Mercury Cougar REVIEW (aka Ford Thunderbird / MN-12) 

I had a 1989 Mercury Cougar LS. Just a vanilla 3.8 V6. It drove like a dream... so smooth on the road. It had a crap ton of pinstriping. I mean it was a white car and the bottom half of the body was practically all gray pinstripes of varying width. It had a touch of blue pinstripe to add that extra bit of class. It had a luggage rack on the deck lid that I liked. This luggage rack had a raised lip in the back that sorta, kinda, almost hinted at a spoiler. I had the motorized seat belts that snorted their way toward the driver and front passenger whenever you started the car. It was almost like the car was hugging you for taking it out for a spin. My girlfriend (who's now my wife of 21 years) said it was a "grandma car" which probably had a lot to do with the absurd amount of pinstripes. I'm laughing out loud as I write this... those motorized seat belts really did snort as they motored their way toward potentially saving my life with each turn of the ignition key. It was soooo vanilla but I loved that car. Now that my daughter is taking my Hyundai Sonata away from me I find myself perusing the Facebook marketplace for 7th gen cougars. Rowr!

I love my cougar. Air suspension, supercharger, independent rear wheel suspension, lsd, rwd, lots of space, handling is insane for this big coupe. Can’t forget how it weighed more than 2 tons and still beat the 89 5.0 mustang in the 1/4

I've had 4 tbirds from 95-97. I fell in love with the 4.6 because it's the only automatic I can drift easily with the sport suspension on a 97, handles great on dirt roads, and I drove my 95 from Seattle to Vegas and back with a water pump delete. You read that correctly... I was hitting 4k rpms with no water pump and never overheated. 4k rpms on these boats is in the 100mph range on flat ground. These cars are essentially air cooled at 50+ mph. Only thing that comes close imo is the Honda f22b2 engine, which can get 50mpg on the highway of you drive it right. And that 50mpg figure was an average from Seattle to California city in southern California, on a car with over 250k miles.

I have a automatic 94 v6 cougar xr7.I bought it off craigslist for only 1500 in 2015. It's the best car I have ever owned. It only had 29,500 miles when I purchased it. The original owner bought it in florida(in a town like 3 hours away from me) and drove it to New York. He then sold it to a guy in New York at 13k miles. The New York guy ended up buying a house or whatever, guess where? in Florida, close to me. So he drove it from New york back to Florida. Anyways he was selling the cougar as a extra vehicle because he had some like newer cross over car I forget exactly which one and he wanted more garage space. When I found his craigslist ad, the post itself had been 2 months old, and the asking price was 2500. I was 18 at the time and I had my dad with me(not really a negotiator, but better than just me) and I didnt have the full 2500, anyways I forget exactly why him and my dad were having a conversation about coffee, but you know when u are buying something u offer a low offer at first to try and bring down the price, yeah well, my dad told this guy we would offer him 1500 dollars and a cup of coffee. He accepted. I dont know why, my only thought could be he really wanted that extra garage space and/or he figured we were cool and he just wanted to help us out. Either way he accepted that offer, and I remember we never got coffee afterwards. So to this day, i still feel like I owe this man some coffee. Anyways, 3 years go by and I love the car... no problems just the regular maintenance. Then out of no where at 63k my transmission blew out aka it was only driving in first gear and long story short instead of junking the car I figured this is a car that is worth saving. All places to rebuild or replace transmissions were asking around 1200-1500 $ and I never really have had the extra money + I've been skeptical about the next transmission, would it blow after 40k miles? Anyways a few months ago I spent like an entire day just looking up transmissions and pricing. During that search I discovered something that would change my life. I found on some forums, that back in 1994 when the car originally came out there was a recall, the recall was for the torque converters. Basically a torque converter has the same job as the clutch on a stick shift car. What was happening was the torque converters were bad and would cause the transmissions to pre-maturely die out. So basically, in order for me to have a solid Cougar I would have to replace the torque converter when I replace/fix the transmission. The trans has to come out to replace the torque converter anyway. A brand new like auto zone converter is like 200 dollars. So long story short, so between income tax time or this 2nd stimulus package they keep promising, either way when I get the chance to im fixing up my cougar and i cant wait because hopefully when I'm like really old itll hold the test of time and I'll be one of those old guys who gets to say "they dont make cars like they used to" lol. Anyways, I could talk about my cougar forever and ever, but anyways thank you to the person who made this video, it got my thumbs up, and I wish everyone who reads my comment a happy and wonderful day (or night) 😎

