RECAPSLETTERS

I ENJOYED THE 1969 MERCURY Cougar article in the December 2021 issue (HCC #207). The mention in the piece of the optional CJ (Cobra Jet) 428 engine brought to mind a car about which I have mixed emotions even now, some 52 years after I first laid eyes on it.

In the spring of 1969, while having my 1967 English Ford Cortina GT serviced at Northside Lincoln-Mercury in Minneapolis, I wandered into the showroom to kill a little time. There, among the various 1969 Mercury and Lincoln models, was a 1968 Cougar XR-7 finished in what the window sticker called Lime Frost Poly. First off, it seemed strange to see what was obviously a new 1968 automobile on the dealership floor in April, 1969. But what really caught my eye was a big black air scoop in the middle of the Cougar’s hood. Taking another