When the Mercury Cougar was in its prime, it was marketed like many other domestic products: lots of trim packages, lots of equipment options, and seemingly endless arrays of configurations. As sales began to wane with consumers moving away from the personal luxury coupe as a segment of choice, Mercury pared the model lineup back, and in 1987, there were just two models: the LS, like the car pictured here, and the sporty XR7. The ’87 Cougar also got a significant overhaul, with a fresh design that followed styling trends for that prioritized a more windswept appearance. Find this 302-equipped Cougar here on eBay for $7,999 or best offer.
I like to imagine the customer who either ordered this Cougar or picked it out off the lot. A more luxury-oriented buyer, but someone who still wanted some speed, opting for the 5.0L V8 under the hood. This Cougar looks like a grandma-special with its faux-wire hubcaps and baby blue paint, and it’s mildly shocking not to see a landau-style roof. The condition appears to be excellent, but it is slightly odd to see dark black trim on the doors and side of the bumper but the rub strip on the back of the car heavily sun faded and weathered. Was the rear bumper cap replaced at some point? The old dealer emblem on the trunk points to a still-active Ford chain in Delaware.
The interior looks about right for the age – some signs of wear and cushion collapse on the driver’s seat, but overall, nothing egregious. The dash shows no cracks and the fake woodgrain trim looks like it hasn’t seen much sun exposure. The center console and armrest show a variety of controls, and combined with the power seat, I’m sure this felt like the lap of luxury in 1987. A more robust console came with the optional sport seats and floor shifter configuration. Some of the smaller changes you don’t necessarily notice include rubber trim around the outside mirrors and more weatherstripping inside the doors to make the cabin feel even more hush-hush.
1987 also marked the departure of the turbocharged 4-cylinder, and while the XR7 got the 5L V8 standard, it was an optional upgrade on the LS models. The 150 horsepower engine was respectable for the era, and with even the heaviest Cougar weighing in at around 3,700 pounds, was an ideal match for the chassis. The LS was more softly sprung than the XR7, but both trims benefitted from rear suspension tweaks to address rear-end sag from earlier years. This Cougar is a nicely preserved example of a car that would likely still work well today as occasional daily. The seller is open to best offers, so what’s a fair price for this Mercury?
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