The Vintage Mercury-Lincoln Cougar - A Nascar Legend

Many have thought of the Mercury Cougar awell as a proven and durable base platform. Even
simply nothing more than a luxo-bloated versionthe dash of the early Mustangs was a direct copy
of a Ford Thunderbird. It may well surprise manyof the Falcons.
Ford, Mercury as well as Ford Mustang andUnderneath all of the glitter of its elegant sheet
Mercury Cougar enthusiasts that 35 years agometal the Cougar car was all Mustang, using the
that the Cougar "Pony" Car was kicking butt onexact same Falcon front suspension and a solid
the Trans-Am circuit.rear axle with four-leaf springs. A base 289 cubic
In its origins, the Cougar was an idea thatinch V-8 made 200 bhp (gross), but the real
Lincoln-Mercury had been tossing around, foraction came in the guise of a 390 cubic inch V-8
some time, with the idea of a smaller sporty car.that made 320 bhp. A GT option included a
As early as February 1963 this idea of a smallerperformance handling package and power disc
as well as sporty Lincoln-Mercury vehicle, to bebrakes that replaced more standard front brake
introduced to the North American market, camedrums. Finally special GT wheels rounded out the
to emerge within the corporate head office,package.
marketing and design staff.It has been said that Lincoln Mercury's chief
The success of the Ford Mustang was all thatdesigner had envisioned the Cougar as an elegant
was needed to put the wheels in motion. IndeedEuropean sports car, along the lines of the Jaguar
the famous marketing reference in regards to theMark 2. How was it that the Cougar went racing?
product market popularity and sales of the FordIn 1967 Lincoln Mercury turned to Bud Moore to
Mustang 'Pony" Car was a sign in a donut shopbe the point man for a shot at the SCCA
that "Or donuts sell as fast as Mustangs". NothingTrans-Am Championship. Team Cougar made up
drives the automobile industry more than theof drivers, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Formula 1
potential and promise of fast car sales figures. Itdriver Peter Revson and NASCAR driver Dave
is noteworthy that even the name of the vehiclePearson came in second in Ford Mustang's team.
product "Cougar" can be said to be family lineIn 1968 then under the aegis of Moore, driver
generated. After the name Cougar is not only sixDeWayne "Tiny" Lund went on to capture the
letters but is another member of a line of fastNASCAR Grand Touring Championship.
creatures. Both the names of Mustang andSo where and how did the Cougar go wrong. It
Cougar evoke an image of sleekness and fastseemed that Lincoln-Mercury was never quite
speed as well as agility.sure on how to market the Cougar. This lack of
Built on a 111 inch wheelbase, the Cougar wasmarket focus, as well as not knowing and
three inches and half inches shorter than its cousinperceiving the needs and desires of the potential
- the Thunderbird. Underneath the elegantCougar customer market proved to be the
sheetmetal of the Cougar was a Mustang, so toCougar's undoing. By the 1969 product introduction
speak. In actuality the Cougar shared with itsthe Cougar was a little longer and a little wider.
cousins - the sporty Mustang, and the more dourFrom then on it was only a short decent into
family vehicle - the Ford Falcon (which was alsolandau roofs as well as the opera window type
known in the Canadian market as the Fordstyling and options of the day. Once started this
Frontenac product. The Ford Mustang had thedownward trend and spiral of the Cougar was
greatest fortune of being born from the Fordinevitable. The halcyon years of the early Cougar
Falcon product line. Mustang enthusiasts owe a- specifically the early Cougar model years of
great debt of gratitude to a so called compact1967 - 70 remain a time when the Cougar's roar
"Family" car. The Ford Falcon allowed both theboomed out of dual exhausts and the sign of a
Mustang car project as well as the Cougar carcar that had some bite to it.
product a quick to develop, cheap to produce as