The 1967 Mercury Cougar is a car that I often inexplicably forget that I’m in love with. I intermittently find myself reexamining its clean, vaguely European, almost un-Ford-like lines, and wonder why I’ve never actively searched for one of my very own. It’s tight, trim, right-sized, and mechanically unimpeachable; in other words, it says all the right things. Regardless of my personal relationship with this first and best of the Cougars, I noticed something for the first time the other day when I glanced at this picture, which coincides with February 2021 on my homemade car calendar.
Like many other cars of the world, the Cougar found some influence from another gorgeous car that flits around the margins of my consciousness – the Lancia Flaminia (and its Florida forebear). There’s no mistaking the outline enveloping the backlite that continues down around the peaks of the rear quarters, framing the trunk lid. It’s more pronounced on the Flaminia, but the Cougar makes good use of the theft. I love them both. Mercury did NOT copy the unique rear windshield wipers, which is probably for the best, mechanically and aesthetically.
This particular Flaminia was the subject of a recent Craigslist ad that someone linked to the Antique Automobile Club of America forums. (It’s since been deleted, in case you were interested.)
This was the ad:
1960 Lancia Flaminia, ran good when parked. Have new glass for passenger door and 2 extra doors and parts. Needs a battery, tires fixed, paint, passenger door fixed and drive shaft rubber connectors. V6 runs good and interior was in great shape when parked, should still be very nice. This car needs nothing major besides paint, just some love. This is what the Italian politicians (and mafia probably, lol) used to be driven in. I can get you the actual miles but I listed 50k miles as a guess. Asking $7500 obo. Make an offer if you’re serious. No tire kickers please.
Flaminias for sale are rare, but this one has financial ruin written all over its Pininfarina-penned flanks. The temptation of further pursuit was ephemeral – I’ll let someone with bottomless pockets and Italian car ownership history take the hit this time.
In the time-honored tradition of old car advertisements, the owner seems to whimsically underestimate the probable extent of rehabilitation, even pulling out the oft-maligned “ran good when parked” tag. Nevertheless, the pictures render the buyer to blame if they don’t know what they’re getting into. In the scheme of things, this is one of the more honest ads I’ve seen. I hope the car found a good home.
Back to the Cougar. Nothing else about the Cougar evinces a particularly Italianate influence; in fact, as has been pointed out many times in many places, the prototypically English Jaguar seems to have been Mercury’s general benchmark. They landed a bit wide of the mark in that regard, but the early Cougar is still one of the most fascinating cars to emerge from Ford’s styling department. It’s awfully hard to tell that it was sired by the Mustang; both cars have completely different characters.
As a strict comparison exercise, the Cougar and the Flaminia occupy different orbits; rear-drive architecture, a design feature, and a roughly similar footprint are about all they have in common. They also have four tires, five if you count the spare. But it’s always fun to remember that the world of auto design has always been pretty small, and this website regularly celebrates common design language that is “hidden in plain sight.” Perhaps my sidelong glance at a calendar and the resultant design connection can remind you of some spectacular cars you’ve temporarily forgotten.
I found that CL Lancia Flaminia posting and linked to the AACA Forum ‘Not Mine’ for sale sub-forum on which I participate. We highlight unusual cars plus those that appear to be worthy of consideration based on what they are, condition and price.
The old saw about no decent, drivable collector cars available for under $10K is disproved almost daily. One need only widen one’s interest and selection to discover there is a cornucopia of choices.
Thanks for posting the Flaminia – I look at the For Sale cars almost daily. For some reason, it seems like there’s a run on Mercury Breezeways and first-generation Eldorados lately. Lots of cool stuff, some good deals, some not.
I run the Mercury Breezeways primarily because they’re quirky and unique for the period, also generally reasonably priced. The manual shift Mercurys are even harder to find.,
First-generation Eldorados are also fine values for the prices, magnificent design and engineering. Applies to the 1966-’67 Toronado and Riviera as well.
Best looking Ford product ever, but did it give them the idea to hang extra hood out front as we saw yesterday to excess in the Mk VI (and IV, V, Torino/Montego)?
Excellent point about the Cougar’s similarities to the Flamina. I believe I missed that when I did my post on the Florida Coupe/Famina. The Cougar is actually one of the best examples, given its little fins.
I double checked your article to make sure I wasn’t saying something that’s already been said! 🙂
Aaron, it’s funny you should mention this. I’m sure it happens all the time, in a general sense. The way I look at it, we read and absorb things (subconsciously) that resonate with us. If an idea stuck, made sense to us, and was expressed in a way we liked, it’s a credit to the author of those words for having written something that had a lasting impression.
Even the 70 Mustang coupes had the tunneled backlight and little fins. Not an aspect that is often remembered. This photo is my actual car after it was painted. First gen Cougars are really nice cars and were a great upgrade from the Mustang, both in style and content. My only Cougar was a new 1984 model. I would say, bring back the Cougar! but they wouldn’t sell very many today. I think that a high level Mustang Grande might be possible, though Ford improved the interior over my 2007 Mustang.
