Instead of calling this the “international issue,” we probably should have called it the “challenge” issue. The challenges came on many fronts. Getting together with the featured cars’ owners was not always easy due to the separation of miles and time zones.
Photography presented an additional challenge. By the time the final roster of featured vehicles was complete, some of the cars had already been put away for winter storage, making obtaining additional photographs impractical. The photographs that were available were low-resolution and not of the quality we like to use for features.
Enter the marvels of the modern computing world. Facebook helped us “get on the same page” with far-flung Cougar owners, and photo-editing software in the capable hands of LCM’s Design Consultant Brian Veit salvaged some otherwise-unusable images.
We think the end result is well worth the challenges.
In This Issue
Features
- Luck of the Irish – Dave Rooney talks about what it’s like to own the only 1967 Cougar on the Emerald Isle. LCM’s Creative Consultant Brian Veit transforms Dave’s photographs taken in front of his house to make it appear that they were shot in-period in a photo studio.
- Cougars Down Under – Owning an early Cougar in Australia presents its own unique challenges. Until recently, all classic Cougars had to be converted to right-hand drive. For Leon Bray, that was an obstacle to be overcome for not one, but four Cougars.
- From the Land of IKEA – Sweden has a long-established do-it-yourself tradition best exemplified by its most-famous company, IKEA. For Lars Jakobsson, the do-it-yourself spirit extends to his 1969 Cougar Eliminator, on which he has done most of the work himself.
- Quicksilver Obsession – Cover girl Gry Stordahl is a former rock musician and a lifelong Mercury enthusiast living north of Oslo, Norway. She shares her experience acquiring and restoring a rare 1968 XR7-G that in its former life was a Hertz Rent-a-Racer.
- All in the Family – In the land of the Autobahn, Christian Kamann owns a rare 1972 Cougar XR7 convertible. What makes it special is that it’s a family heirloom, having been in the family since the early 1990s when his dad was its first German owner.
Regulars
- Cat Tracks – Co-editor Rich Truesdell discusses the challenges of putting this issue together as well as owning a classic Cougar outside the friendly confines of North America.
- Mercury Archeology – In the sixth installment of the James Bond film series, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, a 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7, driven by ex-Avenger Diana Rigg, took a starring role. Rich Truesdell takes an in-depth look at its participation in the film.
- Charter Subscriber List – Thanks to everyone who made Legendary Cougar Magazine possible.
- The Cougar Bookshelf – In the July 1967 issue of Car and Driver, its editors had the audacity to compare the Cougar XR7 to a much-more-expensive Jaguar 420. Co-editor Bill Basore looks back at their surprising conclusion as to which was the test’s Top Cat.
