The Awkward 1983-1988 Mercury Cougars

The Mercury Cougar, unlike the Ford Mustang, did not have a consistent market niche.  It began as the Mercury version of the Mustang.  Then it evolved into a high-end Mercury that even included four-door sedan versions.  It ended its run as a compact, Euro-style coupé.  That and more can be found in its Wikepedia entry.

As posted here, I always preferred the design of the initial Cougars.  On the other hand, I consider the 1983-88 models to have perhaps the most awkward styling of the breed.  By that point, Cougars again were coupés having a sporting sense.  They amounted to a variation on the 1983-88 Ford Thunderbird.  Unfortunately, in my opinion, the steps taken to visually distinguish Cougars from Thunderbirds resulted in rather curious styling of the passenger compartment greenhouse.

Gallery

The initial, 1967, Cougar derived from the Ford Mustang.  I was always fond of its fender line.

The 1983 Ford Thunderbird, basis of the '83 Cougar.  This was an early Ford version of wind tunnel influenced design.

The 1983 Cougar.  The lower body is the same as the Thunderbird's aside from the grille, the very front of the hood. and the lower part of the bumper.  Even the wheel disks are the same.  The main difference is the passenger greenhouse abaft of the B-pillar.

Rather than a flowing roof profile as on the Thunderbird, the Cougar's is chopped off almost vertically.  In a vague way this echoes late-1950s Mercury Turnpike Cruiser C-pillars.  I am not sure how much this affected aerodynamic efficiency.

Rear quarter view of a "for sale" 1984 Cougar showing the backlight and rear end treatment.  The stark, nearly-vertical backlight and the upswept quarter window profile do not relate well: some kind of connection  or re-shaping is needed.

Cougars were facelifted for 1987, as seen in tis series of photos of a car listed for sale.  The aft part of the greenhouse has been slightly rounded, softening its appearance.  The Quarter windows are longer.

The face of the car was facelifted and simplified due to the new headlight housings.  These might have helped aerodynamic efficiency slightly, being smoother than the 1983 version.

This rear-quarter view reveals that the backlight is now more strongly curved, making a less stark transition from the roofline to the trunk.  The quarter window restyling is no improvement.  I think the more exaggerated shape continues to clash with the rest of the design.  Almost any other window profile would be an improvement.