Information | Options | Colors

Ford had begun an interesting campaign in the early 1990's called "one-price shopping". Essentially, the number of models for a particular car were cut in half, but the options lists for the remaining model/s increased. This would ensure that the cars would be very well loaded standard, and that since fewer specialty parts were needed, costs could be cut dramatically. Since the profit margin for each car would be roughly the same, the car's price was basically non-negotiable, hence the term one-price shopping. There was much success with the Taurus and Escort with this program, so Ford decided to try it with the Cougar and Thunderbird. The T-Bird shrank from four models to two (LX and SC), and the Cougar shrank to one model, the XR7.

On paper this was a good move. However, the car, now known as "Cougar XR7", was NOT the performance-oriented XR7 of the previous years. It received no adjustable sport suspension and no 16" wheels; nothing carried over. It was now the old LS with the XR7 name. Fortuantely, the engines remained intact (3.8 V6 standard, 5.0 V8 optional). New 15" spoked wheels were offered to replace the 16" wheels of the previous year. Also, the roof trim, outside mirrors, and door handles were painted body color. No other exterior changes were made. The Cougar also received remote keyless entry, in addition to (or replacing) the keypad mounted above the door handles. The steering wheel received a new center section.

One may wonder why this is the only year that broke up the 2-year cycles for Cougar upgrades. It was known for some time that the new 4.6 SOHC V8, just introduced in the 1992 Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car, was making its way into the MN-12 chassis. Originally it was supposed to be for the 1993 year; however, production delays, engine bay modifications, and EPA certification prevented that from happening. The all-new interior was also running behind schedule. Ford decided that the 4.6 would make the cut for 1994, and the interior would be a nice way to introduce that to the market. The 1993 model was meant to be a stop-gap carryover model; ironically, its mark will forever be as the last Mercury Cougar to ever receive a factory 5.0 pushrod engine.

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