(first posted 12/15/2012. Since we had the original Cougar yesterday, let’s follow with this rather different kind of cat)
The one-year-only 1977 Mercury Cougar Villager station wagon is worth taking a closer look at.
The story has been told before that the 1976 Montegos effectively became 1977 Cougars; only the XR-7 was a “real” Cougar, since all the other models, including the aforementioned wagon, were face-lifted Montegos. Ford took the same approach by morphing Torinos into slightly restyled LTD IIs (CC here).
Richard Bennett came upon this rare cat during the Woodward Dream Cruise. In his own words:
That Cougar is apparently legendary in Cougar circles, as I have seen many pics of it on the Net over the years, so it goes without saying that I got rather excited when I saw it up ahead of me! These were taken at the Woodward Dream Cruise back in August. I was heading south on Woodward getting ready to head back towards Ypsilanti and, well there it was! I was lucky I got those pics, what with all the other traffic and such.
This car looks pristine, and it appears to have a matching dark jade interior–perfect! What’s more, it appears there’s a vintage-dealership tag on the back. Can anyone make out what it says?
Here we can see the front fender’s “Villager” script, which I recall was reserved for the woody-look version. Plain-sided Cougar wagons were available as well. And like its Colony Park big brother, the Cougar woody featured chrome framing in place of the lighter-woodgrain plastic used on the Ford Country Squire and LTD II Squire. And in case you haven’t noticed, there’s another CC in the background, which I believe is a 1978 Delta 88 coupe.
image: wikimedia.org
Here’s a front view of the very same car Richard found on Wiki. As he noted, it is somewhat famous, and numerous images of this very green Villager are posted online. The most obvious changes for 1977 involved the front end, where a Continental Mark V-like grille and quad rectangular lights set the Cougar wagon apart from its Montego predecessor.
For reference, here’s the ’76 model. As you can see, there aren’t many differences aft of the nose, at least on the wagons. Coupes and sedans were much less Montego-like.
Even though most of the 1977-79 models–especially the four-door sedan and wagon–were derided as fake Cougars, I have to admit that Richard’s deep-green metallic find looks pretty good to me.
Perhaps it’s because Mom’s parents had a triple-jade green ’77 LTD II sedan–it might even have been a Brougham! I have hazy memories of riding in that car as a toddler and it, much like the ’79 Bonneville Dad had at the same time, has made a permanent impression on my car-addled brain.
My fondness for these cars may also be due to one of my favorite childhood toys, a green Matchbox Cougar Villager with an opening tailgate. While normally I’m a stickler for factory wheel covers and whitewalls, even I must admit those Torque-Thrusts suit this wagon. Thanks for sharing, Mr. Bennett!
This generation/platform of FoMoCo wagon never did much for me, but I must admit that the Cougar variation is really cool – just for the “wrongness” factor, if for no other reason.
I had never really noticed how tall the tailgate is on these (relative to the greenhouse on the bodysides). Probably for clearance of the retracting window which has quite a forward slope to it. As for the chrome trim around the edges of the DiNoc, this is what Mercuries always did, while Fords used the fiberglass made to look like contrasting light-colored wood.
I agree – the wheels suit this car.
Looking at the Merc Villager Wagon again the only thing I don’t fancy much are those wheels. Those are for sporty-looking cars; this is nothing remotely sporty looking about a ’77 Villager Wagon. I’d have opted for the hubcaps in the brochure pic above (the one with the cougar coming toward the camera and the gray Merc to the left and the red one to the right). Maybe I’m just dowdy-minded when it comes to older cars and the choice of wheels/hubcaps they might have.
Having owned a first generation 1967 Cougar as a teenager, about a hundred years ago,,,or so, I threw up a little in my mouth in 1977 when they came out with these horrific beasties. Dear god, a COUGAR WAGON?, A 4 DOOR SEDAN? What in the world was Ford thinking of? I realized it was the Disco era. Club 51 and all that and “nose candy” was all about, But I thought that was a bi-coastal problem. Didn’t think it had reached its way to Dearborn.. Because in my mind the movers and shakers at Ford where definitely on something 🙁
But now in my Medicare years (where’s my Sr, discount, punk?) I think That Cougar wagon featured, wheels, fake wood, and all. Looks really great, and I’d love to own it 🙂 Go figure!