Had 12 birds over the years. Right now, I have 2 Supercharged T-Bird SC's. Blk 89 auto sc 1 of 2500 built Red 94 5spd sc 1 of 737 built The supercoupe's are awesome.

Now this is a lesson to everyone on RU-vid on how to make a great video. I loved every part of this. Awesome that you still have your H.S. videos too. Can’t wait for the Lumina next!!!

We're like parallel universe car twins. My first car was a 79 Impala, and my 2nd car was a 96 V8 Thunderbird. I still have both. The Impala has been parked for years, but I still drive the T-bird regularly. It only had 28k when I picked it up in 06 and now it's just about to hit the 100K mile mark. These cars are made cruising. Comfortable seats, suspension that is soft enough to soak up bumps, but firm enough to handle the occasional twisty road, nicely weighted steering, and lots of leg room for the driver. IMHO adding chassis bracing masks some of the weight, and gives the car a more neutral feel in the corners. Only time it's ever left me stranded is when the original plastic intake failed. Easy fix and it's been flawless ever since.

I took my girlfriend (who is now my wife) to the prom in my mom's 94 cougar xr7. A year later I bought a 95 tbird lx.

I've had experience with four mn12s in my life. The first was my mothers's 89 v6 cougar. Nothing exciting but it never gave any trouble. Later she had a brand new 95 4.6 Thunderbird in "light evergreen metallic" also no problems. Very pretty car. Next was 97 Thunderbird sport. Better car all around but not as pretty. Same thing gave us no trouble. It's what cemented my lean towards Ford. Recently I inherited a 95 4.6 Cougar with 60,000 miles from my Grandparents. Still smells like WWII bomber pilot. It's was a garage kept, always waxed AZ car unfortunately it does need some body work. I had to replace all the normal bits that always go bad on these models, Idler pulley, big ole PCV vacuum T , and the neutral safety switch. I live in a little hill town with messed up tiny streets so I usually don't drive in town but it's great on the freeway. Nice and smooth and just eats up the road. AC cranks. Wish it was faster. The transmission is a dog. It downshifts on it's own terms. You can trick it but I try not to beat on it too much. Oddly enough I get compliments on it from time to time which always confuses me being so odd looking.

I currently graduated in 2024 and drove a 94 Mercury Cougar XR7 V8 my senior year. It was amazing and I still have it and have no plans of selling it.

I have a 95 Mercury Cougar XR-7 right now! And, it runs like a champ! 😊 I've driven from Ohio to Illinois 4-5 times. 🖐 It has under 85,000 miles. One owner beside me. It's been 2 yrs since I got it. Ive put 7-800$ into it. But, it was worth it cause she'll run forever as long as I take care of her🤗

My first car was a 1993 Thunderbird V6 and I loved it. Every day I was trying to figure out a way to get a hold of the supercharged motor and the manual transmission that came with it. I now have a 1996 Mercury Cougar with the 4.6 liter V8 as a project car. The ultimate cruiser. Now with the funds to actually build a project car my dreams can finally come true!! TCCOA is the #1 spot for info on these. Too bad they're not more popular. The prices on these are creeping up now however. This combined with the fact that they are also becoming more scarce in good condition means it's the time to get one now! If you enjoy big ole coupes from the nineties that is.

I just bought a '95 4.6 V8 today. Pretty stoked about it

I have 3 Thunderbird SC, 1991 X2, 1x 1995 MTX. Just can't stop.

