This site is dedicated to the history and preservation of the 1969 RML Cougar and would not have been possible without the dedication and research of Robert Nowland. Robert's passion for these cars and the company that spawned them has made this site possible.
The Rocky Mountain Life Insurance Company; Calgary Alberta Canada, grew from a dream to reality in 1966. At that time Robert Nowland was still living in New Zealand. For Robert it has been a journey, which started in early 1970 with his arrival in Vancouver, B.C. From those early days he recalls the Mercury Cougar, and its rear sequential turn signals. In late 1994 he purchased a Lime Frost Green 1970 Cougar XR7; thinking this would be his one chance to own one of these magnificent automobiles.
With the internet thriving, Robert joined the Yahoo Classic Cougar community (CLASSIC-COUGARS@yahoogroups.com ). In a 2002 thread they talked about Purple Cougars and referred to them as Rocky Mountain Specials. Watching the thread, and just being generally interested, Robert found that one of these cars was in my hometown of Kamloops B.C. Canada.
In January of 2003 Robert tracked down the owner and set up a meeting to look at the purple Cougar. Robert had made it clear he was just interested in looking at this unique car, and not trying to buy it from the present owner Harold. Seeing the car for the first time Robert was very surprised to see that it was white. Later he would learn the white was from a midlife repainting, as the special purple was said not to be a Ford colour. Under the floor mats the interior was purple, and on close inspection other missed parts were also purple. Robert thought this was the last time he might see this car and was surprised by a phone call about three months later asking if he had an interest in buying the car. With this car generally being whole, and in good stock condition, only missing the original purple it was an opportunity Robert could not pass up. The sale became a no haggle purchase as the asking price was reasonable, and affordable. Just three days later it was parked at its new home, Robert's place.
It was from this point that Robert began to research the cars, and the company that brought them into existence. This research has included many ups and downs, and dead ends. Robert has done his best to dispel any wrong information, and although not as complete as he had first hoped, he did gain access to the writings of James E Wood, who without Mr. Woods’ vision our purple Cougars would not exist.
It is Roberts’ hope that you enjoy the story of The Rocky Mountain Life Insurance Company, the Purple Cougars it inspired and the story of the owners that now enjoy those cars.