Mercury Cougar is a nameplate applied to a diverse series of automobiles sold by the Mercury division of Ford from 1967 to 1997 and from 1999 to 2002. While the nameplate is most commonly associated with two-door coupes, at various times during its production, the Cougar was also marketed as a convertible, four-door sedan, station wagon, and hatchback.
The Cougar is the highest-selling vehicle ever produced by the Mercury brand. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Cougar was closely tied to the marketing of the Mercury division; Mercury advertised its dealers as "The Sign of the Cat" with big cats atop Lincoln-Mercury dealer signs.
The Mercury Cougar was introduced by the Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford on September 30, 1966. Far exceeding initial sales projections, the Cougar accounted for nearly 40% of 1967 Lincoln-Mercury sales. The Cougar received the 1967 Motor Trend Car of the Year award (the first Lincoln-Mercury vehicle to do so).
The first-generation Cougar shared its engine lineup with the Mustang at its launch, although offering V8 engines exclusively. A 289 cu in (4.7 L) V8 was offered with either a two-barrel (200 hp) or a four-barrel carburetor (225 hp); a 390 cu in (6.4 L) "Marauder" V8 was offered as an option, producing 320 hp (GT).
Initially developed as a rebadged version of the Mustang, the 1967 Cougar received its own body design from the ground up, though the popular "long-hood, short-deck" proportions of the Mustang remained. Lincoln-Mercury released the second-generation Mercury Cougar in 1971. Seeking more direct competition for the model line, the division largely benchmarked the Cougar against the numerous GM A-body coupes.
The second-generation Cougar used a revised version of the first-generation chassis, again shared with the Ford Mustang; the wheelbase was increased to 112.1 inches. While substantially upgraded, the rear-wheel drive chassis underpinnings remained derived from the Ford Falcon unibody architecture.
For 1974, the Cougar was shifted from its Mustang pony car origins and escalate onto a different platform and into a new market as a personal luxury car. The wheelbase grew to 114 inches (2,896 mm) and became practically the only car to be upsized during the downsizing decade of the 1970s.
The fourth-generation Cougar was part of a revision of the Ford intermediate model line for the 1977 model year,. The Cougar XR-7 underwent a redesign with the standard Cougar returning (for the first time since 1973) in place of the Montego.
For the 1980 model year, Mercury downsized the Cougar XR-7. Alongside its Thunderbird counterpart, the XR-7 entered the mid-size segment for the first time, shedding 15 inches in length, 4 inches of width, and approximately 900 pounds of curb weight (depending on powertrain). In a strategy similar to 1977, the standard Cougar returned for 1981 in place of the Monarch in the Mercury product line (sharing its body with the redesigned Ford Granada).
For the 1983 model year, Mercury introduced the sixth generation of the Cougar. As part of an extensive revision of the Ford and Mercury model ranges. For its 1983 launch, the sixth-generation Cougar offered a 120 hp 3.8 L V6 from its predecessor as a standard engine; a 130 hp 4.9 L V8 made its return as an optional engine. For 1986, the V8 was changed to sequential fuel injection, increasing output to 150 hp. For 1988, the 3.8 L V6 was given multiport fuel injection, increasing output to 140 hp; the 4.9 L V8 was retuned to 155 hp.
The seventh-generation Mercury Cougar was introduced for the 1989 model year, on 26 December 1988. Developed from the second quarter of 1984, as a counterpart of the tenth-generation Ford Thunderbird, the $2 billion redesign of the two vehicles was intended to create handling benchmarked against far more expensive coupes (BMW 6-Series, Mercedes-Benz 560SEC, Jaguar XJS) while remaining in the same price segment.
The seventh-generation Mercury Cougar is built upon the Ford MN12 platform. Designed specifically for the Mercury Cougar and Ford Thunderbird, the MN12 chassis retained the use of rear-wheel drive. While its exterior footprint changed negligibly, in a major change, the wheelbase was expanded nine inches to 113 inches (longer than a Mercedes-Benz 560SEC).
The 1999–2002 Cougars were available with two engine options, the 2.0 L Zetec straight-4 engine with 125 hp (93 kW; 127 PS), and the 2.5 L Duratec V6 with 170 hp (127 kW; 172 PS). Also, two transaxle options were available: the manual Ford MTX-75 transmission or the automatic Ford CD4E transmission.
