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Thread: Mercury Cougar (4th gen) 1977-1979

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    Mercury Cougar (4th gen) 1977-1979

    Mercury Cougar is a nameplate applied to a diverse series of automobiles sold by the Mercury division of Ford from 1967 to 1997 and from 1999 to 2002. While the nameplate is most commonly associated with two-door coupes, at various times during its production, the Cougar was also marketed as a convertible, four-door sedan, station wagon, and hatchback. With 2,972,784 examples produced, the Cougar is the highest-selling vehicle ever produced by the Mercury brand; its 34-year production is second only to the Grand Marquis in the Mercury model line (produced for 36 years). During the 1970s and 1980s, the Cougar was closely tied to the marketing of the Mercury division; Mercury advertised its dealers as "The Sign of the Cat" with big cats atop Lincoln-Mercury dealer signs. In line with the Cougar, several animal-related nameplates were adopted by the division, including the Bobcat, Lynx, and Sable. During its production, the Cougar was assembled at the Dearborn Assembly Plant (part of the Ford River Rouge Complex) in Dearborn, Michigan from 1967 to 1973, San Jose Assembly (Milpitas, California) from 1968 into early 1969, Lorain Assembly (Lorain, Ohio) from 1974 to 1997, and at Flat Rock Assembly (Flat Rock, Michigan) from 1999 to 2002.

    Overview
    During much of its production life, the Cougar followed tradition within the Mercury division, marketed as a Mercury counterpart of a Ford vehicle. Distinguished by a distinct exterior (ranging in degree from grilles and lighting components to nearly the entire exterior), to streamline its production, the Cougar shared its chassis underpinnings with Ford vehicles throughout its production life. For its first two generations, the Cougar was derived from the Ford Mustang; initially developed as a pony car, it replaced the Cyclone muscle car in the Mercury model line. For its third and fourth generations, the Cougar adopted the chassis of the Ford Torino intermediate. Initially the counterpart of the Ford (Gran Torino) Elite, the fourth generation was split into two model lines, replacing the Montego as the Mercury intermediate (alongside the Ford LTD II), with the Cougar XR7 becoming the counterpart of the Ford Thunderbird. For its fifth and sixth generations, the Cougar adopted the compact Fox platform. For the fifth generation, the Cougar was again two model lines, with the Cougar XR7 derived from the Thunderbird and the standard Cougar replacing the Monarch as the counterpart of the Ford Granada. The sixth generation Cougar, derived from the Thunderbird, reverted to the two-door coupe body style. For its seventh generation, the Cougar introduced the MN12 platform, developed for the Cougar, Thunderbird and Lincoln Mark VIII. After 1997, the Cougar and Thunderbird were discontinued (the Mark VIII was discontinued after 1998). For its eighth generation, the Cougar returned for 1999 as a sports compact hatchback. Sharing a chassis with the Ford Contour, the model line began development as a third generation of the Ford Probe, shifting to Mercury as its development neared completion. Sold only under the Mercury brand, this generation is the only version of the Cougar with no direct Ford counterpart (though export examples were badged as Ford Cougars).

    Fourth generation (1977-1979)
    For the 1977 model year, the fourth-generation Cougar was part of a revision of the Ford intermediate model line. The Cougar XR-7 underwent a redesign with the standard Cougar returning (for the first time since 1973) in place of the Montego. For the first time, the Cougar XR-7 was the Mercury counterpart of the Ford Thunderbird (a pairing that lasted through 1997) with Ford marketing the standard Cougar as the Ford LTD II. The fourth generation is the best-selling version of the Cougar; with 1978 as the top-selling year for the entire model line. For 1980, Ford ended production of Torino-based vehicles, downsizing the Cougar XR-7 to a long-wheelbase version of the Fox platform.

