Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Most popular vehicles
Popular New Cars
- New Acura MDX
- New Acura RDX
- New Audi Q5
- New BMW 3 Series
- New BMW X3
- New Buick Enclave
- New Cadillac Escalade
- New Chevrolet Equinox
- New Chrysler 300
- New Dodge Challenger
- New Ford Edge
- New Ford Escape
- New Ford Expedition
- New Ford Explorer
- New Ford F-150
- New Ford Focus
- New Ford Mustang
- New Honda Accord
- New Honda Civic
- New Honda CR-V
- New Honda Fit
- New Honda Odyssey
- New Honda Pilot
- New Hyundai Elantra
- New Hyundai Santa Fe
- New Hyundai Sonata
- New Hyundai Tucson
- New Jeep Compass
- New Jeep Grand Cherokee
- New Jeep Wrangler
- New Mazda 3
- New Mazda 6
- New Mazda CX-5
- New Nissan Altima
- New Nissan Maxima
- New Nissan Rogue
- New Porsche Cayenne
- New Ram 1500
- New Subaru Crosstrek
- New Subaru Forester
- New Subaru Impreza
- New Subaru Outback
- New Tesla Model S
- New Tesla Model X
- New Toyota 4Runner
- New Toyota Camry
- New Toyota Corolla
- New Toyota Highlander
- New Toyota Prius
- New Toyota RAV4
- New Toyota Sienna
- New Toyota Tacoma
- New Volkswagen Jetta
- New Volvo XC60
- New Volvo XC90
Popular Used Sedans
- Used BMW 5 Series
- Used Chevrolet Impala
- Used Chevrolet Malibu
- Used Chrysler 200
- Used Dodge Charger
- Used Ford Fusion
- Used Ford Taurus
- Used Honda Accord
- Used Honda Civic
- Used Hyundai Elantra
- Used Hyundai Sonata
- Used Tesla Model S
- Used Toyota Camry
- Used Toyota Corolla
- Used Volkswagen Jetta
Popular Used SUVs
- Used Acura MDX
- Used Acura RDX
- Used Ford Edge
- Used Ford Explorer
- Used Honda CR-V
- Used Honda Pilot
- Used Hyundai Santa Fe
- Used Jeep Compass
- Used Lincoln Navigator
- Used Mazda CX-5
- Used Nissan Rogue
- Used Subaru Crosstrek
- Used Subaru Forester
- Used Tesla Model X
- Used Volvo XC90
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
That reminds me of Kate's next door neighbor. He is a contractor. For a living he builds houses. His house has been under construction for well over 2 years. He started to side the south side last summer and it still isn't finished.
With luck (and a little encouragement from me) it'll be ready for CF2.
In the meantime, my rent-a-ride is a Dodge Ram crew cab V-8 (at econobox rates). What a difference!!!!! Great view into adjacent cars though. You'd be amazed at what you can see during the Summer. Some women have no shame ;-)
Skip G
(Don't kick me off, Edmunds.com, if this is out of line. Just delete it and grin.)
My family used to have a Ford Econoline van. We took it all over the place for vacation. It featured high seating, just like Gustafsc's Dodge Ram pickup.
On one particular vacation, we were traveling down an interstate mid-afternoon. Dad was driving. I was reading. Mom and three younger siblings were snoring.
All of a sudden, I noticed an ol' Nissan 300ZX pull alongside the van. Seeing as I was interested in cars at an early age, I knew that was a cool car. I pressed my nose up to the window to get a better look.
I got a better look alright!
Looking down into the passenger-side window, I saw a woman's back and rear end. That was weird. Even weirder was the fact that her head was in the driver's seat. Well...more like the driver's lap.
"What's going on here?" I pondered, seeing as I was only 10 or 11 at the time. I decided to ask my dad if the woman was OK. He asked, "Who?" I said, "The woman with her face in that guy's lap."
We nearly ran off the road.
After steering us back into a straight line, Dad pulled up alongside the 300ZX to get a peek. The near rollover of the van had awakened Mom, who was was wondering why we were still weaving all over the road. The ruckus roused my 3 younger siblings from their sleep as well.
As Dad, Mom and I peered down into the 300ZX passenger-side window, the happy driver realized that he had an audience which included children. He laughed and speed away in the fast lane, then pulled in front of us.
Dad was not so easily deterred. He stomped on the gas, got into the fast lane, and once again pulled alongside the 300ZX. Us kids were still confused, so we plastered ourselves up against the opposite window to see if the woman was OK.
