Could there possibly be a more appropriately-named car for a mattress to lie in front of, as if implying an invitation for well… you know? Oh, the very many innuendos that come to mind. All jokes aside, the Cougar was a significant part of Mercury’s history, and largely what gave the brand some uniqueness over the years. The sixth generation in particular, is credited at reviving the ailing nameplate, and was one of the first cars to launch the “aero revolution” that would soon take the industry by storm.
Over the course of its thirty-four years of production, the Mercury Cougar came in many shapes and forms. Through eight generations, it assumed many identities, including pony car, convertible, personal luxury coupe, sport compact liftback, and even sedan and station wagon. Yet in its purest form, the Mercury Cougar was always a two-door coupe, and this remained a constant throughout its entire run.
Starting out as premium pony car, basically the larger and more luxurious cousin to the Mustang, by the mid-1970s the Cougar had grown in size and its image had shifted from muscle car to that of personal luxury car. Like so many cars of the era, many Cougars were trimmed with features such as vinyl roofs, luggage racks, opera lights, wire wheels, living-room inspired seating, and acres of chrome and fake wood.
Also like most cars of the late-1970s, the Cougar would not grow any larger, for its fourth generation. The 1977-1979 Cougars proved to be immensely successful, with the car seeing its all-time highest single-year sales for each of those three years. But with CAFE taking effect in 1978, automakers were forced to consider fuel economy as an essential part of new car design. Additionally, the treat of another energy crisis and skyrocketing fuel costs was still very real, propelling Ford to downsize the Cougar substantially for 1980.
The resulting 1980-1982 Fox-body Cougar XR7 was a styling fiasco, looking like designers sawed off bits and pieces of the fourth-generation Cougar, attached them to a body of ungainly proportions, and then sent it through a fun house of mirrors. The related Cougar 2- and 4-door sedans and wagon were less gaudy and better-looking, but these weren’t true Cougars. Sales plummeted drastically with this fifth generation, but thankfully a tremendously better sixth generation Cougar was in the works.
Still riding on the somewhat ubiquitous Fox-platform, the sixth generation Cougar was a styling breakthrough in a world of otherwise boxy car designs. Having lost four inches of wheelbase while retaining a similar length, this new Cougar was still a long car on a relatively short wheelbase. However this was much better downplayed by the new model’s larger wheel openings, flowing sheetmetal, and better-integrated bumpers.
In terms of overall design, the Cougar was one of the first cars to usher in the “aero” trend that would greatly affect car styling in coming years. As opposed to the ’82’s flat-face and over-sized radiator grille, the ’83 Cougar greeted onlookers with a significantly sleeker, wedged-shaped front end. Around back, the low, slanted trunk remained, but thankfully the spare tire bulge, busy taillights, and bladed fenders did not. In their place was a smoother deck-lid and flush-mounted, horizontal wraparound taillights for a cleaner, understated appearance.
The most notable styling feature of this sixth generation Cougar was undoubtedly its rear windows. Sporting a distinctive up-swept curve, these windows rose in dramatic fashion to meet a thick C-pillar and near-vertical roofline. Combined with car’s long hood and sharp, tapered trunk, it made for a rather spectacular profile view.
This design remained largely constant for four model years, upon which a significant refresh arrived for 1987. Like many cougars of the human type, an extensive trip under the knife was needed in order to stay appealing next to more youthful competitors. In what could almost be considered a new generation (at the very least, generation 6.5), the Cougar was freshened with almost entirely new sheetmetal, sans the hood and doors. Up front, a new fascia was highlighted by a smaller waterfall grille that was now integrated into the front clip. Flanked by composite headlights, it made for a far more aerodynamic and Sable-influenced look.
The notchback roofline was both elongated and made slightly less vertical, beginning its descent further forward and meeting the decklid further aft. By gently decreasing the roof height the further aft it went, designers were able to reduce the Cougar’s drag coefficient from .40 to .36. The added real estate also allowed for the enlargement of the rear windows, with their upward curve now mirroring that of the windshield for a rhomboid-like glass area.
