1967-1970 Mercury Cougar

The first of nine lives.

Photo: Wikipedia

If you're of a certain age, you remember when Mercury (Ford) decided they needed something more enticing than the the image of the Mercury Man. What they came up with was the Cougar and the phrase, "The sign of the cat." The brand's cars were sold in conjunction with Lincolns, side by side in combined dealerships.

How in heaven did it all end up with Mercury dead?

But forget all of that. Let's reflect back on one of the sportiest cars the nameplate produced (such as it were), the Mercury Cougar.

The first generation was, of course, a reworked Mustang. While it's no secret, that means you can sometimes get a nice vintage first generation Mustang for less and that's what we're all about; paying less for an good used car. If you want a muscle car that's a bit left of center, this might be your catnip. Of course, getting the wrong one (riddled with rust, for instance) could be the hairball to end all hairballs.

The trim level to go for is the XR-7. What you'll get (assuming a stock, OEM-like condition) is a luxury sports coupe that weighs around 3,000 pounds and had an original MSRP $2,851. That's a little more than $20K in 2016...an incredible value! The 289 V8 was worth nothing to nobody (though it was a fine engine) and for only $324 ($2,310 in 2016) you needed to upgrade to the 6.5, which pumped out 320 horses and beyond. Handling and breaking are nowhere near modern standards but are easily upgraded. Parts of all sorts are still easily sourced, including trim.

Pretty darn luxurious for 1967. Note wind-up windows...power was an option.

Thousands and thousands of these were made and there are still lots on the open market. Limited editions do exist and one of our favorites sported a Cobra Jet 428 that put down over 400 horsepower. But these are extremely rare and easily faked, so just make sure to verify what you're looking at.

1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator

Current NADA average retail for a XR-7 with a 390 and the very useful a/c is around $27K.

We love those vacuum-actuated headlight covers!

Want to rehash the past a little more? Check out this wonderful video from WCCC.