1968 Mercury Cougar: The "Mature" Muscle Car | MotorWeek 

So so sad that Ford killed Mercury. :(

Mercury luxury cars

I hope I get to own one of these amazing cars some day!

They are nothing but cool, I love the hidden headlights and split grille.

Me too … us cougar owners are not like the rest

SAME here.

How do you like the power and handling?

my dream car 🥹

Lucky

It was my very first car also.. Never have I forgotten it and I will have another. I was 16yo then and now I'm 55. So I think I have waited long enough..

Yes..I too had XR 7 as my first car...To this day I wish I had it back...but?

VERY cool car!!

I'm thinking this guy is wrong about 289 available in 68 year model Cougars...302 was standard? Was it not?

@@clarktferrill Unsure. My Marti report proves that my 1968 302 2v Cougar was initiated on August 11, 1967, implying that the 302 was the baseline for the model year. However, there was a strike at the engine factory that delayed my car's production for more than two months. It's possible that some 1968 Cougars had 289s as a stopgap measure; I've seen several '68 Mustangs with the 289, and my reprint owners manual does show both the 289 and 302. What skews this are documents from that time frame stating that sales brochures might show options no longer available. From Wikipedia: "During 1968, the 289 was temporarily substituted with the 302 cu in (4.9 L) V8 designed for the new federal emissions standards.[9] This engine produced 210 hp (2-bbl) and 230 hp (4-bbl); the former became standard on the XR-7.[9] At mid-year, a lower compression 289 was again available.[9]"

Last year for the 289.

68 was a transition year from 289 to 302 . Some of the early 68s had 289s and the rest had 302 . I was 18 at the time and was a Ford nut ( and still am ) . I currently have a 2003 Marauder with 31,000 original miles !……

As for Mercury, my mother loved her powder blue 99 Grand Marquis! I believe that was her favorite car. Hopefully, it's not lifted and wearing huge wagon wheel rims today.

@@MisterMikeTexas Yes, it pains my heart to see those cars abused like that.

That car was a 1969 Mercury Cougar with a 428ci. The GT-E was only made in 1968. 1967-68 had the same body style. It changed in 1969.

The Mercury brand doesn't exists in many places of the world so they sold them as Fords.

Sayo Nara sampai berjumpa pulang

You understand the cost of living back then and inflation, right?

A 99 Tahoe would be a space ship to them (although most of the engine is right outta the 60's)

Seriously? This comment sat here for 3 years with no likes? You deserve better. Have one, on me.

It's popular to upgrade to a solid state rear sequential light system and use Plasma LED bulbs while the front light grill doors become electric with more accurate Stopper to line-up the Bars to look like a one piece unit.

Yes, there was the S code 390 (GT engine), and the X code 390 2 barrel.

They had them from 1967 at its introduction all the way to the end of the 1973 model year! My 1971 XR-7 Convertible still has the factory sequential lights.

I thought that was really cool too!

TBird100636 After about 1971, almost every Mercury shared most of its body panels, engines, etc. with the Fords on which they were based. By 1979, all of them were simply badge-engineered Fords from the Bobcat, Zephyr, Capri, Monarch, Cougar, and Marquis... they were all just minor trim changes away from the Fords they were based on.

@@judethaddaeus9742 Well... 83-97 Cougar, 84-94 Topaz, 86-05 Sable, and 92-97 Grand Marquis all had body lines unique from their Ford counterparts, not just badge engineered models.

TBird100636 Except for the Cougar, the only major components that were different on those cars were the rooflines. And the Grand Marquis’s was simply a Crown Vic roof without the opera window stamped in it. Same with the early Topaz sedans. The Topaz coupes were essentially identical to the Tempo coupes for the entire 1984-94 run. The 1986-91 Sable’s lines were so similar to the Taurus’s, they used the same tooling to stamp them and from 92-95, the differences were even more minor. The wagons were identical in all but trim for the entire 1986-05 run.

Jordi7174 They weren’t competitors. The ‘68 Cougar XR-7 weighed 1,100lbs less than the ‘68 Riv, came with just over half the standard power of the Riv, cost 40% less, and was over 2 feet shorter. They were farther apart in ‘68 than the Sonic and Impala are today.

289, 302, 390 or 427. Ford didn't make a 402.

Beer And Bacon I agree. Fix that and the whitewall tires and the car would look amazing!!

Keep in mind that this car has been around for fifty years, I hope the new shit cars that we make today with all the technology and automated robotic assembly line can make it to be fifty years old. You need to understand the these cars were all hand made and assembled, all the alignment of panels and sheet metal were done on jigs and had spot welded so non of these old care were as cookie cutter as today’s cars and panel figment was a issue on all old cars and even today. As for the tires, it’s keeping with the style of the era of this car, my 1968 XR7-GT came with white wall tires from the factory.

The headlight covers didn't line up straight when the car was new. But I agree that if something can be done about it, it should be.

@@auaiao9 The headlight covers on my 72 Mercury Marquis have bolts that you adjust in and out to line them up with the rest of the trim, but my right one doesn't goes down all the way too line up, it's like the spring is too strong. It probably has been like that from factory too

@@dethmetel Many headlight covers back then DID line up correctly but I remember the Cougars did not. It seemed to be common probably on just about all of them..from what I remember. Maybe the Cougar's could've been adjusted but people either didn't know about it or just didn't take the time to do it.

My thoughts exactly

Mike Nicholas that’s exactly what I said... s code and x code..

That's what I had in my 67 xr7 was same color as that car with the same roof sure do miss that car

I had a 1967 Cougar GT 390 4 speed in high school (1972).

I'm a Mopar guy so I probably would've bought a Roadrunner or Super Bee in 68. You got a hell of a lot of car for under $3,000...You got the 335 horsepower(rated)383 4 barrel engine with the heads and camshaft from the 440, a 4 speed manual transmission, and a 3.23 rear axle if you chose to buy the base model. The 426 Hemi, the 727 Torqueflite Automatic Transmission, and 3.55 and 4.10 rear axle ratios were all optional equipment in 68. If you wanted the 375 horsepower 440 4 barrel as standard equipment and a bit more creature comforts your best bet was a Plymouth GTX, a Dodge Charger R/T, or a Dodge Coronet R/T