Thanks for point out the differences between the Ford and Mercury versions JPC. That back window is pretty small, makes me think of the current generation Subaru Outback.
I have got the same Matchbox Cougar, although the box in loooong gone; mine even still has mud from years ago stuck in the wheels.
This is a great looking Cougar and not the last Cougar wagon. There was a Fox-based Cougar wagon in, like, ’80 to ’82; a friend of my mother’s had one.
Jason, that’s not my original one. I imagine my first one is in similar condition to yours! Still have it, though.
I got this one from my folks for my birthday, probably 20 years ago.
I had the Matchbox Cougar, too; in fact, it’s the first thing I think of when the topic of the Montego-based 1977-79 Cougars comes up. The ’77 Cougar wagon was probably more common in Matchbox form than as an actual car.
IINM, ’82 was the only year for the Fox-based Cougar wagon, making 1977 and 1982 the only two years that there were ever Cougar wagons. There were Fox-based Cougar XR7 personal luxury coupes from 1980-82 (similar to the contemporary Thunderbird) and Fox-based “regular” Cougar coupes and sedans in 1981-82 (similar to the contemporary Granada), but there was a wagon version of the latter only in ’82. The Fox wagon was a Fairmont/Zephyr from 1978-81, a Granada/Cougar in 1982, and an LTD/Marquis from 1983-86.
What I remember most about 70’s Cougars is the Farrah hood ornament in some commercials.
+1!
My folks bought one of these for my mom new when I was 17… a white one, fully loaded, leather seats, with a 351 2bbl. I remember going to the LM dealer with them thinking “yuck!”. They traded a forest green ’72 Country Squire 429 4bbl on it. My dad had ’76 BMW 530i at the time, so at least there was one decent car in the family. Anyway, that Villager was a huge wheezy, gutless wallowy whale of a car, typical of the era. Even so, spent many a night out carousing with buddies and necking with girls in that Villager… my friends and I called it “The Pillager.” It was perfect for those types of teenage activities. And it was pretty good in the snow, as I remember.
Cool car. i like the mag wheels on it too. Ford successfully restyled the front ends of these giving them a crisp, clean look. However, like many other cars that made the switch to modern rectangular headlights in the 70s (GM and Chrysler I’m looking at you), the front end no longer matches the curvy lines of the back, resulting in some very strange amalgamations.
I picture the seating positions being really low in this wagon, which was Ford’s neat trick (I see what you did there) to make it appear like the interior wasn’t as freakin cramped as it really was on this mid-sized boat. Riding around in their products as a kid, I distinctly remember not being able to see over the dashboard while planted on a flat vinyl bench seat positioned right off the floorpan.
That was my first time getting to attend the Dream Cruise. I wish I had had more time that day, as I could have spent hours there! My biggest regret was that I didn’t have a classic car to cruise in. My shined up for the day 2012 Escape ended up being part of the parade.
For what it’s worth, if you haven’t been to the Cohort, it’s worth your time, and not just because I posted a bunch of my pics there 🙂
You know, the picture of the silver sedan reminded me of Dan Aykroyd’s 1978 Royal Deluxe of SNL fame 🙂
Thanks for sharing this for me Tom, great job!
Yes my sister had one of these back in the mid 80s.
Same emerald green color, with a pristine dark green interior.
IIRC it was a nine passenger having the small jump seats facing each other in the rear.
She didn’t keep very long as the wagon started to have problems associated with a ten year old domestic automobile.
I have seldom wanted any automobile my siblings have owned ,but wouldn’t have minded owning that Cougar wagon then,an would especially like to own one now.
I saw one of these Cougar wagons over Thanksgiving weekend in Daytona at the informal Bellair Plaza show. It was white outside but had a similar green interior. The photo below is the rather nice looking complete instrument cluster of that car, which I suspect is an option very few buyers ordered.