    Chassis
    As with its predecessor, the fourth-generation Cougar was based from the Ford Torino "split-wheelbase" chassis. Cougar coupes and Cougar XR-7s had a 114-inch wheelbase while Cougar four-doors and station wagons had a 118-inch wheel base. In the redesign, the powertrain offerings were revised. In the interest of fuel economy, the 460 V8 was withdrawn from intermediates, with the 173 hp 400 V8 as the highest-displacement engine. The base V8 in coupes and sedans was a 134 hp 302 Windsor V8, with a 149 hp 351 Windsor as the standard engine in station wagons; a 161 hp 351M V8 was optional in coupes and sedans. A 3-speed automatic transmission was paired to each V8 engine. For 1978, the Cougar offered the same engines from 1977; for 1979, the 400 was discontinued.

    Body design
    In its replacement of the Montego, for 1977, the Cougar model line was expanded from one body style to four. Along with previous Cougar XR-7 luxury coupe, Mercury introduced a Cougar two-door coupe, a four-door sedan and a five-door station wagon. A central part of the 1977 redesign of the Ford intermediate range was a transition from "fuselage styling" to sharper-edged lines. As funds were concentrated on development of future models, a complete exterior redesign was precluded. On coupes, sedans, and XR-7s, all sheetmetal above the bumpers was revised. As a revision of the station wagon rear bodywork was too extensive, the Cougar/LTD II wagons adopted the redesigned 1977 front fascia on the bodywork of the previous Montego station wagon. Following the 1977 model year, the Cougar wagon was withdrawn in favor of the all new Mercury Zephyr wagon. To bring the exterior closer in line with the larger Marquis, the Cougar adopted a nearly square radiator-style grille; in place of hidden headlamps, the Cougar adopted four square headlamps. For 1979, though in its last year, the Cougar adopted a few body revisions, with revised taillamps and body-color grille inserts, along with an electronic voltage regulator and a plastic battery tray.

    Trim
    For 1977, the Cougar was introduced in three trim levels: a base trim level and Brougham trim (for wagons, a Villager trim was offered). For 1978, the Cougar became a single trim level, with the Brougham returning as an option package.

    Cougar XR-7
    As with the previous generation, the Cougar personal luxury coupe continued as the Cougar XR-7. No longer a "junior Thunderbird", the XR-7 was the direct Mercury counterpart of the Thunderbird (a commonality remaining for the next 20 years). To differentiate the model from its Ford counterpart (and from standard Cougars), the XR-7 was given its own rear fascia. Evoking the flagship Continental Mark V, the rear fascia was given a (vestigial) continental tire trunklid (with angular lines) and taillights similar to the Continental Mark IV. The XR-7 roofline was distinguished from standard Cougar coupes by narrower hardtop windows and the use of louvers on the forward section of the opera windows.

    The XR-7 included power disc brakes and steering, 15-inch wheels, rear stabilizer bar, walnut wood-tone instrument panel, Flight Bench seat, "XR-7" trunk key-hole door, "COUGAR" decklid script, large hood ornament (with cat emblem), and sport-styled roofline with back-half vinyl and rear opera side windows and louvers. Some XR-7s had the Rally Sport Tachometer and Gauge package (only 25% of all Cougars came with this option).

    For 1978, two new decor packages became available, the XR-7 Decor Option and the Midnight/Chamois Decor Option. In line with the Designer Series from the Mark V, the latter option offered a color-coordinated exterior and interior, with a half-vinyl roof, padded "Continental" type rear deck, and Midnight Blue and Chamois interior with Tiffany carpeting.

    Source: Wikipedia
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    Last edited by Man of Steel; 11-15-2019 at 02:40 PM.

  2. #2
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    1. 1977 Mercury Cougar

    I found the other two on the web. I don't suppose you or anyone else could find them in hi-res? The first one's the Cougar line-up for '77 (coupe, sedan, and wagon). The second one is also a '77.
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    Last edited by Man of Steel; 11-15-2019 at 02:36 PM.
    UCP's biggest (only?) fan of the '74-'76 Mercury Cougar.
    UCP's proudest owner of a '74 Cougar

    My favorite color is chrome.

  3. #3
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    Mercury Cougar (4th gen) #3
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    • File Type: jpg 2.jpg (331.8 KB, 1 views)
    Last edited by Man of Steel; 11-15-2019 at 02:41 PM.
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
    Visca Catalunya!

  4. #4
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    Mercury Cougar (4th gen) #4

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