Man I think we are kindred. At 16 years old, just 7 weeks after getting my drivers license my first car, the beloved 1988 Ford Tempo 4-door, was totaled. The year was 1998, I had just started my junior in high school and I was now car-less. Unable to get my father to get on board with the 1991 Chevrolet Camaro I had my heart set on, we compromised on what was supposed to be a Ford Thunderbird. But, like yourself I was unable to find the right one. So being 16 with no patience whatsoever, I settled, and my second car was a 1992 Merc Cougar, V6 Silver/Grey with 100k miles on it-- for the bargain price of $3995.00 (Thanks Dad!). Now, to say I tough on my Cougar would be an understatement of gargantuan proportion! I was actively, knowingly, careless and negligent, bordering on dangerous, when behind the wheel of this large, heavy, rear-wheel drive beast...but amazingly no matter what I did, it just kept coming back for more. That car got me thru junior and senior years of high school and almost thru my first year of college... But a few months shy of three years, several accidents, countless donuts, hundreds of burn rides, only TWO oil changes, and 60k miles...the head gasket went and I bid adieu. The cougar moved on to the junkyard, while I moved on to a 1998 Mitsu Eclipse GS (Thanks Dad!). Watching your video brought back so many great memories of my Cougar and the epic teenage shenanigans that were pulled in that car. It was such a great high school car to have...they certainly don't make hoopties like that anymore.

I have a 90 cougar LS, haven't had it for long (6 months), I paid 3000$ CAD for it, and like you said, it is a lot of car for the money! Runs smooth and those seats are incredible for long ride. And even with a 3.8l, fuel economy can be really decent, while going 55. It's no hybrid, but it does the job well, and in style. And I just LOVE my digital dash! Great video btw, I'll check out the rest of your stuff!

super cool review. I had an 84 with the 5.0, and loved it. Loved the styling. I'm now just buying a 94 XR7, with 112,000 miles on it but its mint condition. Hope it lasts for many more miles.

I just bought a 30Th Anniversary 1997 Cougar from Copart in Texas (CLEAN TITLE!) Always wanted one of these since they were introduced. 1997 Thunderbirds and Cougars lost some gauges and got cup holders!

My first car was an 84 Cougar and I bought another one which was set up for the drag strip and has a big cowl hood about 2 yrs ago. I also have an 5,0 1989 XR7 which was the last year for the Fox platform. I love it and definitely prefer the rear window/slightly smaller and lighter nature of it to the later models. For me the best of both worlds would be the older body on the 89 and up frame. The guy before me replaced the factory molded headlights with older square style LED lights which just look weird but I just got one replacement headlight delivered not an hour ago. They really were pretty reliable and I drove the piss out of my first one w/no headgasket issues. In fact I took a 3.8 liter Mustang to 4 days and 1k miles of off road stupid fun a few months ago. Only issue was when I dove into a deep mudpuddle and hydro seized the motor. Pulled the plugs, cranked out the muddy water and she was back on the road.

06:34 - Cats rule! Dogs drool!

This is awesome stuff my friend, keep up the amazing work. I've always found this gen T-bird/Cougar really interesting. Though the face lifted versions... less so lol

I still own a 92, 25th anniversary cougar. I absolutely love it! It is not very friendly at the pumps, however the big 5.0L is reliable and powerful!

I enjoyed the video! I have owned 3 MN12's so far. My first was a 95 LX Tbird with the base 3.8 V6, which I fixed up and sold to my brother. The second was a 89 Super Coupe Tbird which I still own and I have been making RU-vid videos on how to work on said SC. A week ago I just bought my third, but this time it is a 96 Cougar XR7 with the 4.6 V8. The SC is definitely faster despite them both being Autos and the V8 was close in power. 210/315 for the SC and 208/280 for the 4.6.

have owned 4 cougars. 1st car - 90 cougar ls v6. just like yours but maroon on maroon. 2nd car - upgraded to 95 cougar xr7 4.6 v8 decked out with every feature for that year. black w/ gray int. the other 2 was always trying to get back to the black cat i regretted getting rid of. each ended up being more worn out and ragged out than the last till i gave up and finally moved on.

