 years) in the Mercury line for production longevity. 2,972,784 examples were produced, making it the highest-selling Mercury vehicle. During the 1970s and 1980s, the marketing of the Mercury division was closely associated with the Cougar, with promotional materials advertising Mercury dealers as "The Sign of the Cat" with big cats atop Lincoln-Mercury dealer signs. Cat-related nameplates were adopted by other Mercury lines, including the Bobcat and Lynx.
During its production, the Cougar was assembled at the Dearborn Assembly Plant (part of the Ford River Rouge Complex) in Dearborn, Michigan from 1967 until 1973, San Jose Assembly (Milpitas, California) from 1968 into early 1969, Lorain Assembly (Lorain, Ohio) from 1974 until 1997, and at Flat Rock Assembly (Flat Rock, Michigan) from 1999 through 2002.
Overview
For nearly its entire production, the Cougar followed Mercury tradition, serving as a divisional counterpart of a Ford vehicle. Though sharing a common chassis architecture, the Cougar was visibly distinguished, ranging in degree from distinct grilles, badging, and lighting components to nearly every body panel specific to the model line.
For its first two generations, the Cougar was derived from the Ford Mustang. Initially serving as a pony car, the popularity of the Cougar led it to replace the Cyclone muscle car in the Mercury model line. The second generation moved its market position closer to the personal luxury car segment.
For its third and fourth generations, the Cougar adopted the Ford intermediate chassis. Slotted above the Montego, the model became the counterpart of the Ford (Gran Torino) Elite. For its fourth generation, Mercury split the Cougar into two model lines, with the Cougar replacing the Montego (matching the Ford LTD II), with the Cougar XR7 becoming the counterpart of the Ford Thunderbird (pairing the two models for 20 years).
For its fifth and sixth generations, the Cougar was downsized, adopting the Ford Fox chassis. Replacing the Mercury Monarch, the standard Cougar was the counterpart of the Ford Granada, with the larger Cougar XR7 designed alongside the Ford Thunderbird (sharing its chassis with the Lincoln Continental and Lincoln Mark VII). The sixth generation Cougar (adopting the lineage of the XR7) reverted the line solely to a two-door coupe.
The seventh-generation Cougar introduced the MN12 platform (alongside the Thunderbird). Though again a two-door personal luxury coupe, the model line underwent significant modernization.
After its discontinuation following the 1997 model year, an eighth-generation Cougar was introduced for 1999, with the nameplate returning as a sports compact hatchback. Originally intended for release as the third-generation Ford Probe, the nearly completed design was shifted to Mercury following the discontinuation of that model line. Sharing chassis underpinnings with the Ford Contour, the 1999 Cougar is the only generation offered with no divisional counterpart (though export vehicles were badged as the Ford Cougar).
Development The Mercury Cougar began life in the summer of 1962, as both Ford and Lincoln-Mercury styling teams submitted design proposals for the T-5 project (the 1965 Ford Mustang). Though the Ford design was selected for the vehicle, Lincoln-Mercury retained interest in the T-5 project, seeking to develop its own vehicle from it to compete in a similar market segment as the Ford Thunderbird (at the time, the latter model line outsold Lincoln by a wide margin). Until the spring of 1964, Ford remained skeptical of the sales potential of the T-5 project or committing to the expansion of the model line. Following the successful release of the Mustang, Ford approved the T-7 project, letting Lincoln-Mercury develop a model line from the planned 1967 update of the Mustang.
The T-7 took on the Cougar name, reviving the nameplate of the Ford T-5 proposal. Rather than serve as a direct counterpart of the Mustang (as the Pontiac Firebird did to the Chevrolet Camaro), the Mercury Cougar was intended to create its own market segment, combining attributes of both pony cars and personal luxury cars. Slotted between the Mustang and the Thunderbird, the Cougar offered more comfort and features than the Mustang, but was tuned for better road manners than the Thunderbird.
First generation (1967–1970)
The Mercury Cougar was released by Lincoln-Mercury on September 30, 1966. Far exceeding initial sales projections, the Cougar would account for nearly 40% of the 1967 sales of the entire Lincoln-Mercury division. In contrast to the Mustang, the Cougar was initially released solely as a two-door hardtop. Priced $284 more than the equivalent Ford Mustang, the base price of the Cougar was $2,854 ($ in dollars ); a fully optioned Cougar XR-7 was $4,500 ($ in dollars), essentially matching the base price of the Ford Thunderbird.
The Cougar received the 1967 Motor Trend Car of the Year award, becoming the only Mercury-brand vehicle to do so.
Chassis Internally designated T-7, the first-generation Cougar shared its chassis with the 1967 revision of the Ford Mustang. The Cougar has a longer wheelbase than the Mustang, extended 3 inches to 111 inches. Both vehicles derive their underpinnings from the rear-wheel drive Ford Falcon unibody compact chassis architecture.
Powertrain The first-generation Cougar’s engine lineup was exclusively V8s. A V8 was available with either a two-barrel or a four-barrel carburetor version; a "Marauder" V8 was offered as an option, producing (GT).