You’re absolutely right! The ’71-’73 coupes are far more obviously buttressed, but the ’69 and ’70 look more like the Cougar.
Cool car! I like the 1970 taillight panel the post of al 65-73 Mustangs, especially blacked out. I never much liked the 69s as coupes for whatever reason but the 70 updates worked with it well. Speaking of Grande, it always struck me as another moment Ford was stepping on Mercury’s toes, pretty much offering the Cougar package with Mustang styling, which by the time of the Mustang II and the Grande changing names to the more glamorous Ghia, it fully occupied the spot of the Cougar that now departed from the ponycar segment.
Are those Explorer wheels? They fit really well
Having grown up around these, I have to remind myself every once in awhile to look at them with fresh eyes. They are indeed one of the most beautiful cars of their period. What a shame that it became such a one-hit wonder for Mercury, which was never able to capture the lightning again.
The same could be said for many late mid to late 60s American cars. Lincoln, Thunderbird, Mustang, F body, Charger, Eldorado, Corvette, and the list goes on. That brief time period was the pinnacle of American rolling sculpture and exquisite detail, aestheically pleasing but somewhat removed from function, as fine sculpture tends to be.
Later redesigns lost the anesthetic balance as they became bigger, more brash, and then blighted by neo- classicism and 5 mph bumpers. Imho theres precious few post 1970 American cars that captured this magic again, which is why so many 60s cars are now iconic designs.
That Lancia is unusually clean for 1960. I wonder how much influence it had on Bill Mitchell’s mid-60’s designs.
I still miss my ’67 Cougar. Electric blue, Starsky & Hutch style stripe from a previous owner, 289 with 3 speed stick, headers with glass packs that ended under the car…
I’d love to have another one.
and wonder why I’ve never actively searched for one of my very own…
Me too.
Although I’ve heard you should never meet your heroes, too. Maybe the whole experience wouldn’t be as great as I would imagine it to be.
I’ll bet it would be! As a ’65 Mustang owner, I can say that there are few flaws that are outside the realm of basic old car problems. If you like old cars and are OK with how they drive, I imagine you’d like a Cougar.
Yep, you can’t go wrong with a 1st Gen Cougar…
There’s a very nice restoration video on YouTube Mustie1 channel, just recently, of a 1970 Cougar same color, more or less like new.
This brings back a distinct memory of cruising down University Avenue in Toronto in the early 80’s seeing a nice one of these with the convertible top down up ahead. A few blocks along it was involved in a serious collision that likely totaled it. Sad 🙁
A lot of similarity between the Flaminia and the basic shape of the Mark 3 Ford Zodiac.
Absolutely not! And see my comment below for penance.
But yes, begrudging, I suppose your non-CC layman might mistake them. I’ve just have always had a peculiar dislike of those particular Fords. I reckon they are hideous.
I’ll allow this much: it’s a Flaminia, but only as drawn by police photofit from a drunken witness.
I just noticed this isn’t just a Cougar GT, but a Cougar XR-7 GT! Top of the line, sporty and luxurious! Looks amazing, I tried to use these as sort of inspiration for subtly enhancing my 94, down to the 5 spoke wheels (from a late model Mustang) I’ve even considered putting 05-10 Mustang GT badges in place of the V8 emblems, which look like a modernized version of the badges in 67.
I think the design of the 67-68s was lightning in a bottle, it seems European and unford like but there are elements of the Mustang, the flairbird Tbird’s and even glamourbird tbirds sprinkled throughout in a manner where it’s almost a happy accident it turned out as graceful as it did. Cougars never recaptured that magic because I’m not sure it’s own designers realized what they did, eventually shoehorning in Pontiac, Buick and Lincoln elements into each subsequent redesign.
The Lancia shows how the smallest adjustments to a design can alter it entirely, (a truism that can be applied to design across the board). It’s classy, bespoke-looking, reserved, which the reports say reflects precisely the way it drove.
The very same elements exist also on a 1960 Austin Cambridge, also from Pinin and the Florida idea, but it looks tipsy, mean-spirited, and cheaply over-glamorous. (It too drove pretty much the way it looked).
In a similar fashion, I don’t see any startling originality in the Cougar, but whoever did it took the exact done – before bits – like the backlite you’ve cleverly noticed – and combined them just so. The result remains a stunner to this day. And perhaps to prove my point, moving elements about on subsequent ones only ever declined from that peak.
The Lancia pictured is only for a monied romantic now. The cost of its rehab could never match the value of the completed job, which won’t be a lot. Even if those inside AND outside rear wipers were rejuvenated.
I love that you picked out that one stylistic detail and connected the dots between the Lancia and the Mercury. That’s what we car lovers do – we pore over every detail.
The 1967 and ’68 Cougar has long been an obsession of mine. Stunning, elegant, strong-looking cars from every angle.