1982 Mercury Cougar: Outside the Muscle Focus

This record's own overview states, citing Wikipedia, that the 1980 Cougar was offered only as the XR-7 coupe with a 255 V8 standard and the 302 optional, and that for 1981-1982 standard Cougar sedans joined it, with a 2.3-litre four standard and a 3.8-litre V6 replacing the inline six for 1982, the last of the fifth-generation changes this record's own overview carries. Total 1982 production reached 73,817 cars, this record's own dek and production table agree, though this record's own note explains that Wikipedia is a single tertiary source here and the underlying record it draws on is not stated.¹

Cougar XR-7 production for 1982 is given as 16,867 by Hagerty Media's own account, this record's own production table states, with the source's own wording describing that figure as cars "sold" rather than built, and this record's own note explaining that the 73,817-car table total also includes the Cougar sedans and the one-year-only wagon body this record's overview does not otherwise describe.²

This record's own paint table carries 19 colour entries for 1982, all keyed to the XR-7 by the brochure's own chip numbers: 12 standard colours, Black, White, Light and Medium Pewter Metallic, Pastel and Medium French Vanilla, French Vanilla Metallic, Dark Brown Metallic, Medium Vaquero Metallic, Medium Red, Dark Cordovan Metallic and Dark Blue Metallic; 2 optional Glamour colours, Light Fawn Metallic and Light Medium Blue Metallic; and 5 optional Tu-Tone combinations, each pairing a body colour with its own named roof colour: Light Pewter Metallic over Medium Pewter Metallic with a Light Pewter roof, Pastel over Medium French Vanilla with a French Vanilla roof, Dark Brown Metallic over Light Fawn Metallic with a Dark Brown roof, and Light Pewter Metallic over Medium Red and over Dark Blue, both with Light Pewter roofs.

Four interior descriptions are carried without codes for 1982, this record's own interiors section shows, all specific to the XR-7 line: standard cloth Twin Comfort Lounge seats for the XR-7 GS with optional vinyl in further colour combinations; optional vinyl bucket seats for the XR-7 GS; standard cloth Twin Comfort Lounge seats for the XR-7 LS with leather optional; and an optional Recaro cloth bucket seat for the XR-7 GS in three colours.

This record's own specifications section carries nine 1982 dimensions from the XR-7 brochure's own specifications and gas-mileage page, every one scoped to the XR-7: a 108.4-inch wheelbase, a 200.4-inch overall length, a 53.3-inch overall height, a 74.1-inch overall width, front and rear tread of 58.1 and 57.0 inches, 17.7 cubic feet of luggage capacity, a 21.0-gallon fuel tank, a 3,152-pound curb weight, and an EPA estimate of 19 city and 30 highway for the optional 3.8-litre V6 with automatic overdrive.

This record's own key facts section is empty for 1982, and it carries no price, engine, transmission or option documentation at all; its own price notes explain that a J.D. Power valuation figure was pulled from every page on the site because those live pages can change without notice and cannot be independently checked, and that no replacement has yet been found. No performance figures, identification codes, documented conflicts or unpublished leads survive in this record's own respective sections either, consistent with this record's own production notes describing 1982 as outside the 1967-1973 muscle focus the record otherwise covers in depth.