Luckily, about the time we got alongside the 300ZX, she came up for air. She was smiling and laughing. "Whew!" we thought. "She's OK after all."
The driver, apparently, wasn't doing so bad himself. He was laughing and smiling too. Suddenly, he saw the family-filled van beside him again and floored it. The 300ZX sped off down the interstate.
Mom and Dad laughed a little more, looked back at us in the back, and buttoned up.
"Go back to sleep!" they said.
OK. Just so long as that lady's alright.
I'm going on a couples retreat to Harris Ranch next weekend with a bunch of friends, we will be caravaning up hwy 1 to 46 over to 5. Can't wait to take the Cougar out for a nice long drive. We're going with a Porche Boxter, Mercedes sl and a Jag. all convertables. I hope the cougar can hold her own in such classy company. I have every faith in her. If nothing else the pictures should be great! And the stereo sounds awesome! I'm very pleased with what 500. got me!
Burnsmr4:
Congratulations! Sounds like a worthy reason to go out and get pickled.
Gustafsc:
Sorry about the accident but very glad to hear you are alright.
Malibu:
I do hear a noticeable squeak when going over speed bumps (dratted things) or bumpy roads. It comes from the rear of the car and definitely sounds like squeaky springs. Haven't had a chance to get it looked at yet but am interested to hear what your mechanic comes up with.
I have a squeak that appears from time to time (seems temperature dependant) from the rear of the car. I think it's the hinges on the rear seats as I can create the squeak by hitting the rear seats. I don't think my squeak is suspension related. It's not very loud, so I just put up with it.
Since FMC did a bunch of warranty work on my Cougar, it has been running awesome!
A.
Upshot is, No Cougar next week. So, no CF2.
I'll be thinking about you guys that weekend while I'm painting the house :-(
Skip G.
Good to hear from you!!!
Skip:
I'm really bummed that you will not be able to make it to Cougar Fest. Hopefully they will repair the damage quickly and correctly.
All
I forgot to mention that I will be racing in my first Auto Cross this coming Sunday. Wish me luck!!!
PS - On occasion I too have heard a squeak from the rear of the car when going over speed bumps.
Update on my repair -- county risk management office will be in touch with me in about a week regarding my claim. The woman in the office 'bout pooped her pants when she received my certified mail envelope. I had 25 photos, all numbered and labeled, of the accident scene and the damage to my car. I'm hoping that maybe it will scare them to death and prompt some action.
Of course, I'm also hoping to see pink elephants fly by my office window this afternoon, between the time that I get a lap dance from Sandra Bullock and win Lotto Georgia.
Ya never know ;-)
Be safe this weekend,
burnsmr4
I will be taking my car there for an oil change next week!!
What were the problems that you had with Pugmire that sullied your name? I thought they were a little crowded, and I didn't like the Isuzus being in the same shop space. Too many different things to remember when you're makin' repairs, if you ask me.
What a Dirt Road Can Do for Your Cougar
Uh...the '99 Mercury Cougar V-6 an SUV does not make!
I played paintball in the sticks north of Atlanta today and nearly got stuck in the woods with my Cougar. This is a pretty major paintball operation in an undeveloped section of a business park off of GA400. Off the nicely paved road of the business park, one ventures onto a scary-[non-permissible content removed] dirt road to the paintball center.
I swear my car bottomed out at least once. People arriving in SUVs honked and offered to push me to the center. Funny thing was, when I got there, I saw a Chrysler Sebring Convertible, a BMW 528i, and a VW GTI VR6. Maybe I was just imagining the underbody damage.
Sure enough, though -- my Cougar's alignment was a bit out of whack when we came back home. Thank goodness that's covered as part of the repairs from my accident ;-)
Later,
burnsmr4
Well, The first episode that with Pugmire that bothered me was with my rear hatch. It wouldn't open. First off, my car had only 1,000 miles at the time so that made this even more difficult. I brought my car in to have them look at my hatch because it was not opening correctly(the hatch would catch). I get the car back and realize that the problem has not been fixed. The car was in the exact same condition as when I dropped it off. EXCEPT, the big dent they made on the rear hatch. I guess in trying to close the hatch(no spoiler) they slammed it with their hand and put a big dent in. They did fix it free of charge, but it was still a hassle.
The next item was my AC. I know everyone on here knows the story so I am not going to expand on the AC problem. But after 5 seperate visits to Pugmire, they still have no idea what the problem is and said they are unable to duplicate.....?????
