Mercury’s entry in the hotly contested subcompact category of the 1970s was the Bobcat, a dolled-up version of the Ford Pinto. Here’s the 1976 sales pitch.

Introduced in 1971, the subcompact Pinto was a solid seller for the Ford Motor Company, soon boasting an annual volume of nearly a half-million cars. So it’s only natural that the Lincoln-Mercury division would be cut in on a piece of the action, too. When the Mercury Bobcat was rolled out to U.S. car buyers in mid-1975—the name was a play on the brand’s Sign of the Cat theme—it was a thinly disguised Pinto, sporting a classic vertical grille and domed hood, extra sound insulation, and larger tail lamps. (Side note: Canadian dealers got their Bobcat one year earlier.)

For 1976, the Mercury subcompact was marketed as the Bobcat MPG, touting its 34 mpg EPA-rated fuel economy with the standard 2.3-liter Ford Lima engine and four-speed manual transmission. The Capri 2.8-liter V6 and automatic transmission were optional. Bobcats were limited to two body styles in ’76: three-door Runabout and two-door Villager wagon, both available with faux-wood side trim in Cherry vinyl. Prices started at $3,338, about the same as a Pinto with similar equipment.

As was the fashion at the time in the U.S. subcompact class, the Bobcat’s marketing campaign projected fun, with quick-cut comedy bits and a jaunty musical theme. In this spot, the old ragtime jazz standard ‘Tiger Rag” has been rewritten as “Love That Bobcat.” While the jingle doesn’t convey much in the way of product information, it surely grabbed the attention of the television audience. Video follows.