Around back, the slant-back trunk design was done away with. In its place was a longer, more upright trunk, increasing the car’s overall length by three inches. New horizontal taillights once again proudly bore twin Cougar emblems over the reverse signals.
Inside, changes were less drastic. To conserve expense, 1983-84 Cougars actually carried over the 1980-82 interior design, so it was not until 1985 the the Cougar was treated to a new, modern-looking interior (pictured above) to match its aerodynamic exterior looks. With all the costly exterior changes for 1987, the 1985 interior would carry over for the remaining two years of this generation.
Interior trim features and options would vary through the years, but for 1988 the Cougar LS would be distinguished by its digital instrument cluster, column shifter, and woodgrain dash trim. Standard seating was the “60/40 cloth front twin comfort seats with consolette”. In reality this configuration was closer to buckets than a bench seat, consisting of two bucket seats with a seat-bottom-length console and flip-up armrest attached to the driver’s seat.
In true European fashion, the “consolette” featured the car’s available power seat controls, window switches, and mirror controls, as well as cassette tape holder and a coin holder (something Ford liked to include in many of its vehicles before the debit card gained wide popularity).
Cougar XR7 interiors differed in that they included standard bucket seats with a full-length floor console and console shifter (all optional on the LS), as well as dark trim, a sport steering wheel, and an analogue gauge cluster. Apart from these differences, LS and XR7 interiors could be equipped very similarly in terms of comfort and convenience features.
Underneath, the Cougar received minor suspension adjustments and the addition of front A-arms, for a slightly firmer feel. More notably, was the return of the torquier 5.0L V8 to the performance-oriented XR7 model. Oddly enough, the 5.0 had always been available on other Cougars, with a similar horsepower (but lower torque) 2.3L turbocharged 4-cylinder the only choice for the “performance” XR7. A 3.8L V6 was the standard engine on non-XR7s. The slow-selling five-speed manual, however, was dropped, leaving a four-speed automatic as the only choice for all 1987-1988 Cougars.
As far as trim levels went, the base GS model disappeared for ’87 and ’88, leaving only the aforementioned luxury-oriented LS (which accounted for over 80% of Cougar sales) and performance-oriented XR7. For 1987 only, a special factory “20th Anniversary Edition” was offered. All 5,002 of these Cougars featured a unique Cabernet Red exterior color with 15-inch gold aluminum alloys and 24-karate gold trim and badging. A special interior included heated Light Sand Beige Ultrasuede seats with red piping and deluxe equipment.
A number of other special dealer editions were offered over the sixth generation Cougar’s run, and our featured car is a 1988 Bostonian Edition, which was part of several “City Editions” offered by dealers around the country. Given what’s been seen on eBay over the years, the Bostonian Edition appears to be the most common City Edition, and was offered through the seventh generation’s final year in 1997. The downside of this particular car is that its non-factory vinyl roof hides the Cougar’s distinguished rear windows.
The 1987 restyling helped sales remain strong throughout the Cougar’s entire sixth generation. With the exception of 1983, every following year saw sales of over 100,000 units; an impressive number, especially when considering that total Mercury sales wouldn’t achieve this figure in final years.
A very new Cougar arrived for 1989, riding on an all-new platform with a nine-inch longer wheelbase. Along with a multitude of performance and safety improvements, the seventh generation Cougar was a far more competitive car. Unfortunately, it would never attain the same sales success of its predecessor, as demand for cars of this type had begun its permanent decline.
Related Reading:
1985 Mercury Cougar (Outtake)
1980-1988 Mercury Cougar (Capsule)
I beg to differ on referring to the ’77-’79 versions as being “downsized”. In reality, they should be considered “upsized” since they used the same basic body & dimensions as the ’74-’76, which in itself was bigger than than the previous ’71-’73.
It’s T-Bird sister was definitely downsized, compared to the ’76.
I admit, I must have been thinking of the T-bird when I wrote that. I would refer to the ’74s as upsized, but not the ’77s, as they didn’t grow or shrink.
I did tweak the article a bit to reflect this.