My first car was a ‘96 Cougar XR7. Loved it to death. I now own an ‘89 Thunderbird and am loving how it rides. Not super peppy but it’s in great condition and makes me feel good!

I daily drive a 1997 3.8 Tbird LX and truth be told, it’s easily the nicest and most comfortable car I have ever driven all things considered. And I paid only $1650 for it at 133K, to which I’ve added about 4400 miles since buying.

I've wanted an MN-12 since I was a kid. Couldn't find an MN-12 Cougar in Jersey (though I did own 2 CDW-27 Cougars). However, I did get a beautiful 96 MN-12 Thunderbird LX 3.8L V6 a couple of weeks ago w/92k on it for $2000! It's actually on my channel, Normcore Motors. I love that you had an MN-12 Cougar! They're awesome!

I owned the 1992 XR-7. A lot of memories in that car

I had a 91 Cougar XR7. 5.0 motor. White with red interior. I loved that car!!!!

Oooh wow. I’ve only owned a few cars, and my first couple were not great. I love how the cougar was supposed to be so manly haha ~Trav

Yessir, proud owner of a 97 Tbird LX. Got a PI swap intake manifold, Jmod 4r70w, K&N intake, 225/17 all around, and a custom muffler delete, 71k miles. Future plans are a full PI swap, coilovers, performance cats, 3.73 gears and a full tune. Cheers.

I may be biased, but I liked this video. My first car was a 1991 Thunderbird SC 5-speed. I’ve had it since 2012.

OMG i loved mine it was an xr-7 it was missing the moon roof 3.8 of course but it rode like a dream, and what you said about passengers they thought i was taking them to the prom LOL love the limo ride

I have a 93. Decent condition. Paid $1500. I'd say it was worth it. Great A to B rider.

I had mine in 2004. I think it was 1993 model, V6, that very dark greenish color and beige interior. My friend sold it to me for $200. I needed a cheap car in that time and that was the cheapest possible car I was able to find. Cheapest running cars I found were more than $1500, all that disgusting sedan etc. So, this was a winning lottery. I sued to call it "Retired Mafia Hitman car" because it looked like one. :) I was planning to drive it around 3 months but I ended up having it around 2 years because car did not give me any kind trouble. It was extremely comfortable (While I was a limo driver who was driving brand new Mercedes S class, BMW 7 series, Lincoln Twoccer etc during that period), very practical. This was not slow by any means and I used the drive the hell out of it as a Honda S-2000 and all Vtec 3 door Honda hatchbacks, Golf GTI, BMW M3, Nissan 350Z type of car driver. 2 Years later car was still running without any major problem and I gave it to my friend for free. As far as know, I driven it about another 2 years too. I still have fetish about the look (Design) of that car. If it was today, I would probably still keep that car forever and just drive it time to time for getting that "retired mafia hitman" feeling :)

My dad bought a 95 v8 brand new before I turned one. We had it in the family just until recently. It was the car I sat in the back of going to get haircuts and to my grandparents as well as being the car I eventually drove to high school, college, and a little bit after. My dad just recently took it to the junkyard as I currently live in Japan after nearly 25 years of ownership. It was definitely a cat with 9 lives. Lots of things didnt work but it still got people from point a to b. Certainly almost crashed it a few times (I blame Wisconsin winters and old tires). I certainly do look at getting one when I return as they are dirt cheap for a decent driving experience. Just wished they were more common with a manual transmission.

