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You know, today I grabbed a brochure for a 2001 Cougar at the AAFES dealer place today. Do you know that they still talked about the Cougar S?
Do you know I have still read 2002 buyers guides that still talk about the Cougar S?
They must have really cancelled that baby at the last minute!
Also, Mercury is considering, as part of its "re-branding" strategy, bringing back the Mondeo (previously the Mystique) in its current European form (much better than the Mystique). Unfortunately, it will take the company almost a year to get the European model up to American emissions specs. The bottom of the news item had an interesting comment about the "branding" strategy for Mercury. I highly suggest visiting www.autoweek.com and reading it.
Later,
burnsmr4
The "blackwood" trunk bed is UGLY! It looks CRAPPY!
I think it is really ridiculous the way they are going to discontinue the Blackwood without making a few cosmetic changes and advertising it better. I think it is better looking (other than the "blackwood" bed) than the EXT.
Get straight Ford, don't get rid of a vehicle just because it doesn't sell right away...especially a vehicle based on the bestselling Navigator. Fix it, advertise it, THEN IT WILL SELL!
Of course, they gave up on the Cougar too, so what do you expect....
Dodge hit it on the head with the Viper (modern Cobra) and Ford actually made a winner with the new Thunderbird.
But the GT-40 needs to look a little more modern. If they make it, it won't sell.
1. Ford doesn't make cars, it (trys to) make profits and secures automotive market shares.
2. For corporations such as Ford, 6 months is a long time and 2 years is an eon. Public corporations have a strong tendency to think only on a quarter-by-quarter basis, and not for the long term. Otherwise, Mercury would have realized back in 1999 that they had a great opportunity (due to the lack of competition at that time) to establish a strong position for the Cougar (via a unique technique called marketing) and fully support the car. Instead, Ford launched a stealth advertising campaign, letting the car sell itself. That approach used to work in the 1950s, but it doesn't work now. Unfortunately, due to a complete lack of long-term planning, the other car companies saw the opportunity and moved right on in. Instead of defending the Cougar by responding with the Cougar S, Ford sat on their haunches and only made minor updates (the recent Edmunds sport coupe comparo pretty much sums up the result).
3. The marketing department at Mercury has either been laid off or lombotomized.
4. Unless Ford gets back its enthusiasim about making unique quality vehicles, it will eventually become the Sears & Roebuck of the auto industry.
Enough about that. My Cougar V6 is about 400 miles away from the 50K mile mark, and aside from a lit check engine light (which I've already diagosed to be from an emissions sensor), it has been running well.
Hope everyone is doing well, as it has been ages since I posted last. Congrats dgemini, and hope married life treats you well.
For all the people that wonder what we think of the Cougar...the car that we are driving this winter, while storing the Cougar, is a 2001 Subaru Outback. (bought new)
Hey... where is the Badman and Lefty, we are going to miss our vacation in the rain this spring.
If they don't market the Mondeo properly however, they will just have another loser in sales.
If they bring the Mondeo here, and fail to market as an affordable alternative to an expensive European sports sedan, it will fail.
For example, the Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique compared quite favourably to the Volkswagen Jetta. I read comparisons where it actually beat it, for less money I might add....but the Jetta is still selling and the Contour/Mystique isn't.
The reason...lousy marketing.
"Marketing???? What is that?"
It's supposed to get into the mid-80s here in Rochester tomorrow. I suspect you'll be taking the cougar out of storage pretty soon (if you haven't already). As for myself, I may be 'forced' to bail out of work early to go for an extended ride on my other vehicle (Suzuki Bandit 1200S two-wheeler) :-)
Most Americans simply saw the Contour as a small family sedan, as opposed to a European style small sports sedan.
Most automag writers called the Contour with the 5 spd MTX and the V6 the American BMW 3 series!
If Ford would have marketed the Contour as a sports sedan, and compared it to other sports sedans in it's commercials (ie. Jetta, Grand Am, etc.) It would have had much better sales.
We're only customers!!!!
Skip G.
My car continues to be tight, rattle-free, and absolutely reliable. Only regular routine maintenanace and the couple of common warranty problems many 99 owners had. I am looking forward to at least another 3-4 years before I have to replace it. With the discounts that are certain to be around at the end of this model year, the Cougar is an even better value now than is was when I bought mine.
Jim H.
Hi to everyone else. Hope all is well!
Sincerely,
burnsmr4
I hope you are enjoying your Sub!!
Time will tell how long the rest of us will have ours!
I will still have mine for a while. As far as I know it still runs well (I have less than 30 days left in Korea) I will find out when I get back to NC.
I know as soon as I get their I need to clean my KKM, and get an oil change, as well as get new tires.
take care all!
2002 is the last model year for our cats, they're killing it, and they think I should buy one.
Lets see, I've already got a Cougar that is paid for, has relatively low mileage, they didn't put an SVT engine in the anniversary edition, and they hope that I'll buy one.
I don't think so!!!!!
Skip G.
