1978 Mercury Cougar

The 1978 Mercury Cougar was available as either a 2 door hardtop Coupe or a 4-door Pillarless Hardtop. Pricing for the Hardtop Coupe began at $5,000 with the 4-door sold for $5,125. A 2-door Hardtop Coupe XR-7 model was available for $5,600. The XR-7 would prove to be the most popular option with 166,508 examples sold. The station wagon body style, after just one year, was no longer offered, since the new Zephyr model came in station wagon configuration. Brougham became an option package this year, adding opera windows, 'Brougham' scrip embedded in the glass, and a full vinyl roof on the four-door body styles. They also had full-length bright bodyside molding with integral wheel lip moldings, wide belt moldings, and deluxe wheel covers. Inside, there was an electric clock, and a Flight Bench seat with a folding center armrest.

The base engine was an overhead valve V8 displacing 5 liters and offering nearly 140 horsepower. A 5.8-liter V8 with 150 horsepower and a 6.6-liter V8 with 165 horsepower was also available. The XR-7 models came equipped with the 302 cubic-inch V8, SelectShift, power steering and brakes, day and night mirror, and baby burl walnut woodtone instrument panel appliques. With the XR-7 Decor Option, styled wheels and full-length body side molding with color-keyed vinyl inserts were installed, along with hood stripes, color-keyed remote mirrors, and Twin Comfort Lounge seats with recliner. Later in the year, a Midnight/Chamois Decor Option was offered, which added a half vinyl roof with vinyl crossover strap, straight-through paint stripes, Tiffany carpeting, Midnight Blue and Chamois interior, and a padded 'Continental' type rear deck.

Changes for the 1978 model year including a new optional 40-channel CB transceiver, the 308 and larger V8s received a revised low-restriction fresh-air intake, and the 351 and 400 CID V8's received a new mechanical spark control system. There were very few aesthetic changes on the base and XR-7 models. In the front, the Continental-style grille continued just below the front bumper and on the hood was a new stand-up Cougar-head ornament. In the back were twin-pod vertical taillamp assemblies with integral side marker lights.

The base Mercury Cougar models came with a SelectShift three-speed automatic transmission, power steering, and brakes, two-speed wipers, black-wall SBR tires, cloth/vinyl bench seat, full wheel lip moldings, taillamp bezels with ornament, Cougar deck light, bright windshield moldings, and simulated rosewood dash applique.

For 1978, Mercury produced 21,398 examples of the 2-door Hardtop base Cougar and 25,364 examples of the 4-door Pillarless Hardtop.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2017