Follow the Leader
In 1967, Ford Motor Company took a brief pause from rolling in piles of cash from the Mustang’s wild success to launch a similar car: the Mercury Cougar. Take one look at it and you can just visualize the sweat on product planners’ foreheads as they tried not to mess up the Mustang’s formula, while offering enough luxury to be definitively Mercury.
They nailed it. The Cougar was an easy win, offering more space (6.7 inches of total length from a Mustang chassis stretched three inches), stylish touches, a luxurious XR-7 package, and a choice of two V8s. No six-cylinder engines were offered. Mercury wasn’t big on sixes, having offered its first one in 1961. Besides, it was 1967. Everything had a V8.
The Cougar was named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year. It had an appearance in the SCCA’s Trans Am series, and a decent production run over the next five decades, all because it added plenty of desirable things to an already wonderful package.
In the Bible, Solomon had the privilege – and the burden – of building the first temple. God had blessed him with legendary wisdom, so Solomon wisely designed this temple as a bigger, more ornate, and more permanent construction after God’s instructions for building the original tabernacle, dictated to Moses roughly 500 years earlier. Both had three main parts, oriented concentrically, and both symbolized a separation between a perfect God and an imperfect people, yet the presence of God among his people.
Then Solomon filled it with wonderful things. Hammered gold was everywhere, symbolizing God’s glory and brilliance. There were architectural finishes in the shape of pomegranates, symbolizing the abundance of God’s provision. Other furnishings were modeled after palm branches, lily blossoms, and other open flowers, symbolizing God’s perfection in the Garden of Eden.
After he built it, he offered this prayer:
“Give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place… Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.” (1 Kings 8:28-30)
Solomon built the temple after a design God himself planned, and prayed that God would use it as a space where people could praise God and ask for God’s power and forgiveness. If you find yourself in the position to build something – from a personal daily schedule to a large organization – you can follow Solomon’s lead and build it after God’s design. Then, fill it with things that praise God’s goodness, and look for ways to use it to help people. Your creation might be lavish and powerful like a Mercury Cougar, or it could be simple and purposeful. If it’s a creation built after God’s Creation, it already has everything it needs to be exactly what it’s supposed to be.
In 1967, you could option a Cougar to be a fully loaded luxury cruiser and push past the $3,600 mark, a full $1,000 more than a Mustang, or opt for the rare Mercury Cougar Dan Gurney Special. This sport-inspired special just included wheels and tires, a chrome engine dress-up kit, and a Dan Gurney signature decal. It might seem odd for a Cougar, but the Mustang was a hit among racing enthusiasts. Building a Cougar the same way sure seemed like the wise thing to do.
John V16 is the intersection of God and cars. Please support our work and donate a V16-powered 1940 Cadillac Series 90 Sixteen to John V16. Or share this article with a friend.
