MERCURY DIDN’T GET A PERSONAL LUXURY CAR in the Thunderbird vein for a long time, until the Cougar bowed for the 1967 model year. The Cougar was based on the newly revised Ford Mustang, which was now wide enough to accept the FE-series big-block engines, but rather than cheap-and-cheerful transportation, quarter-mile brawler, or SCCA contender, the new Cougars were intentionally plusher, more luxurious vehicles. “America’s foremost luxury sports car,” the brochures contended.
That luxury was especially evident inside, where period ads boasted that buyers would “swear” it was “hand-tooled in Europe.” Similar promises were made regarding the exterior styling, where extra wheelbase, an elongated nose, hidden headlamps, and an “electric-shaver” grille helped disguise the Mustang connection and echoed contemporary Thunderbird styling, but without the bulk. Mercury, careful not to provoke…