The non factory roof gives on an idea of what an early ’90s Imperial “coupe” might have looked like. Esp. When the example Merc is seed in direct side view.
Something like this?
1989 Mercury Cougar LS San Antonian Edition
What a contrast to the beautiful 67/68 Cougar. It’slike going to your school reunion and finding the athletic good looking boy you were mad about is now a fat,balding middle aged man.A 67/68 Cougar is my all time favourite American car above all the rest.
The crime isn’t gaining age and weight, it’s doing it in the same clothing.
The one exception to that rule is Grunge, which is Seattle’s great gift to middle aged men. Long live untucked shirts!
How the mighty have fallen. Reduced to a worn down scruffy alley cat. If not ’67-’68, the Cougar you bought was built too late.
Agreed! The ’67 Eliminator is where the Cougar begins and ends for me. What really set the hook for me was seeing the Gecko Bros. in ‘From Dusk Til Dawn’ driving around in that dusty Cougar. Very cool car, fit Clooney’s attitude in that film perfect.
The Eliminator was 1969 and 1970 only, so that means the Cougar never really started for you? lol
Hmm…I thought the Eliminator started in ’67 too. Maybe XR7 then? Clearly you know these cars better than I do.
The XR-7 started midyear 67 but it looked pretty much the same as a base or GT cougar other than the woodgrain dash. the 68 GTEs were a sort of proto Eliminator though since there was a hood scoop and the grilles/taillights were blacked out. The one in From Dusk Til Dawn was a 68 XR-7 but with a 1969 style Eliminator scoop and spoiler added
“The downsized 1977-1979 Cougars proved to be immensely successful, with the car seeing its all-time highest single-year sales for each of those three years.”
This may be true, but one has to take into account the fact that starting in 1977, the Cougar name was applied to the whole range of intermediate sedans, coupes and wagons that had hitherto been named Montegos. Hence, not really comparable to sales figures for e.g. the ´74-´76 coupes that were reasonably successful within their (personal luxury) niche.
And as roger628 points out, these were not really downsized cars, but rather facelifted intermediate cars with the same underpinnings as previously.
Without having a full set of figures in front of me, it wouldn’t surprise me if 1978 and 1979 were the two best sales/production years in Cougar history even if you only take into account the XR7. The personal luxury coupe market was at its peak in the mid/late ’70s, and the 1977-79 T-Bird and Cougar XR7 really connected with buyers in that market. At the same time, the LTD II-based non-XR7 models were comparatively poor sellers, especially in 1978-79.
From the discussion thread on a recent CC outtake on a non-XR7 coupe:
1977: 124K XR7s, 70K non-XR7s
1978: 166K XR7s, 46K non-XR7s
1979: 163K XR7s, 8K non-XR7s
I’m guessing that 1977 was probably the best year in Cougar history if you include the non-XR7 models (more than 200K), but it obviously wouldn’t be if you limit it to just the XR7s.
If you limit it to just the XR7s, I’d hazard a guess that 1978 was the Cougar’s best year ever, and 1979 was the second-best. I think production in 1967 was around 150K, but I don’t think the Cougar reached that level again any time after that but prior to 1977. Brendan mentioned that the Cougar was over 100K every year from 1984-88; were there any years when it got as high as 1978-79?
Official Production Figures, from “The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide’s Encyclopedia of American Cars”:
1977:
4-door sedan – 15,256
4-door Brougham sedan – 16,946
4-door wagon – 4,951
4-door Vilager wagon – 8,569
2-door coupe – 15,910
2-door Brougham coupe – 8,392
2-door XR-7 coupe – 124,799
1978:
4-door sedan – 25,364
2-door coupe – 21,398
2-door XR-7 coupe – 166,508
1979:
4-door sedan – 5,605
2-door coupe – 2,831
2-door XR-7 coupe – 163,716
4-doors and wagons certainly added to the Cougar’s sales, but even without them, the 2-door Cougars still sold in higher numbers than ever before or after. Hence, they are comparable to sales figures for the ’74-’76 coupes, which sold less than 100,000 units each year.
