The climate had begun to change as the muscle car era ended. No longer able to use gross power numbers the manufacturers had to use net power figures which dropped the once mighty figures down substantially. Engines were shuffled around a bit. They were now the standard 163 hp 351 Windsor 2-barrel V8 262 hp 351 Cleveland 4-barrel V8 266 hp 351 4-barrel Cobra Jet V8. Other than that the Cougar remained a carryover from 1971. Only minor trim details were changed in 1972. The big blocks were gone for 1972 and 1973. The days of the performance oriented muscle car were coming to an end.
