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(Mercury) Cougars on the prowl
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This is not what people are talking about when they mention the word "cougar" these days.
Lately, the definition of the word “cougar” has nothing to do with Mercury’s luxury pony car. In fact, it doesn’t even reference a big cat.
No, the cougar that everyone likes to talk about today is that of an older woman who goes on the prowl for younger men. It is everywhere in pop culture. Haggerty Insurance, one of the most well-known collector car insurance companies, has an ad campaign out right now in which they show a weathered woman driving a vintage Mercury Cougar, and they point out that they provide insurance for the Cougar you can drive (as opposed to the cougar who can drive you?). There’s even a popular show on TV right now called Cougar Town, in which a divorced 40-something woman, played by Courtney Cox, sets out to spice up her love life with younger fellas.
Around here, “Cougar” still refers to the Mercury, however, and it does have a storied history on the muscle car scene.
The Cougar was introduced in 1967 as a plush, longer wheelbase version of the highly successful Mustang. The Cougar was loaded with creature comforts, and had a more grown-up feel than its Ford counterpart. And who could forget those sequential rear turn signal lights—one of the trademark features of those early Cougars.
In 1968, the Cougar was gifted with a 390-hp, 427-c.i. V8 on the options sheet, a feature that was unavailable on the Mustang.
In subsequent years, the Cougar continued to grow in size and decrease in horsepower. And by the time the Mustang was reduced to the Pinto-based Mustang II, the Cougar had morphed into a lavish, ‘70s version of the larger Thunderbird platform.
Throughout the mid-late 1970s, the Cougar could no longer be considered a muscle car. Instead, it was part of the “personal luxury coupe” segment that competed with vinyl topped Monte Carlos, Grand Prixs, and Ford Elites.
Cougar styling closely followed the Thunderbird during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, receiving a boxy downsizing in 1980, and a more formal-roof version of the bathtub-shaped “Aero Birds” in 1983.
When the Thunderbird finally left the Ford family in 1997, the Cougar nameplate also took a break. But unlike the Thunderbird, which wouldn’t return until the stylized, retro roadster of 2002, the Cougar was back on the scene as early as 1999.
The last generation Cougar was based on the same front-wheel-drive architecture as the European-designed Ford Contour. It was kind of sporty; kind of odd. But it did last until 2002, when the Cougar name was retired for the latest last time. At least when talking about cars.
So, for something a little different, the following slideshow contains publicity shots and information about Mercury Cougars from the first generation to the last, as well as cougars in the modern sense of the word from the year that Cougar was new. Click on the slideshow—you’ll understand.
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CLICK ON THE SLIDESHOW BELOW TO SEE PICTURES OF COUGARS ... AND "COUGARS", THROUGHOUT HISTORY.
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