That ugly squared off roof seems to feature on several models of this era it looks like rthe designers got sick of the car by the time they got to the B pillar and gave up leaving a foreshortened roof ending in the wrong place, like the Riviers featured previously a once great looking car just got turned into crap.
GM started the fad for discordant rooflines (’67 Caprice!), and others followed. Like the design team were asking themselves “How ugly can we make this thing before people stop buying it?”
I’ve never been sure if I quite like the curved quarter windows on these, but they are definitely better than the stolen from a K-car vinyl top on the white one.
The ad picture of the blue ’79 was taken right down the street from the Ford Headquarters in Dearborn. That overhead monorail ran between the Hyatt and the adjecent Fairlane Mall, both of which were built a few years earlier.
Following on Gem’s high school reunion thought …
I’ll bet someone could make a bit of money by age-morphing new cars into their middle-aged versions. How will the anodized “gold” jewelry and the vinyl roof look when accompanied by rust, dents, yard lights, mattresses, and a chock under one wheel?
Plain cars tend to age better, if only because there’s less tawdry contrast.
A friend of mine had an 87 Cougar, V8 while we had the 87 T-bird V-6. They got 32 mpg while we could only muster 30 mpg. Very nice riding cars.
I remember my uncle having a black on black Cougar XR7 of this vintage back in the late ’80s. Even though I only rode in it once, I still remember how much I liked it.
I’m not sure what happened after that, but he ended up trading it in on a used black Cutlass coupe. I was disappointed to say the least.
I think he was the quintessential personal luxury coupe buyer.
A couple years after that I was happy again when my father bought an ’89 Thunderbird with the digital dash.
A co-worker at the company I worked for in the 90s had a Bostonian Edition of the red 89 Cougar, his was a medium blue with navy vinyl roof. I thought it was kind of odd but his “other” car was a VERY overly decorated El Camino. Apparently the guy had a “thing” for glitz.
When I went looking for my 1st car I wanted a 1st generation Cougar XR7 but “settled” for a 68 Cyclone GT. As the Cougar got bigger with each successive generation I was less enthused by the idea of owning one. Then, in 1984 a shipmate at my Naval squadron bought a new Cougar….what a sharp car.
The article here does a great job outlining the Cougar’s “biography” and even better pointed out the best model years with the features I find most interesting.
Oy. Those halo roofs with padding. Applying one to a Cougar to change the rear window configuration was insane. I have never quite realized how widespread the Iacoccazation of Detroit got in those days. Bostonian edition? Jeeze. It illustrates how deeply the conventions of the classic car era spoke to the buyer who was a child in the Depression of the 1930s, and was now in a midlife crisis.
I first saw a Bostonian Edition on my honeymoon in New England in 1989. The memory has stuck with me for over a quarter century. A low point in American automotive history.
At least it sounds better than “Cougar San Antonian Edition”
Like the dash and up until now I’d forgotten the little coin holders.
To be a true “Bostonian” edition it needs to have a Dunkin Donuts logo on the side.
Or a DD coffee cup in every cupholder and a Red Sox bumper sticker.
In early 1987, I took the red 5L Capri into the dealership for some recall work. While waiting, I ran into my 350 lb (no kidding) salesman who showed me a new 20th Anniversary edition Cougar XR-7. We went for a quick spin, clearly he was hoping to sell me another car. I was a committed Fox body fan at that time and the V8 power along with the ride was nice and smooth, but I couldn’t give up my Capri.
Now, almost 30 years later, I can really appreciate that car. I would love to have one of the 20th Anniversary edition ones, but right now I have no place for one. I guess I will have to dream on…
The blacked out trim and ‘turbine’ wheels shared with the contemporary Mustang GT really make that car pop. Proof positive that the devils in the details.
The rust confirms that this is indeed a Bostonian Edition. The Blue Hill Lincoln Mercury emblem on this car indicates that this car was sold in Canton, Mass. about 2 miles south of a very important place in American history. Google Doty’s Tavern Canton, Mass. for an interesting piece of pre revolutionary war history that your teacher probably skipped over. There was a lot more to it all than just the tea party.
