DEARBORN, Mich. – Mercury pony car lovers from all over the country, and even across the globe, have been taking part in a six-city celebration tour to commemorate 50 years of the Cougar. Owners and fans just recently visited Dearborn for the third of a half-dozen national 50^th anniversary events being held this year. Coordinated by the Cougar Club of America, (yes, the Cougar Club of America is now among the group of Ford Performance enthusiast clubs being promoted on FordPerformance.com), the tour kicked off in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and moved the Ford Nationals in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, before coming to Detroit.

A total of 205 Mercury Cougars invaded Dearborn for the event, which was part of the SAAC-Motor City Region’s 42^nd Annual “Show & Go” June 11-12. The “Show” part was held Sunday June 11 at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, while the “Go” happened on Monday at nearby Waterford Hills Road Race Course. The Cougar Club of America (CCOA) entrants dominated the show with spectacular Cougars on display, including the Shelby Cobra CSX-#2008-based “Cougar II” concept vehicle (a Ford Styling ‘dream car' commissioned in 1962 by then-VP of Ford Design Eugene Bordinat).

Classic Cougars were seen all over metro Detroit that weekend: On the Saturday drive to the Roush Museum, there were 102 Cougars traveling down the road together on the cruise, which was said to be the most Cougars to ever cruise together at one event. Some 270 guests attended the Cougar 50^th dinner at Greenfield Village on Saturday evening. Total event registrations, which included the people flying in and others attending without a Cougar but registered for the show, were 247. There was also a record gathering of 10 Boss 302 Cougar Eliminators at the show. We sent our staff photographer, Isaac Ireland, to the show behind Ford World Headquarters to take photos of some of the Cougars on display there. We’ve chosen a few of our favorites to share with you in the gallery below:

FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS / COURTESY ISAAC IRELAND