My new job was in Downtown Los Angeles, we lived approximately twenty miles east in Whittier. My work commute usually took a half hour when traffic was light and we lived there for two and a half years. During that time, part of my heart became an Angelino. We kept the ’77 Coupe de Ville for a couple of years after we were married.
The Cadillac was now seven years old and it started having a few problems. The major failure was when the transmission went out while my wife was on her way to work in Fullerton. That left us Cadillac-less until payday and my Wife could crunch the numbers to pay for the repair. This was before we both had credit cards with a high enough limit to immediately pay for the repair.
I still had my motorcycle to rely on, and we still had my wife’s old Nova. The poor Nova had been side-swiped on the left and never been repaired. It looked pretty rough, so I tried to get my wife to drive the Cadillac. I usually rode my motorcycle to work unless it was raining. Then I would take the “rain car.”
My wife became quite adept at driving the car that she had been initially intimidated by. We lived on a busy four lane street. A narrow driveway sloped down between elevated front lawn areas onto busy Beverly Blvd. It could be tricky but she became an expert.
It’s almost funny that I was starting to consider the ’77 an old car. I currently have, and drive cars that are 15-25 years old, but I wanted my Wife to have a safe, reliable, car that she would not be embarrassed to be seen in. Not that there was anything embarrassing about the Cadillac, but I still wanted the reliability of a new car.
Maybe my eyes were much bigger than my bank account!
My first thought went to another used Cadillac. The new downsized El Dorado had debuted in 1979 and it was still the current body style in 1984. A two or three year old Eldo would make a nice replacement. They were still pretty pricey however, and I thought that it was time to buy my first new car.
I thought that I might try being fiscally responsible and test drove a Renault Alliance at the AMC dealer. It should have been called the Appliance! That cured me of any crazy econo car thoughts (My Astre experience was still pretty fresh in my mind). I found the Chevy Celebrity Eurosport to be interesting and I’d also been kind of enthralled by the Ford Fairmont when it was introduced. I thought of it as the poor man’s “wanna be” Yuppie car. As a newlywed, I thought that it might be a good idea to get some input from my wife, since she would be the one driving the car on a day to day basis. Her assessment of these cars was simply, “No way Jose!”
A new Mercury Cougar had arrived in 1983 and they had a great ad campaign built around an old Frank Sinatra song, the “I’ll Be Seeing You” series of commercials. The car was pretty nice looking, an unlikely combo of aero and formal; the upright rear window was reminiscent of the El Dorado. I read a lot of criticism of the car’s styling nowadays, but back then it just hit the right note. It was a big seller. Of course if the Cougar was a consideration, then why not its sibling the Thunderbird?
Sleek and severe, but it worked.
I found the T Bird to be more attractive, as it seemed the sportier choice, but my wife found the more formal Cougar to be more appealing. It wasn’t a matter of price, they were pretty equal depending on the options chosen. My wife wanted the Cougar, so that’s what we got. We picked it out of the inventory on the lot. It had a dark gray exterior with lighter gray cloth upholstery. It had power everything; a/c, cruise, and of course a cassette stereo. Some came with alloy wheels, but our’s had whitewalls and the wire spoke hubcaps that she preferred. The standard V6 was perfect. I wanted it to have reasonable fuel economy.
You can love them or hate them, but my wife loved them!
The tail lamps are well detailed.
The fit, finish, paint, and assembly quality were miles ahead of what we had been building in Fremont. That caused me a bit of pain to admit.
The interior was plush and nicely screwed together. Quality was Job One!
The more expensive models had opera lamps and vinyl roof coverings, our Cat was clean and modern. It was an acceptable substitute for an El Dorado, especially for a newly married young couple. I have always loved personal luxury cars.
Just as the Wife had been driving the Coupe De Ville after we were married, this really was her car. I’d say that it suited her style, a youthful, classy stylish, car. At twenty three years of age, it looked appropriate for her. Like many of our spouses or Significant Others, in the coming years she would put up with a lot of cars that she wouldn’t be too enthused about. It would be almost another decade after the Cougar was gone, that we’d get another car that she really liked.
The car was perfect for commuting as well as long trips to visit the in-laws in the Central Valley as well as my family in the Bay Area. It was so quiet and rode so smoothly, with such effective air conditioning. We only had one kid at the time, and she was well past the car seat stage, so trying to wrestle a baby into a safety seat wasn’t yet an issue. My wife really liked the Cougar; it was smaller than our old Cadillac, even easier to drive, and it sent out the right signals. We both had good jobs so we never had to penny-pinch and make do with a cramped Chevette.
Even though the Cougar wasn’t exactly what I would have preferred -I would definitely have gone for the El Do- I still had my Harley Sportster. This was a pattern that I maintained all through my family raising years. I always held onto my motorcycles until I was in my late 50’s. I even achieved my goal of owning a Harley Big Twin at this time.
The Cougar would make the trip back to San Jose with us in January of 1985. We sold the “rain car” before we left to her brother, who was in the Army at that time. We loaded up our belongings, including the two Harleys into a U-Haul truck for the trip north.