Are you from the Greater Boston area? I used to live in Milton, which is right next to Canton. There are so many buildings in the area with Revolutionary history. The Suffolk Resolves, which you are referring to was then officially signed at the Daniel Vose House (now called the “Suffolk Resolves House”) in the Blue Hills area (hence, Blue Hill Lincoln-Mercury) of Milton. My class toured in when I was in 5th grade.
I moved out of the area 25 years ago but the rich history of the area is unforgettable. School kids around there always have memorable field trips.
I’d take one with the V8 or turbo 4, otherwise no sale.
Though they tend to be somewhat overlooked today, I actually quite like Cougars of this generation. In XR7 trim with alloys and a 5.0–quite a nice car, and one that still would hold appeal for me today. While I’ve never 100% been able to decide how I feel about the steep cutoff of the roof, the very interesting upsweep on the quarter windows makes it work overall.
This particular one, though, is a crime. The biggest problem is that horrid roof; I’m not 100% opposed to vinyl roofs but this one, on this car, and the way it literally covers up the most distinctive styling feature of the car–no. Terrible. And the whitewalls on tiny wheels, wire wheel covers, the wrapover “headband”, gold accents, luggage rack–there’s almost too much wrong to list. Oy indeed. Perhaps this car is the middle-aged version of the ’68, but the Bostonian Edition is a decent-enough looking middle aged gent in an ill-fitting leisure suit borrowed from an elderly uncle.
Also, thanks for featuring the coin tray–that dredged up a memory! Mercury kept that up for quite some time as my ’03 Marauder had one inside the console. In the now almost 4 years since I’ve had that car, I’d forgotten all about the tray. Very handy for change to go through toll booths.
“The Bostonians” was a novel? by Henry James, but that’s probably not what Mercury marketers had in mind. Agree about that awful carriage roof, I could never understand this strange American æsthetic.
The A-arms must’ve been on the bottom since the Fox chassis had modified Mac struts. But what was there previously, just a simple lateral arm?
Mercury offered a dizzying array of “special edition” dealer packages. The “City Editions” was one series, and included some such as “Bostonian”, “San Antonian”, and “Houstonian”.
http://www.coolcats.net/fox/limited.html
Oh man, those little coin holders! What a flashback. My mom’s wood paneled Voyager had those too, I remember being in the drive-thru as a little kid watching nickels pop out and be projected onto the ceiling by the aggresively-sprung retractable plastic button thingy that held them in the slot. They were more of a pain then a helpful feature and she eventually began dumping all her coins in the ash tray. The OCD side of me always really liked them, even though the cheap Chrysler plastic ensured that they worked like crap.
That’s gotta be a ’90s nostolgia piece right up there with Wonderballs and orange Nickelodeon VHS tapes (both of which melted many a time on the dashboard of said Voyager). I had completely forgotten that feature existed until reading this.
I wish carmakers would restore the ashtray, or at least a coin holder doubling as one, for where I live at least, many drivers still smoke?, & they simply dump their ashes out the window, not good in high fire-risk? areas.
The only thing more irritating than preachy anti-tobacco propaganda (it’s been a known health risk since King James I, no one needs reminding) is smokers who don’t confine their habit to their airspace.
Nissan sold “smoker kits” which was basically an ashtray shaped like a cup to set in the cupholder and a lighter assembly that replaced the power outlet. Not sure if this is still happening today with other makes.
I found out that BMW offers one too. Makes sense; last I checked, smoking is still popular in Germany, though it has declined.
The ’87 refresh really did no favors to the looks of this car. It made it appear even longer/narrower and exaggerated its worst lines, especially the rear window!
While it had its flaws, the ’83 was a for more coherent design.
Some people like vanilla ice cream, some chocolate. I like the ’87 re-style that made the already good ’83 re-style a bit sleeker and smoother. The rear windows were a signature look, something that made Cougars of this era instantly identifiable. I kind of liked them, but I could understand how they were a bit polarizing. But the big improvement on the ’87 was the return of the V-8. I recall renting an ’87 LS with the V-8 years ago and was quite impressed.
