1969 Mercury Cougar XR-7 Convertible

Long after the animal, and before the way too often used description of an older female looking for a younger mate,

Cougar's were sold by the Ford Motor Company's Lincoln-Mercury Division from 1967 to 2002.  It shared basic platforms with Ford models. The Mustang originally , later the Thunderbird , and the last a version of the Contour/Mondeo.

It was important to Mercury's image for many years, and advertising often identified its dealers as being the sign of the cat, with female models holding big cats on leashes in Cougar ads in the early 1970s.

Mercury Cougars were assembled at the Dearborn Assembly Plant in Dearborn, Michigan from 1967 to 1973, at the San Jose Assembly Plant in Milpitas, California from 1968 into early 1969, and at the Lorain Assembly Plant  in Lorain, Ohio from 1974 to 1997.

Its third year of production in 1969 brought several new additions to the Cougar lineup. The Mercury Cougar was now wider, longer, and heavier for this year. A convertible model was now finally made available in either standard and XR-7 trim. These highly anticipated soft tops proved very popular and are still today considered by many car fans among the most desirable of the 1967 to 1970 production run.

On its exterior, the grille switched from vertical bars to horizontal bars, and a spoiler and a Ram Air induction hood scoop were added as options. A new performance package appeared and several disappeared. The XR-7G and the 7.0-L GT-E disappeared, but the 390 and 428 V8s remained. The 290 hp 351 Windsor V8 was added to the engine lineup. The Eliminator performance package appeared for the first time. A 351cu in 4 barrel V8 was standard under the hood, with the 390 four-barrel V8, the 428CJ and the Boss 302 available as options. The Eliminator was the new top-of-the-line performance model of the Cougar lineup. It also featured a blacked-out grille, special side stripes, front and rear spoilers, an optional Ram Air Induction system, and a more performance-tuned suspension and handling package. XR-7s continued to feature a full set of needle gauges and leather-faced seat upholstery as standard. It also came in a variety of vibrant colors, such as White, Bright Blue Metallic, Competition Orange, and Bright Yellow. Only two Cougars came with the Boss 429 V8, making them the rarest Cougars ever built. Both were factory drag cars built for "Fast Eddie" Schartman and "Dyno" Don Nicholson. a 428 cu in, 335 hp equipped Mercury Cougar XR-7 went from 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, and covered the 1/4 mile in 14.1 seconds @ 103 mph.

 In total , 100,060 Mercury Cougars were produced in 1969, 23,918 were 2 door XR-7 hardtops, 4,024 were XR-7 Convertibles. These were the last of the true Ponycars. Although not often, you can still find some nice survivors today. Just lookout for the Cougars...