The last issue is all the rattles and noises(dash, AC) they are unable to duplicate. When they can duplicate the rattles, they tell me it's normal and all cars have these noises. What??
The only reason I continue to bring my car to them is they know what all I've been through and usually provide me with a loaner when I ask for one. If I end up bringing it to another dealer they would not provide me with the same luxuries. Also, this dealer is about 2 miles from my office, so it is VERY convienent.
For the most part, the services they provide(oil changes and such) are done well.
Mine's still in hte hospital with the cost of surgery now up to $5K. The more they look, the more bent sheetmetal they find. And it oly seemed like a glancing blow to the corner. Wonder what it would have been had he hit us square on.
Awaiting transplant parts so have no clue as to when I'll get it back.
Traded the big truck in for a little SUNBIRD. Decided I didn't want to feed that thing for a couple of weeks. So, no more extranious sightseeing :-(
Would the activities conducted in a 300ZX be a cure for road rage?
Skip G.
:-) burnsmr4
Skip G.
(resident dirty old man)
On a cleaner note...are they using new parts for all the repairs on your car? A friend said she had to specify new parts or they were going to just repair parts on her firebird.
I think your right about everyone out cleaning their cars, it looks like just you and I that aren't preparing for CF2. I wish there was some fun Cougar get together around my area, nothing exciting goes on around here, have to drive 4 hours to Los Angeles or 4 hours to San Francisco. Oh well, that's what you get for living in Paradise.
At the end of the event they had a drawing for a free pass to a high speed driving class and I WON!!! I will be going to Nazareth Raceway in PA sometime in October. Hopefully I will have my tires by then.
Last night I finished getting everything ready for the long trek out to Michigan for Cougar Fest 2001. This year the CSG will be setting up a tent and displaying a really HUGE Edmunds.com. banar (THANKS EDMUNDS!!!!). We will be selling golf shirts, T-shirts, decals, and handing out Edmunds promotional items. This year should be a blast. I only wish all of you could attend.
All new parts. At first they thought that they could pull the floor pan straight, but it was wrinkled too bad as is the cross bar. The bumper and bumper cover will also be new along with the whole hatch and tail light assembly. The only things that are still useable are the hatch parts (glass, lights, wiper, etc..).
As far as local fun is concerned, check out what the Ca. chapter of NECO is up to. The kids here in Il/Wi seem to have something going on all the time. You'd think that the Ca bunch would have fun runs all over the place.
Badman:
Congratulations on the good competition and the drawing win.
You're really making me feel blue about missing the party at Flat Rock.
See you all on Monday, I'm going housepainting for the next few days.
Skip G.
Hope CF2 was interesting. I could have brought mine to show how NOT to own a New Edge Cougar. Oh, well.
Exciting repair update: The county IS going to pay for the repairs to my car, INCLUDING alternate transportation from Budget rentals. The county appraiser is getting together with me either this afternoon or on Monday.
Question about speaker: I've heard a lot of you complain about the buzzing you sometimes get with the factory door speakers. Can those of you who fit into this unfortunate category share your repair ideas/fixes? I'm wondering if the damage to my passenger-side door is possibly contributing to the buzzing sound.
Thanks,
burnsmr4
Oops. Heh-heh. Sorry 'bout that folks.
Went up to Summit Point this weekend to watch the Porsche club race. I was just about talked-into signing up for the racing school in October, but all the slots are filled for the beginner and intermediate classes.
There is a wait list but I don't know how many drivers are on that, and I'm not sure that I want to tie up $280 waiting to see if someone else drops out or not.
Badman, you are the luckiest dog when it comes to winning cool stuff for your car. I'd ask how you do with lottery numbers, but since you don't have that new 'vette yet, I suppose your luck is just as good as mine in that area
Consumer justice: Guess what Fish8?! I got Gwinnett County to pay for ALL of my repairs to my car! And I get a free rental! I'm waiting for the check now (which may negate my early victory celebration) and arrangements for a rental car. Just goes to show that, if you [non-permissible content removed] and fuss enough, you'll go far in this world ;-)
Later,
burnsmr4
2 whole working days afterwards, and not a word from anybody about how it was.
Lefty/Badman, I know you were there, cause I saw Lefty's picture, and a black Cougar, full Visteon kit, NJ plate, that could only be Badulah's.
Those of us that were deprived need an update!!!!!
All I've got is a Cougar being tortured on a stretch rack, and no memories of CF2 :-(
Skip G.
However, it would be the regional Audi club sponsoring this school, but it isn't limited to Audi drivers. I just found out about it too late for this one.
