Low-mileage survivor vehicles are all the rage these days in the collector car marketplace, and the Pick of the Day is just such a vehicle, a 1968 Mercury Cougar driven only 2,171 miles since leaving the assembly plant.
“This 2,171-mile Merc is a mostly original survivor in the best of ways!” according to the Charlotte, North Carolina-based collector car dealership advertising the car on ClassicCars.com. “Not only is it a numbers-matching example of one of the coolest pony cars to ever leave Detroit, it’s also an ultra-clean, virtually untouched classic that’s loaded with a roster of desirable features.”
The dealership notes that the Cougar was slotted between “the raucous Ford Mustang and refined Ford Thunderbird” and provided buyers with “an urbane ownership experience thanks to heavy European influence.”
The ’68 Cougar on offer still wears its original factory Grecian Gold paint with black pinstriping and vinyl roof.
“Over the last 50 years, this Cougar’s solid and stately body has been carefully protected from Mother Nature’s worst temper tantrums,” the advertisement notes, adding that the “paint is far better than you’d expect from five decades-exposed pigment.”
Under the hood, “everything, aside from the car’s fresh battery, appears just as the factory left it,” albeit that “with just over 2K miles on the clock, the spry mill (a 302cid Windsor V8) would, with a bit of exercise and maintenance, be a great candidate for decades of casual cruising!”
The interior is in its correct Nugget colors with bucket seats, “fade-free” carpet and correct console with T-handle shifter, the dealership assures.
The car comes with an original owner card, manual and warranty booklet and a Marti Report.
“While this Ford might not be the rarest pony car ever produced, time has greatly increased its exclusivity,” the dealership adds. “This has to be one of the lowest-mileage first-generation Cougars in existence.”
The car is for sale for $42,900.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
Asking prices for shoe box classics like this Cougar are INSANE. Pricing a standard Cougar that totally unrealistic prices assures the car will stay with the seller for many years to come. Anyone who would purchase an ultra low mileage car assures themselves that car will never be driven or enjoyed. It is a fool’s errand paying such unwarranted premium on a standard car.
You’re right, Ronald, mileage don’t mean a thing to me either. The car is still 51 years old and hasn’t had one upgrade. The fact that the owner chose not to drive it is irrelevant to me.
This year and model is certainly not a collector’s item.
I owned a 67 Cougar XR7 in college. I own a 1968 Cougar XR7 now which is driven regularly, has 127k miles on and is pure stock. Not a single upgrade. I just replaced the original alternator and carburetor after 52 years. The original starter was replace at 100k. Zero upgrades, pure stock.
When on the road or around town, not a day goes by that I do not get an offer to buy the car from someone. i have had the car for 10 years and it was/is driven extensively in NY, PA and now mostly Florida. A collector/dealer stopped in S. Florida. Handed me his card and said, "Is that care pure stock" Me, "Like out of the showroom, even original Philco radio and everything works"
He checked the car, checked the engine on the street and told me, "How much"? I said "not for sale". Him "If you change your mind and DON’T modify anything, I want to buy the car and you can name your price…once you do anything that is not original ie convert to fuel injection, don’t bother"
So IF this ad is legit and the car has not been driven and the body is rust free. The cost to get this car "perfect" would be negligible. If I had a place to put it, I would buy it but I note the date on the ad is 2018,
In passing, the 67 was the first year of the Cougar and came with a 289 cu and I had a 4bbl. Quicker, lighter and – not like we cared in those days – got almost 20 mpg on highway.
67 or 68s in perfect STOCK condition, being driven somewhat regularly are rare. You buy something like this because you want to drive it.
Rediculas asking price. The undercarriage looks more like 50k miles or more. I would have expected a much cleaner undercarriage for a car with 2171 miles on it, particularly one which the seller states how miticulasly the car was protected from the elements. I have an all original pick up truck from the mid 70s with 8000 miles and the undercarriage is in much better condition. Not enough mileage documentation to substantiate their claim of 2171 miles. For example, I have county tag tax receipts for every year the vehicle was tagged and these records have the actual vehicle mileage typed in by the county. I would carefully check the documentation of mileage, easy to turn milage back on these old vehicles, not so easy to verify without good records across many years. This is especially important when the undercarriage is in really well used condition. This is probably a 20 – 25K car.
Gents, you’re being far too logical! And as you should know by now, collecting vintage cars more than 20 years old has nothing to do with logic. It’s a hobby for the rich who have lots of $ who drive the prices up based on what other rich collectors are willing to pay. This one looks new, is one of America’s and Mercury’s great car designs, probably drives well, and if I had the $ I’d buy it.
Wow, a neighbor of my Mom’s across the driveway in N.E. Philly Mayfair, Knorr street had this car in a garage until about 8 -10 years ago. I grew up watching the owner back it out, dust it off and drive around the block from 1968 when I was 4 (the only way I remember the car is because of those cool turn signal lights) until I moved out of My Mom’s house in 1990. Wish I knew where it went. My Mom said somebody picked it up and towed it away
what did the cougar sell for new ? 4200 bucks 40 years matured 42,000 hummmm…… maybe if it was a cobra it would probably be worth 20 or 30 maybe even 40 times what it costed new in 64 or whatever year cobra we talking millions almost seen one with rats nests go for 900 something thousand bucks and it had a 428 instead of the hot rod 427 race motor
The sticker on my 68 XR7 w/o tax was $3,669 when new or about 800 -1000$ more than most Mustangs of that year. By comparison a fully loaded Caddy was $5,500.