The Thunderbird and Cougar XR-7 were given an extra helping of unique touches, but they still appear to have shared body parts such as doors, hood and bumpers. Whereas the 1973-76 Fords and Mercurys had distinctive sheetmetal, for 1977 the more plebeian models had few differences. Meanwhile, the Cougar nameplate, which had been used on only a top-of-line “personal coupe,” was extended to Mercury’s entire mid-sized lineup.Īll of the automaker’s mid-sized cars were given what might be described as a partial reskinning. The most important decision was to replace the sluggishly selling Ford Elite with a downsized Thunderbird. Thunderbird and Cougar: Similar yet very differentįor 1977 the Ford Motor Company gave its mid-sized cars a makeover. To see what I mean, let’s take a look at Ford’s 1977 redesigned mid-sized cars. Since we’re speculating, I would go one step further and say it’s too bad that Chrysler boxed itself into a corner by giving the Cordoba such distinctive styling on its body sides. Behold, a sportier interpretation of the brougham look!ġ978 Dodge Magnum XE (top) and 1975 Chrysler Cordoba ( Old Car Brochures)

The Magnum’s side and rear styling still looked like a Chrysler Cordoba, but at least the car had a more plausible rationale for its existence. CJ and Geeber recently commented that the 1975 Dodge Charger would have worked better if it had been given the more distinctive design of the 1978 Magnum XE.

70s ford thunderbird