By the way, whoever came up with these localized “special editions” with these cheesy aftermarket vinyl roofs and other do-dads (Town Cars and Buicks seemed particularly afflicted) should be tarred and feathered. Just imagine Bill Mitchell seeing something like this done to one of his Rivieras.
A 302 FI V8 was offered from mid 1983 right up until 1988 as an option above the 3.8 Essex V6 on both the T-Bird and Cougar. The big difference was that the 83-85 version was the choked up 130-140 hp throttle body version and the 86-88 was the superior port injected motor.
Its looks like Mercury went full Brougam with the Bostonian edition. Kinda too late for the Malaise era. Amazing how the Cougar went from a decent pony car to a bloated disco cruiser for middle aged men. Gold chains and a mirrored ball anyone?
The original concept of the Cougar, and it’s popularity, should have told Ford what Mercury needed to be. Not something badge engineered with a waterfall grille, but substantially different enough from it’s Ford counterpart to make the difference in price justifiable.
Mercury got some of that from 57-60, then 65 through 72. Ford spent 250 million in 1969 alone to differentiate the brand from Ford with “Marquis” by “Lincoln- Mercury” on it’s badges. Then spent the next 40 years going back to it’s “Suddenly It’s 1961” business model.
I wasn’t sad to see it die. I was angry that Ford had been so clueless for so long. My first automotive love was my folk’s new 66 Mercury Montclair 4 door in “Palisade Turquoise”. So I don’t say that lightly.
The 67 or the 83 for me, even the 71. The others all looked like Fords in drag.
Thanks for the great article, Brendan
The 83 Cougar was a triumph of Merc design, because it grabbed GM-intenders who disliked the aero-Bird. In fact, I don’t recall any people who liked both cars at the same time. Some liked the Cougar and hated the Bird, while others were the opposite. Now that’s the way to do platform sharing right! I was in the latter camp, because I wasn’t a fan of the vertical rear window (too GM for my taste). Granted, it was a better-done GM compared with what GM was doing at the time, but still …
All Foxbodies used lower A arms up front, the change for 87 was elongated rear control arms for a very slightly lengthened wheelbase.
Personally, I love these Cougars and their MN12 successors, people can call them disco cars(sorry that ended in 1979) or middle aged man cars all they want, but under the European inspired constraints of 1987 styling these did a damn fine job at looking distinctive yet contemporary IMO. Mercury couldn’t keep making the 68 forever, just as Ford couldn’t keep making the 66 Mustang forever. The padded tops are horrible though, but technically no Cougar in this generation left the factory floor with one, these were all mutilated after the fact.
What I like about the 87 restyle was the return to the original electric razor grille, replacing the 1986’s cheesy faux Mercedes grille, as well as the full width taillights where the reflector pattern mimicked the original 60s trim pattern. Also of note, size wise they were pretty much identical to the originals. I personally always considered the 87-88s the closest the Cougar got in it’s run from 1969 to 1997(99-02s aren’t Cougars) to recapturing some of the 67-68s magic, whereas the following MN12s remind me more of the 69-70 – Taking a lot of the good traits established by the 67-68 but losing others in the longer lower wider transition, same with the 87-88 and the 89 transition.
You make very good points. Multiple comments here about the original Cougar being the only Cougar worth their consideration are missing the point of these cars. The Cougar became a very successful mid-size personal luxury car in the mid 1970’s, and after a terrible stumble with the 1980 downsizing, Mercury was able to make the Cougar relevant again with a cool new body in 1983 that suddenly made the car light years ahead of a lot of the (primarily) GM competition. Drive trains also sort of evened out and the 3.8 and 5.0 duo with the automatic was popular with buyers and offered a decent driving experience for the times.
You make a point that I don’t think is clear enough in the article, or the comments: The rather hideous “Bostonian Edition” package was the devil spawn of the aftermarket industry and dealers looking for ways to add some mark-up to these cars. Devil spawn only live if fed, and unfortunately, there must have been some die-hard brougham people that wanted these crappy looking and poorly integrated tops and trims when Ford stopped offering them as factory options.