During 1968, the 289 was temporarily substituted with the V8 designed for the new federal emissions standards. This engine was rated at with a 2-barrel carburetor or with four-barrel; with the former standard on the XR-7. At mid-year, a lower compression 289 was again available. A two-barrel "Marauder 390P" was introduced for non-GT Cougars, that was rated at . The newly introduced GT-E was introduced with a V8, rated at . As a mid-year option, a 428 Cobra Jet Ram Air was introduced on April 1, 1968,Guide to Muscle Cars Magazine, 6/87, p.79. rated at . The 428 Cobra Jet engine replaced the 427 in the GT-E.
For the 1969 model revision, the engine line underwent further changes. The 289 was dropped entirely; a two-barrel 351 cubic-inch "Windsor" V8 became the standard engine for the Cougar, producing 250 hp (2-bbl) and 290 hp (4-bbl). The 390 was offered solely as a 320 hp four-barrel. The 428 Cobra Jet was the largest Cougar engine, rated at 335 hp (with or without Ram Air).
As a mid-year change, Mercury introduced the Boss 302 V8 on April 1, 1969, in conjunction with the introduction of the Cougar Eliminator (with the Boss 302 engine being exclusive to the Eliminator). A four-barrel "street" version of the Boss 302 produced 290 hp, while a 2x4-barrel "racing" version was rated at the same . While sales material showed the Boss 429 as an optional engine for the Cougar Eliminator, the Cougar was never offered to the public with the Boss 429 engine; two Boss 429 standard hardtop Cougars were produced as factory drag cars for "Fast Eddie" Schartman and "Dyno Don" Nicholson.
For 1970, the two-barrel 351 remained the base engine, with the four-barrel engine replaced by a 351 cubic-inch "Cleveland" V8, rated at . While unchanged in displacement, this engine was an all-new design. The 390 was dropped, with the 428 Cobra Jet remaining alongside the Boss 302 as the high-performance engine options.
1967–1968
The 1967 Cougar featured a unique body design while continuing the popular "long-hood, short-deck" proportions of the Mustang. The model line was marketed as having "European" style and features. The first Lincoln-Mercury vehicle with hidden headlamps, Cougar headlight doors were powered by dual vacuum actuators (one for each headlight door), with vacuum provided by the engine and stored in a reservoir under the fender. The front fascia was distinguished by a split "electric shaver" grille, featuring vertically slatted chrome trim. The rear fascia was styled similarly, concealing dark-lens taillamps behind vertically slatted trim; sequential turn signals were standard (adopting the mechanism from the Thunderbird).
The $185 upgrade to the XR-7 brought further European influence, including a (simulated) wood-trim dashboard, full instrumentation (black-face gauges), toggle switches, and an overhead console; if so equipped, the automatic transmission was fitted with a T-handle console shifter. The Cougar was offered with nearly every Mercury option (including speed control), with the sole exception of power windows. A "Tilt-Away" steering wheel was also offered, being a power-operated steering column that swung up and out of the way when the driver's door was opened, the transmission in "park", and the ignition was off.
For 1968, the Cougar included federal safety enhancements that added side marker lights and front outboard shoulder belts (sash belt, shoulder harness). In a first for Ford Motor Company, the 1968 Cougar offered an electrically operated sunroof as an option. The Bosch-sourced sunroof assemblies were installed by the American Sunroof Corporation in Southgate, Michigan. While available on any Cougar, the sunroof was not a popular option.
1969–1970
For the 1969 model year, the Cougar underwent a mid-cycle revision alongside its Mustang counterpart. The straight-lined body sides transitioned toward Coke bottle styling, distinguished by a sweeping body crease sloping down from the hood line to the rear wheels; while the roofline saw little change to its design, the vent windows were deleted. The front fascia retained a full-width grille, with the "electric shaver" split grille replaced by a horizontally slatted grille (with a matching centerpiece); concave taillamp lenses replaced the previous convex design. The hidden headlamps were retained; the mechanism shifted its power from dual vacuum actuators to a single, centrally located vacuum actuator. The vacuum to operate the headlight doors was provided by the engine and stored in a reservoir under the fender. The headlight doors use spiral torsion springs to stay open.
A convertible body style was added to the model line, available in both standard and XR-7 trims; a power-operated top was standard.
For 1970, the Cougar underwent an additional revision to the front fascia; the split "electric shaver" grille with vertically slatted trim made its return, with a new hood adopting a pronounced body-color center section. As part of the front fascia revision, the Cougar also received a new front bumper and revised front fenders. Concave taillamp lenses remained but with revised trim bezels, in addition to revised side marker lights. A change to the position of the rear axle necessitated a new rocker panel length and rear quarter sheet metal as compared to the 1969 model, although these changes are not visually apparent.
Cougar also received a special option package (styled by fashion designer Pauline Trigère), including a houndstooth-patterned vinyl roof and matching upholstery; the roof and upholstery were available together or separately, in either brown-and-black houndstooth or white-and-black houndstooth check patterns. Further safety upgrades included the addition of locking steering columns and high-backed bucket seats (replacing adjustable head restraints).
Trims