The Mercury Cougar is a series of automobiles that was sold by Mercury from 1967 to 2002. The model line is a diverse series of vehicles; though the Cougar nameplate is most commonly associated with two-door coupes, at various stages in its production, the model also was offered as a convertible and a hatchback. During its production as the mid-size Mercury line, the Cougar was also offered as a four-door sedan and five-door station wagon.
In production for 34 years across eight generations (skipping the 1998 model year), the Cougar is second only to the Grand Marquis (36 years) in the Mercury line for production longevity. 2,972,784 examples were produced, making it the highest-selling Mercury vehicle. During the 1970s and 1980s, the marketing of the Mercury division was closely associated with the Cougar, with promotional materials advertising Mercury dealers as "The Sign of the Cat" with big cats atop Lincoln-Mercury dealer signs.[1] Cat-related nameplates were adopted by other Mercury lines, including the Bobcat and Lynx.
During its production, the Cougar was assembled at the Dearborn Assembly Plant (part of the Ford River Rouge Complex) in Dearborn, Michigan from 1967 until 1973, San Jose Assembly (Milpitas, California) from 1968 into early 1969, Lorain Assembly (Lorain, Ohio) from 1974 until 1997, and at Flat Rock Assembly (Flat Rock, Michigan) from 1999 through 2002.
^Jewett, Larry. "The Sign of the Cat". Gretoville.com. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
The MercuryCougar is a series of automobiles that was sold by Mercury from 1967 to 2002. The model line is a diverse series of vehicles; though the Cougar...
its Ford and Mercury divisions; as part of a mid-cycle update, Mercury discontinued the Montego nameplate and expanded the MercuryCougar line to include...
and sold in Canada and the United States from 1999 until 2002 as the MercuryCougar. The car was originally intended to be the third generation Probe, but...
car between the MercuryCougar and Continental Mark III. Following the 1970 model year, the Marauder model was discontinued. The Mercury Marauder nameplate...
Montego was phased in to replace the Comet. Within Mercury, the Cyclone was positioned between the Cougar pony car and the Marquis/Marauder full-size two-doors...
inches (for the Ford Mustang/Mercury Capri; lengthened to 101.3 for the SN95 redesign), 104.2 inches (1983–1988 Thunderbird/Cougar), 105.5 inches ("standard";...
introduced as Mercury shifted the nameplate to the midsize segment to replace the slow-selling Cougar sedan and station wagon. Within Mercury, the Cougar XR-7...
Canada, the Mercury Monarch was slotted between the compact Comet and the Montego in the Mercury model line (later, the Zephyr and Cougar). Sharing many...
GT, RS, L, XL, and XLR which were trim levels), far smaller than the MercuryCougar and Montego. In its adaptation to the American market, the Capri saw...
notably the Mustang, as well as the MercuryCougar, Ford Torino, Ford Granada, Mercury Monarch, Ford LTD, Mercury Marquis, Ford Maverick, and Ford F-150...
the powertrain lineup. The Mariner was the first Mercury with a four-cylinder since the MercuryCougar was dropped in 2002. For 2006, the lineup was expanded...
in 1992. The Ford Thunderbird and MercuryCougar were discontinued after the 1997 model year (although the Cougar nameplate was revived for 1999 as a...
slightly smaller Plymouth Barracuda. Positioned to compete against the MercuryCougar and Pontiac Firebird in the upper end of the pony car market segment...
resurfaced in the late 1970s, with the Ford Thunderbird/MercuryCougar and the Ford Fairmont/Mercury Zephyr. The 1964 Comet was redesigned with a much more...
Thunderbird and Cougar, Ford introduced the 1984 Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz. The compact front-wheel drive replacements for the Ford Fairmont/Mercury Zephyr...
production, the Lincoln-Mercury Division sold a version of the LTD II under the MercuryCougar badge, replacing the Mercury Montego. The design of the...
from 1988 to 1997 for the 1989–1997 model year Ford Thunderbird and MercuryCougar two-door personal luxury cars. A variant of this platform, known as...
and Ford Capri in the United States (the latter, by Lincoln-Mercury). The MercuryCougar was launched in 1967 as a unique-bodied higher-trim alternative...
1975 to 1987. The Grand Marquis was the second-best-selling Mercury line (after the Cougar) with 2.7 million units produced; at 36 years of continuous...
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