1989 Mercury Cougars
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The
All New 1989 Mercury Cougar XR7 |
Ford Motor Company was in full upswing in the late 1980's, due to the success of the Thunderbird/Cougar program, and the new Taurus/Sable. It was decided, as early as 1985, that an all-new chassis would be developed for the next Thunderbird/Cougar, with independent rear suspension standard. This would raise the bar for world-class standards with a rear-drive chassis, and provide a significant advantage over the competing G-body GM cars (Buick Regal, Olds Cutlass, Pontiac Grand Prix, Chevy Monte Carlo/Lumina), which were now moving to front-drive, and the Chrysler LeBaron coupe, also front drive beginning in 1987. As started in 1987, two models would continue: the base luxury-oriented LS, and the high-performance XR7. Marketing surverys also played a major factor in the features of the new cars. Only 6 parts carried over from the 1988 model year, including the car name and the Cougar logo. With that in mind, the orders were given, and the design team went to work on the new MN-12 chassis program.
Early into the designing stages, it was decided to further differentiate the Cougar from the Thunderbird. Since the Cougar's controversial formal roofline was so successful, designers decided to keep it, and give the T-Bird an even more swept back back window than the Fox T-Bird. Also, since profit margins were higher, the two cars now did not have to share front and rear bumpers, headlight configurations, or hoods. The Cougar was also to retain a grille (while the T-Bird went grille-less), and the vertical bar theme in the taillights that started with the 1987 Cougar went a little further, with Mercury's signature black faded-bar look of the late-80's. The "C"-pillar window was now squared off. The flanks were more slab-sided, with a tasteful body line running along the bottom section of the car. The short deck, long hood look also carried over. The rear taillight section gently curved around now. The cowl height was significantly decreased as well, resulting in greater sight from the windshield. Visually, the sqaured off corners allowed the car to look much bigger than it actually was, and helped keep the Cougar's formal-looking shape.
The MN-12 chassis was stretched
significantly to accomodate a larger rear seating area--from 104.2" (Fox
Cougar) to an even 113". This extra 9" went primarily into rear leg room.
The aforementioned independent rear suspension was the highlight of the
car. In front, a new short/long arm suspension with modified MacPherson
struts was in order. The whole underside of the car was carefully designed
for the smallest possible driveshaft tunnel, and precise routing of the
exhaust system, for an almost totally flat underside, minimizing aerodynamic
lift. One fairly odd feature of the car, as a result, was that the fuel
tank has a cutout so that the driveshaft has clearance around it.
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The
1989
Cougar LS
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The list of standard equipment
was rather large on both models: air conditioning, power windows,
tinted glass, dual power mirrors, delay wipers, speed-sensitive electronic
variable-assist power steering, and power brakes. The list of options was
even longer. Four wheel or hubcap styles could be had for the LS, and the
XR7 came standard with 16" 7-spoke rims with performance tires.
| The big news, and also some concern, was that for the first time in Cougar history, no V8 engine would be offered. The lower cowl of the new MN-12 chassis did not allow the traditional 5.0 V8 to clear the hood; engineers would continue to work on getting the V8 to fit without a power decrease and finally get it into the cars for 1991. In the meantime, the base engine was the 140 HP 3.8L (232 cid) V6. The XR7, however, received the all-new supercharged 3.8 V6, putting out a respectable 210 horsepower and gobs of torque. Also, optional on the XR7 was a Mazda-derived 5-speed manual transmission. |  |
Ford was serious about the performance aspect of the XR7, and it spared no option when building it. Everything that the new Thunderbird Super Coupe had, the XR7 also shared----adjustable sport tuned suspension, standard anti-lock brakes with 4-wheel discs, uplevel interior, monochromatic paint scheme, and 16" rims standard. It was truly a driver's car, with a spacious interior and luxurious appointments, and a tenacity for being pushed through curves.
On the outside, the LS was noted for the bright trim surrounding the windows, taillights, and molding. Standard were 15" rims with hubcaps; a handsome 15" sport rim was also available. The XR7 once again carried a monochromatic paint scheme, available in Black, Bright Red, and Oxford White. The rims, however, were silver, not body color as with the 1988 XR7's. The trim was blacked out, and the grille and outside mirrors were body color. A special "XR7" emblem adorned the fender behind the front wheelwell opening, and the "SUPERCHARGED" letters appeared in blue on the side molding directly below the emblem.