It coulda been a contender...
Skip G.
Jim H.
Car book ratings:
Cougar:
Complaints 1, Insurance 1, Theft rating 76
Saab:
Complaints 10, Insurance 10, Theft rating 67
At one dealership during an appraisal to trade in for a NEW Cougar, the mirror housing mysteriously came loose and was hanging. The dealership said they would accept a trade minus the $600 to repair the mirror. Informed the dealer that the alternator light had been on constantly. Dealer told me, it was cold out. 2 A.M I found out differently when the Cougar died and didn't even have enough for the hazard lights.
To make matters worse, when the part came in, the part was given to another customer who had NO problems with their alternator. I was informed.....LIED to....... that the part would be in next week. So my poor lil Cougar sits in the back of a dealership. There were NO RELIABLE Mercury dealers near me. When I reported this to Ford. Their answer was they are independent dealers.Soooo Ford's lousy, inefficient independent dealers lost them a customer. If these Independent dealers lose customers for Ford, who will buy those cars that Ford sends to those Independent dealers?
Replacement parts are cheap, tires last 75K, and nobody bothers to steal it! You can't get any better than that.
KarenS
Host
Owners Clubs
Other than looking like some sort of special police cruiser, the Marauder is still an old f*rt's car in wolf's clothing. That police cruiser look will be the only thing menacing about it, and folks will most likely use a word like annoying or aggravating to describe it rather than menacing. ;-p
LOL! I can't wait to see what the badass Mercury Behemoth comes out -- a modded Mercury Mountaineer with evil red eyes and shark jaws painted on it. Menacing indeed! LOL!
Later,
burnsmr4
KarenS
Host
Owners Clubs
To all the X-CSG'ers - Congratulations on your purchases, and I'm glad at least that you were able to get rid of your "not-the-top-of-the-class" Cats because I was thinking there were nothing but complaints about the car! I still love mine, but know that we've all had our different experiences, and can only imagine they began getting worse in late 99 before they got better in 2001-02.
I'm really dissapointed that with all the assistance, recognition and the like we received from Mercury throughout the years, they totally disregarded the sport coupe market in this way. And although they treated us well when we visited Flat Rock, discussion groups, and other venues, I still feel a bit betrayed. I mean, didn't we sell a bunch of them through this web discussion? At least as many as they sold with their limited advertising!
I do have to say though, that I really appreciated all the support from Dan Calhoun (who went to Mazda) and Mike Sprague. Thanks guys, you made the ownership experience that much more enjoyable. Thank you for both CougarFESTS (as well as Brad Lloyd for organizing) and all the positive support you provided.
That said, there are simply no other Mercury vehicles that I would ever want to buy. If I want an Explorer, I will buy an Explorer (in fact, that's what the wife drives). I will not overspend for a Mountaneer. I will not flip for the Marauder - ever! If I want a Crown Vic, I will buy the one with the Police Package, and maybe get the search light thrown in so I can really intimidate people. Other than that, there really aren't many cars that intrigue me like the Cougar did. I've owned the Cat longer than any other car (almost 4 years!). It would take a special car to keep me in it for that long.
Other than the constant search for a car that offers more or equal what the Cougar offered so many years ago, there is nothing on the road today that offers the value this Cat has brought. I love it, it drives real well, and handles better than I could believe (once I got rid of the FireRocks).
So other than ranting, I should welcome the newest CSG memebers, and hope this discussion board will last a bit longer than the car (so far as I've heard, when they shut the plant down in July, that's when the last one rolls out before they bastardize the Mustang). I won't buy a Mustang built from there, so I guess I have to wait until they retool Detroit and purchase an '05 Cobra Convertible.
So that's a bunch of Ranting, just wanted to let you know that I haven't dropped off the face of the planet and that I still care very much for our beloved Kitties. Thank you all (even the sellers) for hanging out here in the CSG for so long. I feel you are all part of family, and will try to correspond more often. It's amazing the personal changes one can undergo in just 4 years!
I feel I've lost track of everyone, but will make the concious effort to check in more often. I'm not sure what direction the web site will take, as the Bad man and I need to discuss that option. We had so many plans and so little time! Who would've thunk it?
Oh well, I'll be back shortly, I just wanted to say hey to everyone. I'll outline the last several months of Cougar ownership including vandalization (twice) and other more positive experiences.
Take care everyone, and Happy Cougaring! (Subaru'ing/Chevy'ing/etc'ing).
Anyway, my black Cat has been real good. The only thing that really annoyed me were two clutch interlock failures, and that seems to have been cured. It is a smooth, quick coupe with enough power to get out of its own way.
It could have been a great car (it looks like a great car) but it's still not a bad car.
Clearly, due to Mercury's total lack of Cougar advertising, and therefore trashing of my future resale value, I am very displeased with Ford Motor Company and will quite probably never again purchase one of their products.
We just sold my wife's 1996 Subaru Legacy GT and purchased a 2002 Subaru Legacy GT Limited. Great car.