Thanks for the info on the Panoz school, too, but I would probably stick with Summit Point. It's only 90 minutes away and about half the price.......plus I know one of the instructors. I wanna be teacher's pet!
It was funny -- the appraiser didn't care too much for the super-detailed software the body shop used (5 pages). His software was much more...um...succinct (2 pages). And they were both for the exact same repairs.
More news when I hear from the county 'bout my check.
Later,
burnsmr4
P.S. - Why is the Town Hall down so much these days? I tried logging in yesterday morning and nothing but the login screen worked. Post a maintenance page if you're re-indexing guys.
At any rate, our apologies for the inconvenience.
KarenS
Host
Owner's Clubs
Later,
burnsmr4
The Technician told me that my left front caliper is sticking. This has caused my brake pad on that side to wear down(almost gone) and the rotor is shot. The difference in the left front and right front brake pads is extensive. The Tech recommended me replace both pads, rotors and calipers....price?........$640.00. He then suggested that I bring my car to the dealer tomorrow and see if the caliper problem might be covered under warranty. He said this was unusual for the amount of miles on my car (27,150). I will take my car in tomorrow morning and see what they can do for me. I hope most of this will be covered under warranty. At least the caliper and rotor.
What do you all think about this? Should it be covered under warranty?
Absolutely. The frozen caliper should not happen in such a short time and should be covered under the 36 month/36,000 mile warranty. Any problem caused by the defect should also be covered. Ie. the rotor and early pad wear.
Stick to your guns at the dealership.
That was my thought as well...we'll see tomorrow!!!
At this point in time we are going to suspend the weekly CSG chat session until late September. Since the beginning of the summer, attendance has fallen and we feel it would be best to suspend. At some point in September we will poll the group for the best time and day to hold it.
Cougar Fest was a BLAST!!!!
We departed NJ around 7:30am and met up with Lefty and his wife in Breeze Wood, PA around 12:00 noon. We had lunch with them there and then continued on to Michigan. We arrived at our hotel around 7:30pm. We unloaded the cars, got cleaned up and then grabbed some dinner at a local Applebee's.
Friday we got to the Flat Rock Auto Alliance plant around 9:00am and mingled with other Cougar owners and Ford plant workers. FMC provided free lunch for everyone and plant tours. Unlike last years tour, the plant was in full production. It was incredible to see the manufacturing line in production from beginning to end. The only place in the plant where we were not allowed to tour was the paint shop, but since one of Lefty’s contacts is the head of the Paint Shop, we got to take a private tour of it. Since it is a clean facility we had to wear full body suits and walk through several air locks to access it. Only Lefty, myself, and my friend John were allowed access to it.
After our tour we left the plant and then headed over to Ford Field where FMC provided dinner for us. During the evening we again mingled with other owners and FMC employees. After dinner the four of us went out for drinks with Leo Capaldi (The Cougar Race Team driver) and his team. He took us to some back woods place straight out of a trucker movie. It was kinda scary, but we had a great time.
The next morning we arrived at the Automotive Hall of Fame at 7:30am. We then constructed our tent and prepared for the days festivities. Approximately 150 Cougars were on display during Saturday, not to mention a few classic Cougars also showed up (which was unexpected but very nice). We handed out free promotional Edmunds shirts and sold a decent amount of our promotional items. During the day John (my friend from England) and I snuck away for and hour and toured the Henry Ford Museum. The event ended around 4:00pm (if my memory serves me correctly). After Cougar Fest we followed Leo back to his house where he dropped off his racecar trailer and then all of us went out to dinner. After dinner we followed his son to a local Kroger (supermarket) parking lot where we met up with at least 30 other Cougar owners. We staged in the lot and then cruised up and down the main strip in our cars. It was really cool to travel in a "Cat Pack". That night we got back to our hotel around midnight and just hung out and had fun.
Sunday morning John and I departed around 9:00am and decided to take an alternate route home through Canada. We also made a pit stop at Niagara Falls where we toured the surrounding area and took a boat ride in to the falls ("The Maiden of the Mist"). We didn't’ get home until midnight.
It was a LONG drive round trip, but we had an incredible time!!!
Lefty took a TON of digital pics and will hopefully post them soon. As soon as they are posted we will notify all of you.
PS - Skip: That was my cat you saw! I finally got the full kit installed!
Badulah: Did they say anything about the future of the Cougar? In the Mercury lineup? Word from my dealership service manager on Saturday was that the car had one more year of life. Just curious.
