But in any case, a 1969 Mercury Cougar XR-7 convertible will not fetch as much from a buyer as a same-year Mustang ragtop will. Car people sometimes make no sense to anyone other than themselves.

The Mustang aura was more than welcome when the Mercury Cougar took the stage in ’67 – over 150,000 examples were sold. No convertibles, no inline-sixes were made: the hardtop body style was ...

Ford went and Thunderbird-ed a Mustang, and Mercury (plus that pool of fortunate first owners) reaped the rewards. Built to give Mercury a contender as the market reached peak pony car potential ...