By Matt Wellumson

Neuwerks

Inside (or next to) the Ford booth at NAIAS, exists a small, little known division of Ford Motor company, known as Mercury. A brand most of us relate to our grandparents or older neighbors, more than the live youthful image they attempted with models like the ill-fated Cougar sport coupe.

Feeling like somewhat of an afterthought next to Ford, Volvo, and Lincoln, Mercury featured only three of their current models. Present at NAIAS 2010, are the Milan, Mariner, and Mountaineer. Sadly for those interested in their full size RWD car, the Grand Marquis, it was not present. Could this be the last time we see of Mercury at NAIAS? Time will tell, but at least we got a small taste!

By Antonio Alvendia

Antonio Alvendia

Earlier this week we stopped by Walden Speed Shop to observe what makes these world-class metalcrafters tick. Greeting us at the entrance were a beautiful ’27 T-Bucket with a Buick Nailhead 425 and a partially built ’36 Ford smuggling an L92 crate motor between its bulging fenders. A gorgeous collection of vintage gas station signs hung like tapestries of automotive art signaled good things in store. Continue reading and view more photos on MotorMavens!

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

There’s a lame saying about old drag cars and how they never die. That it is total crap. Old drag cars get bent, wrecked, blown up, burned down, hacked up, and restored to factory condition all the time. That’s why one that survives with the total package of history, coolness, a winning pedigree, and a brighter racing future is special. The King Komet 1968 Mercury Cyclone is so special it’s nearly sublime. Continue reading at BangShift.com

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the notion of what a muscle car is, and to showcase cars you may never have thought existed. Lincoln-Mercury introduced the Mercury Cougar during the 1967 model year, and by this time almost all the automakers were competing in the hotly contested “Pony Car” arena, so called because they were all modeled after the highly successful Ford Mustang. In 1967, Dan Gurney signed on with Lincoln Mercury to campaign the Cougar in Group II Sedan Racing (Then called Trans Am). There was the obligatory dress up package called the “Dan Gurney Special” for both 1967 and 1968, which included a decal, and other items. However, Lincoln-Mercury Dealers wanted something special, and Ford provided a “Status” car similar to the Shelby Mustangs, that was contracted to Shelby Automotive. Introducing the 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7-G.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: the 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7-G" »

By Alex Vickers

Katakuna

This edition of “Rust in Silence” features a rarity among enthusiast cars: my grandmother’s 1973 Mercury Capri. When her oldest son, Charlie, died of skin cancer in 1981, my late grandfather flew out to California to bring back his body, both his cars (one of which I have now) and the rest of his things. My grandparents each took one car and proceeded to drive them. My grandmother never took care of the Capri, which is apparent when you see how far it has deteriorated. Wrecked, rotted, rusted through, interior torn to shreds, and for the last fifteen years it has been her ghetto storage unit. The engine turns over, yet the transmission has literally rusted off. The Capri has become a worthless, rusty turd. I’m sorry to say that two weeks ago it was towed to the local scrapyard to be crushed. Very few cars ever come into her possession and come out alive, this one never had a chance. Sorry potential buyers, it’s too late.

Continue reading "Rust in Silence" »

By Mike Musto

RideLust.com

I’m feeling kinda bushed right now as I just got home from a 2,000+ mile road trip to South Carolina. Before my departure I was thinking about what car to take, my 1968 Charger or my 1997 Mercury Villager AKA “The Danger Van.” Honestly, I had reservations about taking both cars. The Charger has been stone reliable all these years and there really is no reason that something should go wrong, but it is 41 years old compared to the van’s youngish 12 years. Plus, the Charger has no A/C. Then again, the van has 130,000+ miles on the clock, and in reality was bought just to haul parts around for $2,500. But I do do all the maintenance on it religiously and it has cruise and A/C, so I figured what the hell.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Road Trip! Beautiful Queens, NY to Hilton Head, SC and Back!" »

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

With the festivities of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and all the Monterey Classic Car Week activities and auctions now less than three months away, it’s the perfect opportunity to look in detail at what promises to be one of its highlights, the no-reserve auction of the 52 Ford and Mercury station wagons from the Nick Alexander Collection at the Portola Hotel & Spa and Monterey Conference Center on August 13. Mr. Alexander, who is a well-known BMW dealer here in Southern California, has consigned his collection over to RM Auctions, the prestigious international auction house whose Monterey Week auction has been a fixture on the peninsula for the past 24 years. As we’re woodies fans ourselves here at Automotive Traveler, it gives us great pleasure to showcase the highlights of Mr. Alexander’s outstanding collection of Ford’s station wagon history. Continue reading at Automotive Traveler

By Brett Powers

audiobahnv8sho

I decided the best time to begin the Cougar engine teardown was during a family get-together since my brother-in-law is also into this sort of thing. When I got the Cougar I also got an ’86 Cougar GS with a 5.0 EFI engine, which I promptly decided would be a perfect engine to build up for this project. My main goal was 250-300 horsepower at the flywheel. This is certainly possible using mostly factory parts. I will be combing junkyards and Craigslist for cast Ford parts to achieve my goal. Most of the guys I have spoken to who build up my sort of car usually convert their normal 5.0 to 5.0 HO motors and call it good, but I want more horsepower than your typical Fox chassis Mustang. I want my car to be able to run with 05-09 Mustangs and mid 90s Cobras. This is going to be an interesting build indeed. What do you think, am I shooting for a silly goal or am I building a street car that can hold its own?

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Rust free in BC! See more pics on Steve’s ride page!

By Brett Powers

audiobahnv8sho

Well seeing as I am new to the blog, most of you don’t know about my projects.  I’ve got a ’67 Checker and an ’85 Mercury Cougar that take up most of my time, and right now I’m embarking on some major surgery on the Cougar. So it begins…

Continue reading "Bodywork Saga Begins" »