Whoever said the seating positions are low is right. I had a ’77 T-Bird with a manual seat (no height adjustment) and I had to sit on a cushion. There’s something else weird about the driving position, some odd combination of steering wheel/pedal relationship to the seatback angle, that gave me back pain on longer drives. I’m not sure I would want another Torino/Montego/T-Bird/Cougar/LTD II of this generation, for that reason.
Wow, full gauges with a tach! I knew these were optional but figured they were mostly installed in T-Birds. Did you happen to get any exterior shots?
At your service.
Rear view.
That’s wild, I’m shocked that you could even get a tach in any of these 70’s Ford beasts. 6000rpm is pretty optimistic for whatever engine that car had!
I pretty much think these cars are disgusting… but this color with the classic Mercury woodie treatment (one of the few Mercury staples I love) and wagon body makes it cool. I’d be proud to captain this old shit ship, especially if it had the interior shown above.
Classic brand over-extension.One of a few names they had with cachet, and they debase it by slathering that name on bland mid-size cars.
Interesting. With the LTD II CC, I was wondering why Ford bothered to reskin the rear doors/quarters of the Torino wagon (which had very prominent sculpting/creases in the sheet metal), while still retaining obviously Torinio-derived rear glass, and then drop it only a year later.
I got my answer. Look closely at the ad here; All the sheet metal on both wagons is carryover from the ’76 Montego. Even front fenders and the hood. Only the front clip is different.
Same story on the sedans, while the coupes have new doors. LTD IIs have a different hood to accommodate the (stupid) stacked headlights, but the even the flagship Thunderbird still has the old Montego hood. The rooflines on these cars, while looking quite different thanks to new rear quarters and side glass, but the basic roof structure and shape is clearly unaltered.
I always new Ford did this restyle on the cheap, but I never realized just how cheap. It’s a fairly impressive job, considering how different it looks despite changing very little. Usually these exercises are deformed hack jobs – Just look at what happened to the AMC Rebel/Matador over its long lifetime. I can’t give them any credit though, because these cars were still crap in every way.
Sedans have new rear doors, no upsweep of the window line. Front doors carry over and the LTD II shares its’ hood – really, apart from grille texture and the stacked quad headlights used to bring so many baroque early ’70s designs into the late ’70s, its’ whole face – with the 1974-6 Ford Elite.
The real surprise is that they tooled up new rear fenders for the Ranchero, a niche model that wouldn’t be replaced.
Ford sold about 75K LTD II Rancheros. If that was mostly plus business that wouldn’t have bought another Ford, it was worth doing.
Tom, thanks for showing us that. I had no idea that a 77 Cougar wagon would be an internet star.
I grew up in these mid sized Mercurys and Fords, I’m pretty sure I could drive one blindfolded. The later ones were smogged-out, ill- handling pigs, with wildly variable build quality to match. The 70’s were such a great time to buy a car (sarcasm)….
Still, I’d have one again in a heartbeat. Just about anything with the Cougar name on it would do it for me. (A 1975 XR-7 in triple sliver, please, Santa.) As much as I love the ‘sheer’ look of the late 70’s GM products, that factory photo of the silver 4 door Cougar is all kinds of wrong. And right.
Look at what I just found…
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercury-Cougar-Cougar-Villager-Brougham-Wagon-1977-1977-MERCURY-COUGAR-WAGON-RARE-39k-ORG-MILES-LIKE-/330844677254?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4d07e12486#v4-43
As I worked for Hertz for 2 summers around the time this car came out (1977 and 1978) as a transporter (basically the hired hands that picked up cars rented one-way or needed to be moved from one office to another) this was one of the staple vehicles we would drive one way with a bunch of people to pick up cars. Typically we’d pile in the car that had the largest passenger capacity (we had no vans and this of course was before minivans) and for Ford that would be some sort of wagon, as someone always needed to get in the cargo area (if they drew the short straw). First they’d drive the people to either the closest office needing transport or the one with the most cars to pick up, and little by little the car would empty out and eventually would drop off the transporter at the most distant office and then would return back to our home office. Hertz specialized in Ford cars at the time (guess they still do) but we’d sometime pick up other brands, very seldom GM, but I also remember some imports (Toyota and Datsun at the time) as well as Dodge and AMC.