Hang in there folks. If it ain't broke, don't sell it.
Also, if anyone has a better idea as to where, & price-wise, I'm all 'ears'. I am so happy to have found other Cougar lovers, sorta like a little family ! Thanx for your help, Duane
The Town Hall will be looking quite different soon, but we hope you will find the changes beneficial. Your subscriptions should not be affected by this change. I'm sure there will be a discussion in News & Views created to address your questions. Once it is available, I will let you know.
KarenS
Host
Owners Clubs
Blane: Glad to you are still here too, checking out the posts and such. It really does seem like a long time since I was here - mostly because it was. Gee, I'm happy to be back!
Duane: Welcome aboard! When this topic grew to it's current proportions, we knew this was turning into a family atmosphere. If you get the chance, check out the previous couple-thousand posts, and you'll see what I mean. Take care and hang around a while. It's a good owner experience, if you've gotten the right car.
Karen: Thanks for letting us know in advance. What other kinds of changes are expected?
All: Take care and Happy Cougaring!
The sadder fact is that before the first Cougar rolled off the assembly line, I read an article in preparation that mentioned the fact that the Flat Rock plant was not known for building tight cars. Even though I think the folks over there are great (having met them), but now that the demise has occurred, it's highly likely that the build-quality of the car is as much to blame as non-advertisement. Just think, if we didn't need the Support Group part of this, and were just able to enjoy our Cats 100%, then the owners would have sold more with praise. We've had our share of new comers and potential owners that we've scared out of their minds with the descriptions of poor quality and probably caused them to buy the competition. Oh well, that's what they get, to be honest. If they could have only fixed that darned hatch-release problem ... If.
You're right about the indifferent manufacture as well, because I know there's a whole bunch of us that didn't experience the problems that others did. I'm not sure if they started out well, got a little worse, then finished with a bang because they worked out all the details, because they should have gotten all that ironed out in the beginning if Quality is Job 1. Right?
I'll be Happily Cougaring for at least another year. Hopefully by then we'll have something on the road comparible to the Cat when we all purchased early-on. Bang for the buck, and all that.
Skip G.
Mud flaps: Mercury sells a complete set w/logo at a reasonable price, and, they fit the body well.
Based on my experiences with my Cougar I'm going to have to disagree with your comments. My revs instantly drop when I'm stopped at a light and the radio is awesome! Everything appears to well put together and extremely well aligned on all the body parts and interior pieces.
Actually this appears so far to be the highest quality car I have ever owned. The includes a 94 Honda Civic I bought new and very shortly believed it was one of the cheapest built pieces of junk I have ever owned.
Maybe Mercury improved with time or something. I dunno. I know being on NECO that I have heard much less complaining from the late year 2000 thru 2002 owners than I do from the 99 - early 2000 owners. I've never had throttle hang issues nor problems with my hatch release that seemed to have bothered most 99 owners. The radio has been GREAT. Awesome sound out of it.
I think Ford finally got their act together just in time to cancel it. The only problem I ever had was how amazingly long it took to get it built since I special ordered it with the exact options and color I wanted.
David <-----14,000 miles and counting on his 2001 C2 Cougar
I bought my '02 cougar XR 5 speed loaded except for leather and 6 deck cd-changer..in 8 months i have put 11000 miles on her....i have only had ONE problem....the relay switch on the back window wiper had to be readjusted.....my dealership took car of that pronto and gave me a rental car while my cat was being fixed....(YEAH!! SHOWCASE AUTO PLAZA in modesto CA)...
anyhow....i have driven her hard, sometimes fast and use my cat to commute 60 miles to and from work each day....i open and close the sunroof twice a day.....have played with all the creature features of the car and think this is the best car i have ever owned....
my cat has been driven in the snow, rain and on slick roads...i love the way my kitten handles....i test drove a 'vette in the rain and my cougar handles better then the 'vette did in the rain....this car looks like a sports car and handles as good as most.....would like a little more power but........
i am constantly complimented on the car and always have people asking me about it.....i expet to have this car for a very long time....
one question i do have is this:
has anyone done any of the performance mods on thier cat??....if so..what kind and are they worth it??
Jim H.
I should mention that my C2 is basically fully loaded except for leather.
I have the follwoing mods on my C2 Cougar: SVT upper intake manifold, SVT throttle body, SVT diffuser screen, Mirko MAF to filter adaptor, K&N Cone filter, and just received my strut tower bar via UPS today. I'll get it installed this weekend and then my next mods will be a Borla exhaust and a FTP rear strut tower bar.
David
I may be a little behind over the next two days because of a large meeting in the office that I'm supporting.
I've had the Borla dual exhaust installed for more than two years and love it. I've had a KKM intake kit intstalled since 5K miles, and have not had any problems, and I'm now at 42K.
I love my Cat.
Good question about the demise decision, lmigliore. Why would they decide to kill production just when they got it "right"? I suspect poor sales did the Cougar in ...
Happy Cougaring everyone!