The only vinyl top I’m aware of after 1982 that was factory was a small vinyl skullcap aft of the rear side windows that was around for 1983 and possibly for a few years after that – I’m pretty sure it was a factory offering, and it looked properly integrated and complimented the lines of the unique rear side window, instead of covering it up.
Unless I’m mistaken, the Bostonian Edition and many similar concepts are solely the product of dealers looking for extra dollars, and some customers sorely missing the brougham era that could not resist buying this stuff. My guess is that Ford probably cringed when they saw some of this as this was the sort of look and image they were trying to get away from by 1987.
The “skull cap” rear vinyl top was available through ’86 on the LS models — my sister had an absolutely beautiful ’86 so equipped, in midnight blue metallic. It also had an auto dimming inside rearview mirror that actually dipped/moved when it sensed lights from behind. Very disconcerting.
I’m a die hard Cougar guy and have been for many years. My favorites are the ’67-’68 models. All of the others have varying degrees of charm for me. These Fox body aero versions were quite something in their day, and as pointed out, helped Mercury sales quite a bit.
Thankfully, in California, we didn’t get any of these horrid City Edition Cougars, though a few have migrated here. The first time I saw a Bostonian out here back in the late ’80s, I thought “WTF!” I knew it was not factory — way too tacky.
That awful half vinyl roof looks like Joe Dirt’s haircut.
I remember seeing these as a kid driving around in surprising numbers during the later 80’s and early 90’s. I hated that roof then and still do today. The other thing that killed me about these cars was the column only shifter, despite having bucket seats, unless you sprang for the sport XR7 version with it’s turbo 4 or later V8, the lack of a proper optional full gauge cluster on the base or LS versions (many seemed to have the troublesome electronic cluster) and those rather small looking plastic poly cast wheels that were optional on the non XR7 versions right up until 1988. Thankfully the 1989 redux fixed most of these issues but in the process added weight, dropped the turbo 4 and V8 and added the POS SC 3.8 V6 meaning that 1989-1991 were all 3.8 time bombs waiting to go off. 1992 fixed that by shoehorning a 302 FI V8 in place of the SC V6 and then starting in 1994 the 4.6 was available as an option.
The main problem fighting the looks of this generation is the short wheelbase relative to the car’s length. The ’89s remedied that. Maintaining the formal roofline relative to the Thunderbird was easier too. The ‘Bird’s roof was so swoopy that the Cougar didn’t have to stray into gimmickry to be distinctive. I like that red one at the end of the article, but the T-Bird was sexy as hell.
“The main problem fighting the looks of this generation is the short wheelbase relative to the car’s length.”
You said it, mate! Ford seemed to have a mania for disproportionately-short wheelbases through the seventies and well on into the eighties. Never could understand it, as it made so many otherwise passable deigns look like hell.
I’ve never seen a pre MN12 Bostonian. I can’t say I like it either. These cars weren’t meant to be Broughamed, especially with a cheesy aftermarket Vinyl top.
The 87-88 Bird, Cougar and 88-92 Mark VII in the right trim were, for me at least, simply the best versions of the Fox platform. The best part about them is that most of the Fox Mustang aftermarket support is just a .com away.
That was another thing I wanted to mention about the 87 Cougars, the headlight design was very similar to the Mark VII, which given Mercury’s ideal mission being a junior Lincoln was quite appropriate
Fantastic write-up as usual, Brendan! I never knew how small the wheelbase was on the 1983-86 Cougars until today. These cars were so popular, it really was nice to see the Cougar nameplate selling again after the horrible 80-82 downsizing. I almost bought one of these in 1986, it was a black 1983 LS model with a black factory vinyl top (yes, it actually had the rare factory vinyl top) and red cloth interior. I should have moved on it that day, instead I decided to “sleep on it”, went back the next day to buy it and it was gone!