Either Ford or Mercury of this size was the most “common” car in the fleet of our home office at the time…usually an LTD II or Thunderbird, but also the Mercury equivalent, which that year always seemed to be called “Cougar”….I remember thinking it was weird to have a wagon with the Cougar name (which previously was a sporty coupe, not a family car)…instead of the normal Mercury Logos on the car, they had lots of outlines of a Cougar (on hubcaps, dash, hood ornament, etc.). Though the really big Mercury was still around (this was before “Grand Marquis, it was probably a Maquis or Monterrey?) we didn’t seem to have them at our office, nor did we have the small “Bobcat” nor “Comet” (didn’t have the Ford equivalent LTD (regular) nor Pinto, but we did have some Grenadas and Fairmonts in ’78). Yes, and green was a very popular color (with green interior) for many of them in those years.
I was still a teen at the time (barely), and I remember always getting stopped crossing the Canadian border driving a late-model vehicle (either by myself or with a bunch of other usually equally-young co-workers) since we proably fit a profile, always having to open up the trunk or cargo area to be checked out….this was before they required passports to cross the border, but I remember always getting checked out more than normal (compared to when I was travelling on the same road with my parents in our own car).
I own a twin of that Cougar wagon. The gig in Florida who owns the white one has two
Mine was originally a Ford home reserve car aand it now lives in Brisbane Australia. As far as we know there are only about 12 left worldwide
The sports instruments where an option
Yeah that wagon now lives in Germany.
Thanks Leon, it will stay with me forever.
Does anybody really know how many of the Cougar Station Wagons are left?
Not only the Villager.
Are the 12 what you talking Leon all colors or 12 in the color green?
Looking at the photos of the Mercury Cougar wagon and the Ford LTD II wagon I find the Cougar wagon much more attractive to look at simply because the headlights are side by side instead of being stacked. The ‘stacked headlight’ look is infinitely less pleasing to my eye.
I wonder how many of those Cougar wagons are left? I don’t know the average old car survival rate. I noted the production figures for the Villager and base wagon were low. I think it was 8,569 for the Villager and 4,951 for the basic Merc wagon? If so, then 13,520 were produced in all. Would it be reasonable to think ½ of 1% or even less of these wagons are extant in 2016?
Yes, that would be a great knowledge how many are really left.
I thought that the total of the production was 8.569 and 4.951 out of them had been Basic Wagons the rest had been Villager Wagons, but I can be wrong here.
Your guess is about 70 of the 1977 Mercury Station Wagons are left, that would include the Standards also if 13k are the total.
We could make an invocation that every owner post a note then we could count them… 😉
All the cars in the barn we could get then to.
Or everybody who knows the car would be helpful also.
I know 2 of them 1 Standard and 1 Villager
I used to own both for a while at the same time.
I keep the Villager.
I also have seen a yellow Villager at a website in Germany.
Let me know if that would be possible.
I do not have facebook, twitter or any other of that pages…. so I can not make an invocation there.
Thats how it looks now.
Almost as my 1988 Villager.
The same rims as I had 1988
Mercury should have kept the Montego name for their base mid-size coupe/sedan/wagon line. Good thing that Ford division didn’t use T-Bird name, instead of LTD II, on their same class cars.
Probably were trying too hard to compete with Olds Cutlass line up.
Ah, the T-Bird Country Squire…. I remember it well… ;o)
Or perhaps the T-Bird Ranchero…
Loved that Matchbox car. One of the ones that is definitely burned into my memories.
I worked in the “New Car Get Ready” department of the local L-M dealer for this model year.
The wash rack was in the last bay of the building; right next to a chain link fence.
It always took several back and forth maneuvers to get these wagons into the wash bay. Even the Town Cars were easier to jockey into the bay than these long front and rear overhang station wagons!