Wish I could have been there for some of it, but the cat's still in the shop, but may be all healed up from surgery by the end of the week.
I sure hope so, 'cause I'm getting tired of driving that Milquetoast little Sunfire. It's boring & dull (start Monty Python routine) ;-)
See you later,
Skip G.
There's a guy here at work who has a new MB sport coupe' with the filthiest front wheels you'd ever want to see.
So, it's not just us with the problem. Even the high priced spread has it's faults.
Skip G.
Me and my wife are so fed up with all the dealer visits, when my 3/36 warranty is up in June of '02, we will look into trading this car in.
CF2 was really awesome! I wrote some of my impressions in the Gatherings topic, but Bad-man's road notes were pretty good.
I should have those photos up soon, I'm working on processing them for your occular pleasure.
Anyway, I replaced the passenger-side front driving light over the past week, and boy - what a pain! I read in the CSG's Chilton's manual that it used a certain type of halogen bulb, pretty standard, with two wires and such. It suggested removing the assembly from the front of the car, yadda, yadda, and ...
... after about 45 minutes of futsing with it, I was able to remove the retainer clip from the single wire harness and remove the completely-different-than-described light assembly.I didn't think that could be very good at all. So I removed the black rubber seal on the back and found that it is, in fact, different, and I didn't have the right bulb to replace it with!
I reassembled the light fixture, and drove back to exchange the bulb. I found that it takes a Bosch-designed H3, 55 watt bulb, that was easy to find at my local Trak Auto. So, it just goes to prove that you can't take anything you read in books to be true. Oh well, if anyone else has this type of driving light assembly, let me know - I have tips on how to remove and replace the bulb without all the hassle (or at least inform you of what you're getting in to) that I went through blindly.
It is a really nice reflector system though, and it is totally sealed against water, like I've heard some other's aren't.
Take care everyone, and Happy Cougaring!
All
Krnch and I did finally run into each other (not literally) thanks to the CSG sticker. I was behind another silver Kitty tonight on my way home and caught a glimpse of yellow on the rear windshield and...well of course I followed it. I was a little embarrassed since Krnch's Kitty is sooooooooooooo much cleaner than mine. Guess what I will be doing this weekend.
Badulah,
I did check into the chat last Tuesday at about 7:50 and it was closed. I think suspending until September is probably a good call, what with people away on holidays and all. I have a week and a half to go before I wing off to the U.K. Can hardly wait. I really need a holiday.
As StageLeft stated, the FMC guys would not comment about the future of the Cougar, but they did have a new special edition Cat on display. Following the Zn and C2, the new model for 2002 is the RX (I believe that is the proper designation). This model features a special edition red paint, a rear wing and hood scoop from Rousch, and a few other aesthetic mods.
Camelard and Krnch:
I'm glad the two of you finally got to meet. Now we just need to get Camelard to come out to one of the CSG events!!
Camelard:
I hope you have a GREAT time in the UK. Kate and I are planning a trip to the UK, France, and Germany sometime in early June of 2002.
If so, it'll be 4 solid weeks since I dropped it off. I'll have to retrain completely just to remember where everything's at and how to drive MTX again.
If anybody's interested, 1/18 & 1/43rd scale die cast Cougars from Minichamps are still available from:
Dellergo import/export
3653 Bunker Hill St. NW
Massilon, OH 44646
e-mail: tomkaseler@worldnet.att.net
The cars are the euro version of the '99 (Ford badges, euro plate gap on the bumper, and no spoiler). I've got one of the big ones, and it's really a nice piece of work.
$39 & 29 respectively.
The paint man at the shop said that he'd save me some of the Ash Gold paint so that I can re-do the model to look like mine. (the big one comes only in Merlina Blue, the little one is silver)
Last weekend in the little Sunfryer (I hope!!!!)
Skip G.
Recently my Cat has been getting alot of attention. Unfortuantly it is all negative attention. Some son of a motherless goat decided to egg a number of cars parked on Kate's block this past weekend. Of course my car was present for this joyous occasion. She got hit on the driver door about half way down. The impact was so hard that it actually took paint off of the car. There are several small chips in the shape of a circle. I used just about every kind of wax and cleaner available, but nothing worked. Several weeks ago someone stole the chrome valve caps, and now she got egged. Some people are such jerks.
Sorry to hear about your cat... dude I'd be blowing smoke if that happenend to me. Is it bad inenough to mention to the insurance company?
Anyway..................
WHERE IS EVERYONE!? This place is a ghost town.