Photos from the CC Cohort by nifticus392.
Choices, choices! That’s the name of the game, isn’t it, Joe? The joys of the free market? And in this fall of 1976, if a domestic compact is your kink and the runabout Pinto sold by your friendly Ford dealer is too lowly for you… How about driving a bit further to your even-friendlier Lincoln-Mercury dealer and get yourself a nifty Bobcat?
After all, that’s what options are for, Joe!
I know that some cynics call the Bobcat nothing but a Pinto in Brougham drag. Also, some suggest the Bobcat was a way to keep those Lincoln-Mercury dealers hopping after that whole ’73-’74 Energy Crisis ordeal. Perhaps they may be on to something in their cynical takes. But ultimately, don’t we, the customers decide?
So, what does your mighty purchasing power say, Joe? Mine says that I want me some Pinto, but swathed in Mercury prestige!
For the record, Joe, the first Bobcat was offered in Canada for model year ’74. So yeah, quite a bit of truth to the car arriving to appease those gloomy Energy Crisis days. But can you believe Good Ol’ ‘Merica was left out of that deal early on? The nerve!
In any case, US Lincoln-Merc dealers cried foul and got their gas-sipping econo runabout for ’75. Looking perfectly the upscale part, with a hood power-dome, glitzy old-school grille, and Jaguar-inspired jewel-like turn signals. And trim choices!
And for our ’77 model year, what does the Bobcat offer over the Pinto? For one, it feels so much more substantial than a Pinto. Well, a ’71 Pinto that is, as the whole platform was reinforced for ’74 after its body integrity was considered too flake-like early on.
So, a heftier portly feel, which in all honesty, the Pinto also shares by now. A gain of pounds that doesn’t do much for the platform’s driving, honestly. But the Bobcat is an upscale model, right? And doesn’t a leisurely pace feel just so much more dignified? Plus, it’s quieter and softer riding than early Pintos, both marks of LTD-worthiness.
Meanwhile, under the hood, a fuel-sipping 2.3 inline-four comes standard. I know Joe… that along with those gained pounds, the engine’s 88 HP doesn’t do much for excitement. But should that trouble you and wish to exercise your customer power more decisively, a 2.8 V6 of German design is also available. So, a bit of Old World prestige can be added, so to speak.
Now, we in the US get these Mercury compacts in hatchback and wagon form. As it has to be, for an upscale brand.
Meanwhile, Canadians kept around Bobcats in basic 2-door form for a few years. They also got the hatchback and wagon variants, but I mean, the 2-doors? That should truly be Pinto-only territory!
Oh, back to your question. What does the Bobcat offer over the Pinto? Well, that Mercury name mainly. All else, from the fabrics to the trim options, are more or less variations of the upgrades the Pinto has gotten in recent times. Still, if a Bobcat sounds like it’s your thing and just feels better dealing with Pete at the Lincoln-Mercury dealer you know, what’s to stop you?
Yes, I know some cynics tend to point out that the so-called “free market” has a way of bringing about multiple choices of what ultimately are similar products. So all flash and little substance when looked upon closely. But don’t we as customers deserve such choices? To pick our flavor of flash?
And talking about which, does the Pinto have a shiny grille that speaks Mercury? I think not.
Related CC reading:
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1975 Mercury Bobcat – More Like Fat House Cat
Curbside Recycling: 1976 Mercury Bobcat Villager – The Premium Compact Wagon Way Ahead Of Its Time
Thank God Ford imported the Capri from Europe.
That was a nice little car.
The Bobcat and Pinto served a purpose.
Each developed enough CAFE credits for Ford to sell a Lincoln or F-150 with their higher margins but lower EPA numbers. A very tough balancing act.
IIRC, Ford has yet to ever buy CAFE credits from other automakers.
CAFE did not become effective until the 1979 models. I guess these would have helped offset the big 1979 Lincolns for their last year. Though not enough to keep the 460 from being discontinued.