With only one car, I bought a good bright fuchsia-colored rainsuit and rode the bike to work every day, even when it rained. We had found a really nice duplex in the desirable Willow Glen neighborhood, which was less than ten miles from both our jobs.
A year later we had been able to save up enough money for a down payment on our first new home, a duplex style townhouse, marketed as a “duet home.” It was nice, with three bedrooms, two baths, a small backyard, but most importantly, a two car driveway with a single car garage. The fixed thirty year loan rate was 13%. We were able to get a special first time buyer rate through the County program that lowered that to only 11%!
We couldn’t afford a place in Willow Glen and we moved across town to the East Side neighborhood of Evergreen. This formerly agricultural area was being built up at a rapid pace with new developments. We were still in the city, now only a bit more than ten miles from our jobs. We have always maintained a priority of reducing our commutes by living closer to work.
The Cougar was still doing its job, and I started thinking about getting some type of hobby car that I could drive to work when it rained. I found a rather tired old Honda Civic CVVC coupe for sale at a gas station. This was followed by a succession of hobby cars that have continued to this present day.
We were pretty happy in our new home, but I still wanted a real house on its own lot with a two car garage. It didn’t have to be new. Real estate in San Jose was hot at this time, (when isn’t it!) and I didn’t want to get frozen out of finding our next home. Even in the short time we lived there we benefited from a fair amount of appreciation. Lucky for me, my Wife is a whiz with our finances, and we were able to find our next home only a mile away from our current home in a very nice established neighborhood.
Now that we were established in a long term residence we found our family increasing by another child. We had to deal with using a baby seat in a somewhat tight rear passenger compartment. It was hardest on my wife who had to ferry the kids around while I was at work. She had to do this while maintaining her own employment. We stuck with the Cougar for another couple of years until we realized that we needed something bigger.
I really like this thing – except the hub caps. Alloys in turbine style would fit so much better. It’s a pitty that these cars not were shipped to my corner of the world.
More! More!
In that color, it reminds me of my mom’s Cutlass Supreme, which was either an ’85 or ’86. She was a few years older than Mrs. Jose, but in a similar place in life at the time, an up-and-comer with two little kids. The Cutlass, too, had a similar air of formality, but it still connoted a big, personal luxury car.
Much credit to Ford for showing GM (and Chrysler) how to merge a modern aero-look, with a traditional formal styling element, in the roof design. It worked here.
In their push to maximize aerodynamics, and a flush-faced aero appearance, Ford/Mercury offered very few wheel choices with a higher offset, deep dish look. That choice, would have improved the looks of these, and the concurrent Thunderbird. Same applied to the Lincoln Mark VII. I thought the best-looking factory wheel choice, were the TR aluminum wheels. Though, they looked small. The wire wheels (and whitewalls) looked so awkwardly out-of-place, on such an otherwise modern-looking car. Ford appeasing traditional buyer tastes. Higher offset wheels, make these look more muscular.
Ford did a commendable job, creating a styling distinction between the Thunderbird, Cougar, and Lincoln Mark VII styling. Sooo much better than their domestic competitors.
I absolutely loathed the 1970s Ford Motor Company, loved the turnaround ’80s Ford.
TR aluminum wheel design.
The formal roof is the obvious element but the body sculpting with the beltline kickup is one of the most distinct parts that sets itself apart from the Thunderbird as well, it’s almost a throwback to the cokebottle look, something lost in the smoothed out 87 and later Cougars
The 10 hole phone dial wheels lifted from the Mustang/Capri were a nice look in these too, standard on the Turbo XR-7
Except for the roofline, this was basically identical to the T-bird. But, what a difference that was. The roofline changed the entire personality of the car. More of a mini Mark compared to the T-birds sporty pretensions. I recall reading somewhere that the demographic of a Cougar buyer skewed far older. Amazing what one styling cue can do.
I put a lot of miles on an ’87 Thunderbird when I was a kid, so I have a special fondness for mid-eighties Thunderbirds and Cougars. There was a really sharp ’87 XR-7 for sale on Bring a Trailer not too long ago with 37,000 miles on it. It sold for under $8000, and that’s a car I wouldn’t hate owning.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1987-mercury-cougar-3/
I’m so glad I took the time to read this excellent piece .
-Nate
The Cougar isn’t really my style of car, but the story sure is, thanks for another great installment, these have all been great, looking forward to more. I’ll say though that blue with the gray interior looks quite attractive when in the condition of the featured car’s photos.
This Cougar represents one of the last times that a Mercury was significantly different from its Ford brother, and I think Ford Motor Company did it quite well. The formal roofline suggests a formality and elegance befitting Mercury, while the sloping roof of the Thunderbird suggests more sportiness befitting the badge’s history.
There’s enough difference between the two that designing and creating new sheetmetal for the roof and everything behind the B-pillar couldn’t have been cheap, but it was worth the expense.
A good friend bought a new 84 Cougar, which was also his first new car. I am with you on preferring the Thunderbird, but there were a lot of folks who preferred this one, and I don’t dislike it at all. In fact, I much prefer this version to the revised 1987 version.