It always bemused me how a “mid sized” car could be SO big on the outside but SO small on the inside.
Gawd help anyone who had to parallel park this clumsy car.
As a wagon fan I really like these, despite the excessive overhangs. Love that front end styling, much nicer than the LTD II. Compare to a Lincoln Versailles, nearly identical.
Somehow the Cougars of these years seem a bit more modern than the Ford Division counterpart. I think it may be because they carried the look over with very little revision to the ’80s Lincolns.
what a loaf
amazing Mercury lasted as long as it did
A loaf? I know what a loaf of bread is, but I can’t say I know what a loaf of car is . . . ?
I always thought the nose on these looked too formal (and serious) for the ‘flamboyance’ of its body.
Always thought it was funny how Ford completely restyled the sheetmetal of the sedans and coupes, but cheaped out on the LTDII/Cougar wagons and left them stuck with the Torino’s dated flanks and rear end.
They didn’t completely restyle those either – the front fenders and sedan front doors were carryover, and the LTDII hood was the old Elite hood. Not sure if the roof used the same main stamping. And inside, it was all Torino/Montego recycled except for less deeply tunneled gauges.
Also, the flatter sheetmetal used on the Montego wagon rear doors and rear fenders was now used on the LTDII wagon as well as the Cougar wagon, whereas earlier the Torino had much more contoured doors and fenders than the Montego did. Probably used because it looked a bit cleaner and didn’t emphasize the obsolete coke-bottle look they were moving away from on the other body styles.
Ford already knew that the wagon was one year only.
The appearance of the trim surround for the wood paneling on the Cougar wagon and the LTD II wagon looks very similar to how Chrysler handled the same trim on the Volare and Aspen wagons.
The Aspen and LTD II wagon featured a light colored wood surround. As did the full-sized LTD. While the Cougar and Volare wagons featured a very similar in appearance chrome with matte black inserts design.
I had recalled that too, though I couldn’t remember which one got the ash trim and which one the chrome/black.
Bonus points if you can also remember the differentiator for the top-line Aspen and Volare coupes and sedans.
I know the Aspen Special Edition couple came with a half vinyl roof. As did the Volare Premier coupe. And the sedan versions both came with full vinyl tops.
The most distinctive exterior trim difference between the Aspen and Volare was the chrome with vinyl inserts body side trim available on the mid-level Custom package. On the Aspen this trim was higher along the body, roughly parallel with the tops of the wheel arches (as seen below). On the Volare, this trim was lower, running the length of the lower body crease.
That’s what I meant, I assumed (incorrectly) those were on the top line not middle level trim. Nice touch: the molding on the Volare coupe dips a bit just in front of the the rear wheel, an echo of the contours used on late ’60s and early ’70s Valiants before Mopar cheaped out and started using Dart bodies for Valiants too.
You were correct, as that body side trim was also included as part of the Special Edition and Premier packages. If not exclusive to the top of the line packages.
Had one of those half vinyl roof Aspens while stationed in Korea in the 80s.
Korean gear heads were fascinated by the V8. We had no cost military tags. Local Korean tagging would have made this car hugely expensive. A couple of locals wanted to buy just the engine, but they couldn’t find a Korean body that would fit before my rotation date. Ended up selling it to another soldier.
As a kid, I loved the design of the Michigan Bicentennial licence plates. By 1970s standards they looked fresh. The design and colour scheme was tastefully done. And they looked good in the Big Three’s press photos.
I grew up in Southeastern Ontario, so it was an occasional treat to see these plates so far east. Usually, it would be on the 401 highway.
My parent’s 2nd new car was a 1978 Cougar XR-7 in the Midnight Blue/Chamois that was so popular. I got my 2nd car in 1991 – this 1979 Cougar XR-7 – but in Black/Chamois. I run the original 1979 plate my Dad had on his on the back, as well as his old bicentennial plate on the front. In Michigan, we can register and use Year-of Manufacture (YOM) plates if the car qualifies.
Looks beautifully maintained! Very nicely done.