The Mercury Cougar is a series of automobiles that was sold by Mercury from 1967 to 2002. The model line is a diverse series of vehicles; though the Cougar nameplate is most commonly associated with two-door coupes, at various stages in its production, the model also was offered as a convertible and a hatchback. During its production as the mid-size Mercury line, the Cougar was also offered as a four-door sedan and five-door station wagon.

The seventh generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury car that was built by Ford from the 1977 to the 1979 model years. In a key marketing shift for the model range, Ford repackaged the Thunderbird from a full-size car to an intermediate car, and ceded its full-size luxury coupe status to the Ford LTD Landau coupe. Rather than being the traditional Ford counterpart of the Continental Mark V, the Thunderbird would share the chassis with the Mercury Cougar and the Ford LTD II before the Ford Fox platform version was introduced for 1980.