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This site is a photo essay on the design style of the first-generation Mercury Cougar (1967-1968). The car was a high water mark during Detroit's last hurrah, the late 60's, the final era in which cars would be created by stylists then submitted to Engineering, more than vice versa. The Cougar actually lived up to part of its marketing hype: "The Mustang with Continental Class". It was original and alluring. Today few stock 60's cars get such a delighted reaction on the street from both car buffs and non-car lovers alike. One of the remarkable things in this collection of photos is the array of details that would be impossible to recreate in a modern car: Federal regulations today dictate much of the brightwork, dash design, window & door levers, bumpers, lights and other details that made the early Cougar such a design coup de grace. Much to the chagrin of Cougar hot-rodders, the 67-68 models were really a very feminine car. Lincoln-Mercury Division was as surprised by this as anyone; After launching the Cougar with the tag line "The Man's Car", almost half of them were bought by women. So, by late 1968, Cougar ads still featured seductive women prominently, but now the layout at least suggested the car belonged to the woman in the picture, not necessarily her boyfriend or husband. Specifically, the car photographed for this essay is a 1967 standard coupe. It has the base 289-2V engine, C4 automatic, AM radio, manual brakes and no air conditioning. It is highly maintained today, faithful to the way it was manufactured. It evokes the height of the jet age and never fails to remind us it comes from another era. |
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