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The 1967 Cougar was Mercury's attempt to enter the Pony Car market segment popularized by the April 1964 introduction of Ford's Mustang. Introduced in the fall of 1966 for the 1967 model year, the first-year 1967 Cougar exceeded all sales expectations with 150,893 units sold. It was selected as Motor Trend's 1967 Car of the Year. Legendary Cougar Magazine is dedicated to the first three generations of Mercury's luxury Pony Car. Each bi-monthly issue includes features on the first-generation 1967-68 models, the 1969-70 models, the first to offer a convertible version, and the final 1971-1973 models (after the 1973 model year the Cougar nameplate moved from the Pony Car class to the luxury-personal category). In addition to traditional, in-depth vehicle features, the issue contains two tech stories. In Volume 3, Issue 4, you'll find three vehicle features on Joe Valenti's rare 1968 GT-E Cobra Jet, Todd Gregory's 1969 XR-7 hardtop that has traveled more than 300,000 miles over the last five decades and Jennifer's Kysar's black 1971 XR-7 convertible, the last year black was offered.And we pay tribute to life-long Cougar enthusiast, Keith Vermillion, who sadly passed away as this issue went to press. Keith's 1967 hardtop helped him and his family cope with his debilitating illness and Keith remains an inspiration to us all.And Co-editor Bill Basore looks back on the development of the Cougar in the third of a three-part series on the genesis of the Cougar under its internal code name, T7.