1989 Mercury Cougar: The MN12 Launch

Wikipedia's own account, this record's overview states, records that the 1989-1990 XR7 was powered by a 210-horsepower supercharged 3.8-litre V6. This record's own key facts section adds that the MN12-platform Cougar and Thunderbird were introduced to the public on December 26, 1988, both built only at Lorain, Ohio, the launch of the seventh-generation Cougar this record's own year covers first. Total 1989 production is carried as 97,246 cars, this record's own dek and production table agree, a figure both Wikipedia and the AEROCATS site give, though this record's own note explains that this rests on a single lineage whose underlying record is not stated.^1,2

This record's own production table breaks that total into three further rows credited on the source's own page to Kevin Marti: 92,466 Cougar LS cars, 2,679 XR7 cars with the automatic transmission, and 2,101 XR7 cars with the 5-speed manual, this record's own production notes confirming the three sum exactly to the 97,246 total. This record's own conflicts section documents a separate disagreement over that same total: conceptcarz's own spec page gives 92,702 against the 97,246 the Marti-credited breakdown sums to, and this record's own treatment keeps 97,246 in the table while showing conceptcarz's lower figure with attribution.^2,3

Two engines are documented for 1989, this record's own engine table shows: a 3.8-litre (232 cubic-inch) V6 with sequential multi-port fuel injection, standard on the LS and rated 140 horsepower at 3,800 rpm with 215 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm, and a supercharged 3.8-litre V6 with an intercooler, XR7-only and rated 210 horsepower with 315 lb-ft of torque at 2,600 rpm, this record's own engine table carrying a note that the source's own page text and its separate specifications table disagree on the peak-power rpm, giving 4,000 in one place and 2,400 in the other, neither carried into the ratings field itself. Three transmissions are documented: a 4-speed overdrive automatic (AOD) for the LS, a Mazda-built M5R2 5-speed manual standard on the XR7, and the same AOD offered as an XR7 option.²

This record's own options section itemizes 37 entries across LS and XR7: power four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock braking and a Traction-Lok axle are both optional on the LS and standard on the XR7, a split fold-down rear seat is XR7-only and required with the XR7's own leather option, a Ford JBL audio system bundles four satellite speaker enclosures, a 7-inch subwoofer and a 140-watt four-channel amplifier, a compact digital disc player is offered with the high-level or JBL systems only, and a diagnostic maintenance monitor for low fluid levels is optional on the LS and standard on the XR7. Five Preferred Equipment Packages are documented by code, 261A, 262A and 263A for the LS and 265A and 266A for the XR7.²

This record's own paint table carries 14 colour entries for 1989: 4 standard colours, Black, Bright Red, Almond (Pastel Adobe) and Oxford White; 7 clearcoat metallics; and 3 XR7 monochromatic colours, Black, Bright Red and Oxford White, each reusing a code already assigned in the standard table. Nine interior descriptions are carried by trim code, this record's own interiors section shows: five first-character seat-type codes spanning individual and articulated buckets in cloth or leather, and four second-character colour codes, Titanium, Shadow Blue, Currant Red and Light Sandalwood, the last one noted as unavailable on the XR7.²

This record's own specifications section carries nine 1989 figures: a 113.0-inch wheelbase, a 198.7-inch overall length, a 72.7-inch overall width, a 52.7-inch overall height, 19.0 gallons of fuel capacity, 14.7 cubic feet of cargo capacity, curb weights of 3,570 pounds for the LS, 3,776 for the 5-speed XR7 and 3,794 for the automatic XR7, and front and rear brakes varying by trim between 10.8-inch discs with 9.8-inch drums or 10.0-inch discs with anti-lock. This record carries no 1989 price at all, its own price notes explaining the same removed J.D. Power figure described for other years, and no performance figures, identification codes or unpublished leads survive in their respective sections either.²