1986 Mercury Cougar: Outside the Muscle Focus

Wikipedia's own account, this record's overview states, records that the 1983-1988 Cougar was a two-door coupe only, with a 3.8-litre V6 standard and a 4.9-litre (302) V8 optional, and that from 1984 to 1986 the XR7 used a turbocharged 2.3-litre four rated 145 horsepower with automatic and 155 with manual transmission, 1986 being the last year of that span in Wikipedia's own account. Total 1986 production reached 135,904 cars, this record's own dek and production table agree, though this record's own note explains that this figure rests on a single tertiary source whose underlying record is not stated; this record's own key facts section is empty for the year.^1,2

Three engines are documented for 1986, this record's own engine table shows: a 3.8-litre (232 cubic-inch) V6 with central fuel injection, standard on GS and LS and rated 120 horsepower SAE net; a 5.0-litre (302 cubic-inch) V8, now with sequential electronic fuel injection in place of the prior year's central injection, optional on GS and LS and rated 150 horsepower SAE net, up from 130; and a turbocharged 2.3-litre (140 cubic-inch) four with multi-port fuel injection, XR-7-only and still rated 155 horsepower with manual transmission or 145 with automatic. This record's own transmissions table shows the XR-7's own pairing reversed from 1985: a 3-speed automatic (C3) is now optional on the XR-7 rather than standard, and a 5-speed manual (T-5) is now standard rather than optional, while a 3-speed automatic (C5) remains standard on V6 models and a 4-speed overdrive automatic (AOD) is standard on all V8 models and newly optional on V6 models as well.²

This record's own options section itemizes 58 items from the 1986 options matrix, reflecting that transmission swap directly: an automatic three-speed transmission with locking torque converter is now standard on GS and LS but merely optional on the XR-7. A full console and an electronic digital clock move from XR-7-optional to XR-7-standard for 1986, while automatic parking brake release becomes unavailable on the XR-7 entirely. A power moonroof is documented with the source's own note that production began approximately March 3, 1986 and that very few examples have been found, and styled steel wheels appear as a new item, optional on GS and standard on LS. Further items carry forward the same convenience, electronic, comfort, audio and wheel categories seen in the prior years' matrices.²

This record's own paint table carries 25 colour entries for 1986, its largest paint table in this stretch: 6 standard colours, Black, Oxford White, Midnight Regatta Blue, Light Canyon Red, Sand Beige and Dark Clove Brown; 8 clearcoat metallics, Smoke Metallic, Silver Metallic, Medium Canyon Red Metallic, Midnight Wine, Deep Shadow Blue Metallic, Sand Beige Metallic, Regatta Blue Metallic and Light Taupe Metallic; 3 tu-tone combinations; and 8 XR-7-specific two-tone combinations, each pairing a body colour with an Argent or Dark Charcoal roof.²

This record's own specifications section carries nine 1986 figures from the source's own technical-specifications page: a 104.0-inch wheelbase, a 197.6-inch overall length, a 71.1-inch overall width, a 53.4-inch overall height, 22.1 gallons of fuel capacity, up from 21.0 the prior years, 14.6 cubic feet of cargo capacity with the mini spare, curb weights of 3,083 pounds for the GS and 3,169 for the XR-7, 10.0-inch vented front discs against 9.0-inch rear drums, and an engine summary repeating all three ratings from the engine table by trim.²

This record carries no 1986 price 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. This record's own interiors section is left entirely empty for the year, and no performance figures, identification codes, documented conflicts or unpublished leads survive in their respective sections either, consistent with this record's own production notes describing 1986 as outside the 1967-1973 muscle focus the record otherwise covers in depth.²