The interior was also all-new, with standard digital gauges in the LS, and analog gauges for the XR7. The dash panels were woodgrain (simulated) in the LS, and silver butcher-block style in the XR7, similar to the pattern used in the 1985-88 XR7's. Also, there were two different steering wheels for the two different models. The XR7 had a special "XR7 SUPERCHARGED" emblem on its steering wheel center cap. Unique for the 1989-90 Cougars and Thunderbirds was the sliding door above the glove box, which was actually a secondary glove box. On the XR7 model, if leather interior was ordered, an optional folding rear seat could be had, allowing owners to place longer objects, such as skis, into the trunk area if necessary. All Cougars from 1989-on had sport bucket seats with console and floor shifter. For the first time, an optional in-dash factory CD player was available. The only factor of the Cougar's interior that did not sit well with most consumers was the motorized lap belts. Ford had originally slated the Cougar and Thunderbird to have air bags for the new MN-12 chassis in 1989. But, marketing research showed that dual air bags were not a desirable option back then, particularly since they were not required by the federal government until the 1996 model year, so Ford decided not to install them. However, some sort of active restriant system was federally mandated, so motorized belts got the nod.
This was certainly an exciting
time for Ford Motor Company, for the fruits of all their labor was now
beginning to pay off. Profit margins allowed them to sink considerable
amounts of money into new platforms and engines. In fact, the MN-12 Thunderbird/Cougar
was a $2 billion program, quite a large amount at that time. It was also
announced, later on, that an all-new Lincoln Mark VIII would debut on the
MN-12 chassis, moving the Mark series off its own unique platform and onto
a continuous production one. This would be really good for the Mark, but
eventually proved costly to the Thunderbird and Cougar, as the traditional
2-door rear drive coupe market was swiftly decreasing. And, already in
the works, was the new "modular" overhead camshaft family of engines that
Ford would use in all its vehicles beginning in the early-to-mid 1990's.
The death knell for the traditional Ford pushrod V8 was in its infancy.
But for now, at least, the Thunderbird and Cougar were given a new lease
on life as the personal luxury coupe.
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For the first time since the late 1960's, a Cougar was being prepared for race duty. Ford had been racing Mustangs and Merkur XR4Ti's in the IMSA racing circuit, but for Mercury's new attitude, the big Cat was given the nod. The IMSA/GTO Stroh's Light Cougar went on to win the manufacturer's cup championship in 1989, and the Whistler Cougar team won again in 1990. Two cars (one powered by a V6, shown here, and the other by a V8) literally dominated the IMSA circuit for those two years. |
The cars were introduced to the public on December 26, 1988 (one of several "good luck" dates for Ford). Sales were instantly great for both cars. The quality of the cars did not go unnoticed---Motor Trend magazine named the 1989 Thunderbird Super Coupe as its Car of the Year, narrowly beating out the Cougar XR7 for the title. Since the T-Bird Turbo Coupe had just won the same award in 1987, some Cougar fans were a little miffed. And rightly so; the award would probably have helped sales of the XR7 tremendously. As it was, the spotlight was on Ford, and with the all-new Cougar, things really started to shape up.
ENGINES
LS - 3.8 (232 cid) V6; 140
hp @ 3800 rpm; 215 lb-ft torque @ 4000 rpm
XR7 - 3.8 supercharged V6;
210 hp @2400 rpm; 315 lb-ft torque @ 2600 rpm
TRANSMISSIONS
LS (and option on XR7) -
AOD 4-speed with overdrive
XR7 (standard) - 5-speed
manual
BRAKES
LS - Front 10.8 inch disc,
rear 9.8 inch drum
XR7 - Front 10.8 inch disc,
rear 10.0 inch disc with antilock brakes
GENERAL
Wheelbase - 113"
Overall Length - 198.7
Overall Width - 72.7
Overall Height - 52.7
Cargo Capacity - 14.7 cubic
feet
Fuel Capacity - 19.0 gallons
CURB WEIGHT
LS - 3570 lb.
XR7 (w/5 speed) - 3776 lb.
XR7 (w/auto) - 3794 lb.
TOTAL SALES
LS - 92,466 (all automatic)
- 94.9 percent
XR7 - 4,780 (2,101 manual,
2,679 automatic) - 5.1 percent
GRAND TOTAL -
97,246