Ford loved overhang; the 8th-gen Honda Civic Sedan’s 106″ wheelbase is longer than most Foxes. But then, it also weighs about the same as a base Fairmont.
I think the short wheelbase was desirable to make the cars more agile without too much investment. The Fox suspension designs have never been anything to write home about, and pretty much every improvement made was a rather crude solution for a problem that shouldn’t have existed in the first place(quad shocks), so in order to make the chassis more responsive for the European inspired Turbo Coupe and XR-7 the wheelbase got chopped 4 extra inches.
Long wheelbases are common today due in no small part to suspension design coming so far along in engineering and refinement. A long wheelbase has intrinsic benefits – ride quality and stability, less weight in overhangs and to lesser extent styling(if you think golf carts are good looking). The 113″ wb MN12s were light years ahead in that regard.
It doesn’t hurt that the revolution in computing power means much more capability in digital modeling & simulation (which few people will ever see). You can get an idea from video games like “Grand Theft Auto,” which also have to do physics models. It sounds crazy, but teen-aged video gamers are enabling investment in this sort of computing, e.g. Nvidia, whose GPUs are good for more than just graphics.
One thing I also remember about the Fairmont was its limited suspension travel; it too easily hit the stops on rebound.
Nice interiors, very much like the Taurus/Sables. Never really liked that roofline though, never looked right to me. Chop off the back end Kammback-style and you’ve got an updated AMC Gremlin! Quick, somebody photoshop that!
Funnily enough given the later connotations of the name, I seem to remember this generation of Cougar as being an older woman’s car, while T-Bird buyers skewed male.
I wonder what might’ve been if Ford scotched the distinct roofline for the aero Cougar and used the money to resurrect the 4-door ‘Bird in decidedly non-Landau form… would it have ended up going from strength to strength as the sport sedan segment exploded and demand for big coupes withered away, or would it have suffered especially as a premium product of a non-premium brand whose manufacturer was prone to fits of cost-cutting every few years?
+1 that it seemed older woman drove Cougars of this generation, as well as the following. Although the only one I ever knew personally who owned Thunderbirds of this era was my mom’s friend, who at that time was a middle-aged woman.
You also raise a very interesting point about a 4-door Thunderbird sports sedan. That would even be a relevant and exciting car today, although as you said, it’s positioning could complicate things.
Since Jaguars also have appeared to be popular among fashionable, well-heeled ladies, maybe they like sleek cars named after a big cats?.
My new ’67 Cougar XR-7 —
Cinnamon Frost with black Oxford roof
AM radio
Whitewall tires
Super Cougar V8, 289 with 4-barrel
Three speed on the floor.
Price, including freight — $3,460.
Do I miss it? WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !
That has to be the lowest option XR-7 I ever heard of.
I love the ’87-88 Cougar, short wheelbase aside. The ’89 MN-12 Cougar may have been a better car, but I felt its styling was much less distinctive. The ’89 Thunderbird would have been my choice instead.
And these dealer specials are nasty. I hate a lot of factory vinyl roofs, so abominations like this are just utterly revolting. And to hide the most distinctive feature of the car, too!
Also from Mass, and I recall these being very popular around here for obvious reasons. I also had a councilar at camp with a Grand Am “Sail Boston” edition.
The 87-88 was just a damn nice looking car. IMHO.
I still own a 1988 Bostonian Edition and think it looks pretty distinctive. It was my mom’s car. She bought it new in Bloomington Minnesota. She sold it to me in 2009 for $900.00. I put about 100 miles per year on it. A great riding car. Also, note that the rear side windows were not squared off.
Here’s a front view
Very nice Mark. Thanks for sharing!
Looks much better with the correct window shape as opposed to the squared-off design of the feature car (which made the C-pillar disproportionately large).
Hey Brendan – Another Mass. reader here. Is there a location for that white Bostonian Cougar feature car you could share? If it’s Blue Hills Canton area I’m not far. I’m looking for some parts and wondering if the owner might consider parting it out if it’s not a driver/resto car and still around. I’ve got an 87 with 30k miles that I’m trying to keep in original condition.