AJ’s Car of the Day: 1968 Mercury Cougar

AJ’s Car of the Day: 1968 Mercury Cougar

Car: Mercury Cougar

Year: 1968

What makes it special: Mercury’s introduction of the Cougar model was their entrance into the Pony Car market. It was the more luxurious sister to Ford’s Mustang, and was the slot between the Mustang and Thunderbird. It was available in two models upon introduction: a base model and an XR-7. It came only in one body style, a two-door hardtop coupe.

What made it famous: Cougar was given a deliberate European flavor, getting its inspiration from Jaguar’s E-Type model. One performance model was available, the GT. Engine choices ranged from a 200hp, 289 cu in V8 for 1967, to a 335hp, 390 cu in V8. A performance package for the GT was available for both a base model as well as the XR-7, and included a 390 V8 along with a performance handling package and other performance enhancements.

 Why I would want one: I’ve had two. Love the covered headlights, razor look front end to it’s sequential taillights.

Fun fact: This was the only generation of Cougar with covered headlights.

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