I seem to remember that 1978 was the first model year of the CAFE requirements. The standard for cars that year was 18 mpg, increasing to 19 mpg in 1979, and then to 20 mpg in 1980.
I went ahead and checked on Wikipedia (granted, not always 100% reliable). It looks like 1979 was the first year for trucks.
Here are the standards for 1978-1992:
The horse in the first picture is definitely NOT a pinto. Can’t say as much for the car!
One of the best name choices from Mercury.
I can still hear the commercials: “Love that Bobcat!”
I know many derided these in their day but they ran well and lasted a long time if cared for at all .
One of my mates had a *very* interesting father, he had two Bobcats and kept them pristine .
-Nate
“Well, a ’71 Pinto that is, as the whole platform was reinforced for ’74 after its body integrity was considered too flake-like early on”
Actually it was the Mustang II that was responsible for the strengthening of some of the components, due to it’s greater weight. Same thing Ford did with the Falcon platform when they decided to give it a stretch to form the basis of the Fairlane and then Mustang.
The Bobcat certainly was a response to the energy crisis, but it was also a response to the Pontiac Astre which appeared for the 73 model year in Canada before becoming available in the US for 1975.
I had forgotten how heavy and incongruous the front end was to the rest of the car.
I was working as a valet at a high-end country club in this era. A handful of members had purchased Bobcats (loaded up) as fuel-saving alternatives to their Town Cars and Continentals. They chose Bobcat over Pinto simply because they already had a working relationship with an L-M salesman.
It’s really a bit hard to believe those bumpers were for real. Looks like a big…bumper car.
What’s interesting to me is how the Bobcat grille looks okay on the wagon, but a similar treatment applied to the ’78 AMC Pacer kills the design, even on the wagon. – Joe
Right around the end of the road for Mercury, it was wondered “Is there anyone in the world who ever really said ‘A Mercury Milan or Mariner, yep, that’s my first choice for a vehicle!!”
Full disclosure, I actually owned a Mercury and entertained the idea of getting the latter-day Cougar. Significantly, neither was “a Ford with a different grille and logo” as the vast majority of Mercury products have been in my 50+ years on the planet.
The all-glass hatch in the second photo is eye catching. Clearly inspired by Volvo. Does anyone recall actually seeing one on the street?
Yes I saw lots of them and even owned 1 for several years but in Pinto guise.
lolol Was thinking the same thing! Drove a few too.
Buying the Bobcat bought you too much front end for the rest of the body. Unless you bought a wagon, because the Bobcat front end worked fairly well on that body.
My Dad bought one of these as a commuter car. He loved it and put a ton of miles on it. Then, my college student brother drove the wheels off of it. He drove it to Montana one summer for an internship. Later it became the extra car in the family. I think I was the only member who didn’t borrow it. It was a really great and durable little car and is fondly remembered by the whole family. These cars and the Pinto get a bad rap from a lot of people which is undeserved. While the Bobcat was still in the family my Dad bought two Pintos which also gave great service.
I’ve told this story before. I’m old, so therefore I’m telling it again.
In 1988 I was19 and I went on my first blind date. I was picked up and there was a lot of awkward silence. I told him the truth, that when I was a very little kid my favorite car was the Ford Pinto,.His bitchy retort, “This is not a Ford Pinto, It’s a Mercury Bobcat”
So, the date went poorly and we didn’t make a love connection, in case you were wondering.
I knew a woman who bought one of these, I think it was the first year they came out. She had just divorced and she needed a car to get to work and she did not want to get into buying a used car. Her choice was entirely based on price. The Bobcat was cheaper than the Pinto. It was not a hatchback as that cost more. As I remember it was the “mpg” model with no options, but it was a decent car for the money. I drove it a few times and it was even ok on the highway. She moved to the west coast a few years later, so I don’t know what the long term reliability was, but she got good value from it.