I had a 1993 Cougar XR7 as my first car it was black with grey cloth/leather I bought it from a guy who’s wife just bought another car because she was having another baby soon and her husband who was selling me the car was going to serve in Iraq so he ended up giving me the car for $760.75 and it had only 73,000 miles on it he just wanted it gone. It had new tires new paint fresh tune up. I regret selling the car. I grew up with the MN12 platform cars my father had a burgundy on burgundy 89 Cougar LS with wire wheel hubcaps. My aunt had a teal 93 T-Bird LX that she drove forever till it died. Now a few years later after I sold the Cougar Im looking for another one and it’s also been replaced by a 2015 Chrysler 200 C. Glad to see there is still some love for these cars. Do you know there was plans for a 1998 model year but it got canceled.

I've had 2 of these 90s MN12 cougars, 91 Xr7 5.0 and a 94 Xr7 4.6 2v. I loved them both and had to sell my 91 to help my mother out. I definitely will buy another one. I put 4.10s and a cold air in my 94 and it ran 14.8

Man, I loved this platform!! Great video B rad!!

Just bought my first cougar for a grand its a Black 94, 83000 miles, V6, and drives like a champ. Could have better get up and go but once im going im flying.

ive had plenty of 3.8 cars i used as dailys and nvr had any major problems with them.... great motors dont make a lot of power but they will keep up with traffic no problem.... i took a 98 mustang gt to prom...it was my grandmas, it was MINT

I'm planning on trying to but one of these for a daily driver.

My Cougar was a white V6. Big car with smooth suspension. Liked the look and the price was right for a used car.

This mercury cougar design very nice.I love classic american cars.🇺🇸👍

I had a 1996 Thunderbird with the V6, overall I thought it was a great driving car compared to previous small cars I had previously (Ford Escort). I miss it but it had some maintenance & reliability issues (head gasket & some transmission slippage). I partially blame this on the previous owner taking poor care of it.

I owned a 1988 Cougar and I agree I think I always preferred the upright profile of the rear window. Power from the 3.8 V6 was DREADFUL though. LOL

"*Car lands two wheel stunt* "Now what'd you think of that?" Pretending to be unimpressed- "....that was pretty cool"

Ive had a TON of Cougars (2 76s, 1 78, 85 XR7, 2 87 Ls's, 1 89 XR7SC auto, 1990 Xr7 SC 5 speed fun, 96 XR7) Im probably missing a few. I NEVER had head gasket problems. Only one of my essex 3.8 cars had head gasket issues and that was an 84 convertible mustang and I bought it that way. Besides having Mark VIIs, Marquis/LTD (fox) and Thunderbirds, never any issues except BALL JOINTS! I beat mine when younger too not as much as my second car an 84 Skylark limited 2.8. Maintenance was key. Then again Ive had more issues with Fords with that stupid ignition module under the distributor than my K cars.. 4 head gaskets , 3 turbos one abused 2.2. Most turbos 15 psi..... all how you care for them. My 1986 Impala was a POS! and it was my grandmothers friends car!

I've owned a 91, 93, 96, 97, and 30th anniv 97 Cougar. Currently still have my 97. Got a video of them on my channel.

My mother had a burgundy ‘92 Cougar. I miss that car

I have the 89 cougar xr7 SC for my first car 😂 I’m 15 and it comes supercharged. Can’t forget it comes with a 5 speed which are the rare ones😏 2101 ever made of the 5 speeds in 89

05:04 - “You’ll just love taking in the scenery.” ...bwahahaha! What!?

Have ownd 4 thunderbirds in last years 86tc 5speed and 3 mn12 my fav 97 lx was my first one sold it got a 95 lx it blue up lol got a 96 lx but got stolen ;,( where all green except tc , but inbetween getting the 95/96 i got a 93 mark viii and fell in love with them but sold it to get 96 bird... ffwd to today i have 2 mark viiis 95 base and a 97 lsc palm beach edition , still havent goten a cougar came close to getting a 97 with your v6 to putt around it but lost chance one day ill own a cougar ! I want a 94-97 lx

