Now, your serious Cougar zealot is most likely going to favor the sleeker '67-70 models, but I've always thought the '71-73 cars were pretty cool-looking. Only in America could you get a grille like that. This example seems pretty much solid and rust-free, and the interior is reasonably intact.
Sure, it's just the 351 Windsor two-barrel, not the big 429, but it's still a shame to see this car get crushed. As always, we hope its pieces live on in other Mercuries.

Don't tell El Presidente, but many of those engine parts may not be completely destroyed; the bearings definitely get creamed by the clunkerizing process, but a standard engine rebuild ought to be able to get a clunkerized engine back in working order. Of course, in most cases it's not worth doing so, but junkyard scavengers are already grabbing cylinder heads and other goodies off clunkerated powerplants.

I made a trip to several East Bay self-service wrecking yards in search of Cash For Clunkers victims, and I found plenty! I suspect that most of the Explorers, F150s, Cherokees, and the like are bypassing wrecking yards and heading straight to The Crusher, but those searching for nice body/interior components, suspensions, transmissions, and the like for 1990s high-end European machinery are in for some happy hunting (mixed with a healthy dose of tears for all the perfectly good BMW 7 series sedans, 10-year-old Jaguars, and other cool machinery that got caught up in the Clunkpocalypse).

Likewise, builders of street rods are no doubt rejoicing over all those MN12 Fords that got Clunk-O-Lated™, because they'll find a bonanza of swap-ready IRS rear suspension setups in those Cougars, Thunderbirds, and Continentals. I found three beclunked MN12s, all in near-showroom condition, side-by-side in one yard. Meanwhile, there's a certain clunkxecuted RX-7 GSL rear end I've got earmarked for my 20R Sprite project.

1994 BMW 740.


I don't feel too bad about all those Explorers getting destroyed, but first-gen RX-7s are getting really rare these days. Looks like some gratuitous forklift damage on this one.


MN12s galore!





There are many fewer XJ6s and XJ-Ss on the streets today, thanks to Cash For Clunkers.





Let's hope some of these MN12 suspensions live on in other cars.













Many, many BMW Big Six engines have met their doom via Cash For Clunkers.

How about a 1992 BMW 318iS? No going out in a blaze of LeMons glory for this E30!









The interior in this '90 Eldorado was just about perfect.


1990 Cadillac Eldorado

Alameda has a fair number of early Cougars (for example, this '67 (which ended up getting junked), this '68, and this '68) but so far I've found just one Farrah-grade example: this '75.


I have now decided that this Mercury's neighborhood is the DOTS-iest of the entire island. There's the '56 Lincoln you see here. There's another Cougar in the driveway, and the owner of these fine Ford products also drives this '70 Lincoln Continental Mark III when he needs a change of pace. We've got the '67 Imperial and the '69 Volvo P1800 around the corner. The '67 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser is just down the block a ways. I haven't even shot the early CRX and late-60s GMC pickup yet!

We don't need to recount the ways the new Mercury Cougar sucked, so instead enjoy this hilarious photo and its over-enthusiastic caption:

THE CAT IS BACK! Jacques Nasser, Former President Ford Automotive Operations, today unveiled the all-new 1999 Mercury Cougar at the NAIAS. The new front wheel drive 2-door Cougar features Ford's new edge design and will be in dealers' showrooms this spring.

[Source: FORD]

It's got a very 1970s two-tone paint job, which has taken some punishment from the California sun, but it still looks pretty good and it gets its owner to work every day. This car may be a '68, but my DOTS Sense tells me it's a '69; I'm not enough of a Cougar expert to distinguish a '68 from a '69, so you experts can correct me if I've made a mistake.


Some 60s cars look best with the factory wheels and hubcaps, but I think this car has the exact right wheels right now. You think both flip-up headlights still work?

Political statements weren't exactly the goal here, but this crusty-looking Cougar lovingly painted in Old Glory, sitting in the front yard of a semi-abandoned house certainly is a study in contrasts. [SideSalad.net]

See the rest of our Jalopnik Auto Flag-Elation here and check out our pre-Fourth Jalopnik Automotive Amerigasm here.

Selected Responses From The New Cougar Forums

"You do know that if you get in an accident, all that stuff is going to kill you, right?"

"What in the jihad??? What in earth brought you to think all those pc speakers would be so much better than just spending the money on a good car audio head unit. What do the girls say when you ride by blasting the windows startup sound?"

"Not sure if anyone posted this already but that ****'s gonna get stolen. WTF were you thinking, not just because it what it is, but because there is no harness and it is in plain view."

"The problem isn't the SOUND quality... the problem is that there are computer speakers (LOTS of Computer Speakers) filling the entire back seat! LOL

"That neon in the trunk was hilarious to me beacause it was bridged across both seats, so if you were to fold down one it would break. Then again you cant fold down your seats because there is a logitec demo in the back seat!"

Cougar Owner Responds

hey noggs you strike me as one of those Madison Democrat pplz but I'll ask anyway, PM me where you live so I can have a witness stop by and confirm that the speakers sound awesome.

Yes I do, just cropped it out. They're mounted on the dash. Didn't you think it odd that 5.1 speaker sets each had only 4 speakers back there? Guess where the other 2 are

Also, the neon lights are hidden (except in the back temporarily). I made sure that from sitting anywhere in the car, you can't see any part of the blue bar at all. You also can't see the exterior green ones without laying on the ground. I just took the shot of it with the camera cuz it wasn't catching the glow alone and to show where it was. Didn't you notice that the camera angle was from like a foot off the ground?

Btw if I get a stereo installed with an Aux in, I can use the door speakers at the same time. But seriously, you all own cougars, as if being 3 feet below your ears, nearer to the engine, with the insane amount of road noise you get makes them sound like anything. I can't stand them and it's not worth putting really expensive ones in that will sound better when they're in a horrible place to begin with.

That's just a small sampling of what has to be the longest 7G Cougar related thread in history. (h/t Braff) [New Cougar Forums]

This Cougar lives in the East End, not far from the 1950 Pontiac Chieftan, and it seems to get driven regularly.


The 210-horse 302 was the standard Cougar powerplant for '68, but you could get it with a 390 or even a 335-horse 428. Judging by the lack of badging on this car, we can assume it's probably a 302 machine.


It's a little bit battered, but it looks to be in good original condition and still getting its owner around in old-school Mercury style.