At $4,995, Is This 1989 Mercury Cougar ‘Blue Max’ A Local Hero?

Cats are supposed to have nine lives and the many iterations of Mercury’s Cougar prove that cat-named cars can have almost as many. Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Cougar is an ’80s edition and wears a unique dealer-installed trim package. Let’s see what that’s all about.

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Considering how long Porsche has been around as an engineering enterprise and car builder, you’d think it to be a company run by people who know a thing or two about what they’re doing. That’s why aftermarket modifications like the turbo setup on the 2006 Porsche Cayman S we looked at yesterday are often greeted with skepticism. And it wasn’t just the bolt-on turbo and un-clean cats that brought out the inner skeptic in many of you. So too did the $34,999 asking price. That was considered just as dubious, resulting in the car earning a 76 percent No Dice loss.

According to current statistics, Ohio is the 34th largest state by area and currently the seventh largest in population. The state is also rich in automotive history. That all began in 1891 when auto pioneer John William Lambert built one of the first horseless carriages in America. A short eight years later, brothers James and William Packard founded their namesake auto-making business over in Warren, Ohio. Other notable Ohio automakers included Peerless, Willys-Knight, and the Baker Motor Vehicle Company, the latter of which made a number of electric cars and sold Thomas Edison his first car. Today, Ohio is notably home to Honda’s Marysville manufacturing plant along with a number of major Ford Motor Company operations.

A lesser-known bit of Ohio automotive history is embodied in today’s 1989 Mercury Cougar SE. That’s the Blue Max trim package which was offered on the Mercury coupe for the 1985 to ’86 model years through a handful of Northeast Ohio dealers and then again in ’88-’89 as a more broadly- available model.

While obviously obscure, the Blue Max package is noteworthy enough to warrant a mention on the CoolCats special editions page. That site says that no record exists of the number of cars sold with the tape and badge package, but does note that variations included a small selection of colors ( yes, you could spec your Blue Max in red) and whether or not the dealer-installed luggage rack on the trunk lid was included.

This ‘Blue Max’ comes in Twilight Blue Metallic and does comes with the semi-elusive decorative luggage rack atop the trunk. It also wears aftermarket wheels although the seller claims to have the original wheels and describes them as being in like-new condition.

The ad also speculates that this is one of only two Blue Max cars known to have survived. It seems to have been well-kept over the years, aiding in its attaining that unique survivor status relatively unscathed. Additionally, this is a one-owner car with just 70K on the clock and with a clean title.

The exterior looks to be in great shape with just some minor blemishes in the trim to call out and some awkward panel gap issues that are just a quirk of it being a Ford from the ’80s, a period in time when the company didn’t seem to be sweating the details.

Things look even better in the cabin. There you’ll find Shar-Pei-like blue velour upholstery and color-matched plastics. Everything looks original save for a modern stereo. Also along for the ride is the dashboard-mounted plaque denoting the Blue Max trim package. Another plus, the seller says that smoking has always been verboten in the car. On the downside, this Cougar does come from the era of mouse belts so those annoying neck-trappers are present.

Also present is a drivetrain consisting of the dull-as-dishwater 140-horsepower 3.8-liter Essex V6 mated to a four-speed AOD automatic transmission. This was the first year of the Cougar’s MN12 platform, shared with the contemporary Thunderbird, so it does benefit from an independent rear suspension, a first for the Cougar line. This one doesn’t seem to have any mechanical issues of note and comes with working A/C which is good since it’s most likely still R12. It also comes with its original paperwork and a $4,995 price tag.

Okay, let’s wrap up by noting that, while obviously beloved and well cared for by its current owner, few if any, buyers interested in a Cougar of this era are going to be heavily swayed by this car’s Blue Max trim. What we’re interested in is how much sway that $4,995 price has. And remember, the car comes with two sets of wheels at that swaying.

What’s your take on this rare-if-you-care Cougar and that price? Does that seem like a deal for some Ohio auto history? Or, does the car, the history, and the price all underwhelm?

You decide!

Akron-Canton, Ohio, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Don R. for the hookup!

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