Rob Kinnan Brand Manager, Mustang Monthly June 9, 2017

Conventional wisdom is that the Mercury Cougar is the “luxury Mustang,” and for the first generation (1967-1970) the Cougar was based on the Mustang platform, using many (but not all) of the same underpinnings, but with a Mercury-style class and attitude. This website is called Mustang-360.com, but we appreciate all things Ford related and have a soft spot for the Cougar since it’s so close to the Mustang.

There were eight generations of the Cougar (1971-1973, ‘74-’76, ’77-’79, ‘80-’82, ‘83-’88, ‘89-’97, and ‘99-2000). While the first- and second-gen Cougars were based on the Mustang, that changed in 1974 when Ford downsized the Mustang into the Mustang II and the Cougar was built off of the intermediate Mercury Montego/Torino platform, then later the Thunderbird and Contour. In production for 34 years, the Cougar nameplate is second only to the Grand Marquis in its longevity in the Mercury model line.

The year 2017 is the Cougar’s 50th anniversary, so it was fitting to celebrate the model at this year’s Carlisle Ford Nationals the weekend of June 2-4, 2017. So check out this photo gallery of the Cougars we latched a leash on at Carlisle!