I also agree that FoMoCo was really assembling cars to a very high standard then, certainly compared to what we US car fans were used to. Fords were as appealing in showrooms as anything else at the time.
I am loving this series, partly because of so many parallels to my own life. This week it is how your wife has put up with cars she wasn’t wild about, but occasionally got one she loved. I’m right there with you!
I purchased a new ’86 Thunderbird elan. It was a very nice car.
For a moment there, I thought that the second photo was your garage! Although I suppose that this COAL could be leading up to that given that we’re still 30 years in the past.
Your mention of your first house, that brings back memories as I too purchased my first house right around the same time as you. Late 1984 for me. I recall being rather excited by the fact that I qualified for a special FHA rate for first-time buyers, and could therefore save almost a whole point (for a 30 year fixed) off of the prevailing 12% rate at that time. And that was in a job market where unemployment was averaging at least 8%.
And kids now think that times are tough…. 😉
My first house was just across 101 from Evergreen, off McLaughlin south of Capitol Expressway. I assumed the seller’s loan at 8% which seemed like a bargain. A few years later when I bought my 1986 Ranger (at Frontier Ford) they were offering 2.9% loans which was like free money. I think CD’s were about 6% then. I suppose 2.9% might be pretty good again now.
I appreciate everyone taking ten minutes to read my posts. I hope that you are entertained. It is funny to realize that 1984 was 40 years ago! At that time I was still in my late twenties. That was a long time ago. At that time in our lives we often are faced with the decision to make a commitment: to a relationship, to a job, to blaze our own trail and follow our dream, to pursue a career, to purchase a first home. We will live with the consequences of those choices for many years. But failure to make a commitment has it’s own costs. As a person matures as an adult, taking on these responsibilities at this time in your life, helps you to move ahead and grow.
This model Cougar increased sales 500%, it moved into the territory that was staked out by the Oldsmobile Cutlass. The Cutlass was the car that defined that segment for years.
This is also the period during which my hobby car ownership started and it overlaps my family car ownership. There have been lots of hobby cars, but I need to finish my family car story first.
Wow, Dman! We were practically neighbors. I only live a couple of miles from there. Do you remember the ’56 Chevy Nomad that was at a house near Silver Creek high school?
It’s not a Cougar. I don’t care what anyone says it is not a Cougar for one more time.
It’s as much of a Cougar as the Fox Mustang is a Mustang. Actually I draw a lot of similarities between these latter day Fox and MN12 era Cougars the 71-73 generation Cougars. They share a lot of formalized styling elements with those, are of similar dimensions and in this generation are even based on the same platform as the Mustang
The 71-73 were maybe Cougars. People in my club may not like what I said but they were already moving into brougham territory front and back. Anything after that are not Cougars other than in name only. This is a Fairlane/Torino/Montego in disguise. Below are Cougars.
Whatever the latter day Cougars are I like them in their own way, the 83s were a significant return to form, if that form was 1973, offering truly distinct styling not claimable in the 74-82 years where they were sharing the entire body with something else.
The 67-68s had plenty of brougham in them too;, vinyl tops, wire wheel covers white line tires, more isolated suspensions and insulation, lots of luxury gimmicks, the Dan Gurneys, GT-Es, Eliminators et al were outliers in the Cougar line, at their core they were smaller personal luxury coupes before the segment found its “just right” size as intermediate cars like the 69 Grand Prix, for which the 71 and later Cougars clearly emulated
I generally agree but a later car done up as a replica of David Pearson’s racer would be appealing…
My all time favorite car. A rolling contradiction, just like me. It shouldn’t work, yet it does. If I were to fall into a fortune tomorrow and could afford any car in the world, it would be an 83 Cougar with tu-tone paint. The 84’s lost the cool cat head hood ornament the 83 models adorned. I would still be thrilled with an 84, though. The mid cycle refresh on these gave them a weird Mercedes wanna be grill pattern. The rethought dash panel was nice, however. The 87 rework never did it for me and had me back to loving the T-bird cousin again.
Ford obviously knew what the market wanted and did build a better car back then but, looking at these through my clouded European vision, the combination of aero and formal is just weird. For me, the one they did get right was the Lincoln Continental Mk viii* on its mixture of BMW/Bentley Continental R styling elements, a car I would not mind owning even today.
* Covered by CC here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-lincoln-contintental-mark-vii-the-forgotten-car/
It’s an interesting coincidence, a high school friend also had a Cougar and a Sportster in the 89-93 time frame. we were in the NYC suburbs and I always though it an odd choice of car for a Harley riding mid 20s Deadhead turned bank manager. I was driving a 1984 VW Jetta and riding an older BMW motorcycle at time. He sold the Harley for a down payment on a co-op before he was 30, I’m in my late 50s and still ride my BMW.
I never took to “personal luxury cars” so I knew about Cougars and Thunderbirds but had no interest, something I attribute to a childhood spent riding in European cars and reading Road & Track.