Ride Of The Week 01/22/2024: Marian & Rick Tartaglione’s 1972 Mercury Cougar

A RARE KITTY

The Tartaglione’s of Ross Twp, PA own several classic cars and are members of the Steel City Corvette Club. I caught up with them at a show in August of 2022 with their 1972 Mercury Cougar. “You just don’t see a lot of these Cougars around,” the couple explained why they broke from their bowtie tradition of Vettes, Pickups and a Biscayne to buy this FoMoCo product. “We went to a Ford meet and we were swarmed by all these “blue oval” guys wanting to check it out.” In addition to its relative rarity, they chose the car because it was smaller and more comfortable than some of the other cars in their collection.

Marian and Rick bought it from a dealership in Lancaster, PA where it had been traded in. To add to the fun factor of the story, they ran into the previous owner at a gas station on their way back home. “That’s my car,” she exclaimed. Turns out, she and her husband had owned it much of its life, buying it from the original owner who only had it for a short time.

The car is all original with 69,000 miles. It’s motivated by a 351 Cleveland and 3-speed automatic. It features a white convertible top, luggage rack and A/C.

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