page_title: Mercury Cougar
section_title: First generation (1967–1970)
hierarchical_section_title: Mercury Cougar / First generation (1967–1970)
caption_attribution_description: At Morrinsville 2017, New Zealand
context_page_description: 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. 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 in Dearborn, Michigan from 1967 to 1973, San Jose Assembly from 1968 into early 1969, Lorain Assembly from 1974 to 1997, and at Flat Rock Assembly from 1999 to 2002.
context_section_description: The Mercury Cougar was introduced by the Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford on September 30, 1966.  Far exceeding initial sales projections, the Cougar accounted for nearly 40% of 1967 Lincoln-Mercury sales.  The Cougar received the 1967 Motor Trend Car of the Year award (the first Lincoln-Mercury vehicle to do so).        
  The Lincoln-Mercury counterpart of the Ford Mustang, the Cougar was initially introduced as a two-door hardtop.  The base price of a Cougar was $2,854 ($284 more than a Mustang hardtop); a fully-optioned XR-7 cost $4,500 (essentially matching the base price of a Thunderbird).
caption: 1967 Mercury Cougar
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