Charles Drexler, of Wapakoneta, has one cool cat in his 1972 Mercury Cougar.
WAPAKONETA – Charles Drexler was a student at Apollo Career Center in 1981 when he purchased his first car, a 1972 Mercury Cougar.
“I bought it from a friend. It had over 100,000 miles, but it was in pretty good shape,” the Wapakoneta man said.
He still has the car today, and it’s in better than “pretty good shape.” It was an eye-catcher during the Charity Car Show held earlier this year.
“I’ve put a lot of work into it,” Drexler said. “Once in a while I’ll take it out for a drive, but mainly, I only take it to car shows now.”
The Cougar was marketed in 1972 as “the most significant cat in North America.” It featured a 351 Cleveland engine, nicknamed the Cleveland after Ford’s Engine Plant Number 2, where production of the engine began just two years earlier.
Ford and Mercury made heavy use of the 351 engine. It was unveiled at a time when the muscle car movement had peaked. Imports were taking a bigger bite of market share, with the biggest new growth in the auto industry being in subcompacts.
The Cougar, however, maintained an important role in Mercury’s image.
It was unveiled in 1967 with an emphasis both on luxury and performance. That year it garnered the prestigious Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award. The 1970s and ’80s saw the Cougar continue its image as a sports luxury car as it played off the theme, “The sign of the Cat.”
The Cougar had a 34-year production run from 1967 to 1997 and 1999 to 2002. During that time, it was a cat with many lives, being sold as a convertible, a four-door sedan, a station wagon and a hatchback. It is most commonly associated, though, with the two-door coupe.
Before Mercury retired the Cougar line, there were 2.97 million Mercury Cougars produced.
“It’s been a good car for me,” Drexler said.
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