I had a 90 thunderbird. I’ve often thought about getting another later one as a weekend cruiser. It was nice. But had its early 90’s flaws. But I can say that about my 96 Corvette

i have a 1991 mercury cougar Ls and it has a V8 5.0 302 it really goes ive had todo some repairs so when i goto the junk yard i can get stuff from the T birds or the Cougar ive never found another or even seen another 5.0 cougar or T bird just the 3.8 sometimes i have to get parts from mustangs not cuz its a 5.0 but cuz the parts #'s match its not pretty but its a sleeper

Bought my 1996 XR7 4.6 for $500 because the previous owner thought it had a bad 4r70w. 6 quarts of Merc. V and a trans pan gasket later I have a car that is eerily similar to my S550 Mustang suspension wise and size wise and a great project car. It will be getting a gen 3 Coyote/10R80 using Power by the hour engine/body control modules to run it. So glad I bought this over a Fox-based Cougar for the fact nobody even knows what this thing is!

It's going to be my second car, wish me luck!

I had a 93 Cougar, I remember it drove really nice, 3.8 V6 was slow and mine blew the head gaskets like they all do

I had a 79 T-Bird and and 86 Cougar. I'd love to drive an aero coupe.

I have a 1990 cougar xr7 supercharged 5speed and I have been trying to put it back on the road gotta pull the trans to fix synchronizers

Nice I have a 95 tbird v8 slow but has decent torque and will do a burn out and donuts amazingly I bought it for 700 bucks lol

Can you do a video of the1994 Thunderbird V8

Where did you get the black out headlights???

LOVED my 1990! GREAT design. Horrible 3.8L engine. Reliability was pathetic. The rotors were composite to save weight. They warped constantly. Then I got a 1996 T-Bird with a V8. But it always had a odd vibration at highway speeds. Ford brought out a corporate mechanic. They couldnt figure it out. I remember the maintence manager told me "dont even bother to hire a lawyer". I was PISSED!!!! I traded it in for a 1998 Blazer. It was 10x worse. :(

Nice

I had 88 with an 3.8 until I blow off the head gasket then put a woworked 5.0 so much fun

Hey bro I just bought one 97xr72021 with some rims 22s putting a system in it

my first car was a 1993 cougar xr7 3.8 my 2nd was a 1994 tbird with the 4.6 my buddys all had 3rd gen fbodys and nether car could keep up i would later on buy 89 tbird supercoupe with a 5 speed. now i own an 89 cougar xr7 with the supercharged 3.8 I picked up for free got some videos on my channel

Brought 1985, 1995, 1997 Cougars with the latter 2 brand new. 1985 was more stylish. I have to disagree with you on the 1983-1988 curved side window. It made the car look unique.

Just got one today. V6 1992 mint condition.

My parents had a 93 xr7 SC V6 when iwas a kid. Thiers was a piece of crap that blew the head gasket at 70k miles and continued to go thru sensors like candy. Im currently looking for a v8 powered xr7 cuz i heard thev8s were much better with reliability

I just bought a blue calinete edition from a woman at my job garage kept only 60k miles with the motorized seat belts

My first car was a 92 Cougar LS. Now I have a 92 Thunderbird SC.

I just bought a 1994 Bostonian for 1,500 bucks!

Marathon the end of capaldi era + in quarentine

Holy shit is this where we get the label “cougar” for older women who are into younger men

Incorrect on the time availability of the 5.0 for this platform. Starting in 91 and up to 93. Your car being a 92, it could have been ordered with the 5.0 alongside the two 3.8 options.

The 97s got cup holders in the final year of the mn12!

I just bought a 1996 thunderbird LX

92 cougar 25th anniversary edition 3.8l v6 the paint wasn't quite green and wasn't quite blue..

I really like t birds 89 to 95

i just boughta 89 a grandma owned one with 90k on it so we will see what its like

Wonder how that stunt driver career went for you 😂

My 89 sc 5 a

iv owned a dozen cougars. my fav but the v6 ones were garbage

1993 cougar xr7 v6

The Caprice wears like Iron and the ford will blow a head gasket after the warranty runs out!

What CHEESEY special effects,,,I could smell the limburger from here.

Poor car

F