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Mercury Cougar
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Comments
Cougar - Exterior and interior changes are extensive for the Cougar. At first glance outside, you'll notice new front and rear fascias, new headlights with a projector and reflector system, a new grille, a new spoiler, new fog lights, 16-inch painted and 17-inch machined aluminum wheels. New clearcoat metallic colors include Dark Shadow Grey, Tropic Green, French Blue and Sunburst Gold. The Cougar S is finally a go for production (we hope).
carlady
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News & Views and Hatchbacks Message Boards
http://www.detroitnews.com/2001/autos/0102/09/c01-185655.htm
Thanks, but we already know. The CSG was the first group FMC notified. The Brand manager posted the news in our forum and I received a phone call from one of the Cougar Team members.
Both of you should check out the Cougar Support Group (CSG). We are an Edmunds based car club located in the "Owners Clubs" area of "Town Hall".
CSG Message Boards & Weekly Chat Session
CSG Web Site
Both of the above links are packed full of GREAT Cougar related information. Our members are top notch and really enjoy networking with other owners. Be sure to check us out when you get a chance!!I thought the tune-up was done at 100,000 mile intervals.
I'm in the market for the Cougar Sport model. Does any one know when these will be available? I'm in the Raleigh, NC area.
Thanks in advance.
smc7
I had not seen this info released anywhere (re: Cougar S cancellation). The brochure for the Cougar that I picked up 2 weeks ago said it was scheduled for First Quarter 2001. I didn't talk to a dealer about it. Where can I read more about this cancellation?
Because of your (sad) news, I went to mercuryvehicles.com and 'built' a V6 with the sport group options. I am now considering this version of Cougar. I'm a little disappointed with the cancellation of the S but I think I'm still willing to get one of these.
Thanks again
smc7
For future reference, you'll find this section via Edmunds' editorial section link on the front page. Once you're in the main editorial section, look for future telling in the right hand column. Good luck. ;-)
Pocahontas
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Hatchbacks Message Board
When was that "prediction" made though? I've been all around the block with future Cougars, and "what might be's" and every prediction in there has been scrapped. What you don't predict, however, is that the Mercury Cougar is possibly not even going to be produced past 2002 ... Sad though that may be.
It was almost nice to have a light at the end of the tunnel, but the 3.0L was scrapped more than a year ago, the S was officially scrapped in February. The only logical next step for Mercury to do at this point is adopt a version of the Focus. That's my prediction!
Thanks for the update though, it's funny to see some of the things that have been predicted in the automotive world.
Pocahontas
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Hatchbacks Message Board
But kaw6, seriously, there are actually a lot of other owners who have had serious problems with thier Cougars, so don't feel left out. Of course I don't know what solace that will provide knowing that your Cougar is still on the outs. Have you tried a different dealer in your area? Maybe one that might care about the customer (because it sounds like the one your taking it to doesn't care).
I don't blame you, however, for wanting to ditch a bum product, but perhaps if you can find a place to diagnose and fix the problems with your Cat, you'll remember why you bought it in the first place, and decide otherwise -- IF it's running properly, of course.
Good luck, and let us know what's wrong with your car, maybe another member has had a similar problem and can point you in the right direction to getting it resolved.
Take care!
Actually, it wasn't any technical problems nor was it a defacing move from the folks at Mercury. Ford Motor Company still pulls the strings on the Mercury puppet, and would not allow Mercury to come out with the S to boost it's flagging sales or promote return customers. They simply killed the project - after printing it up in all those dealership brochures - because. That may not sound like any kind of excuse, but that's the only reason they gave. Unfortunatly, we all found out that Ford announced the availability of the Focus SVT ONE DAY before officially cancelling the S model. You figure it out, I think they did it on purpose so they wouldn't be competing with themselves - little did they know that the Focus doesn't compete with the Cougar, nor do any Cougar owners that I know of have any interest in "downgrading" to a Focus. We've got bigger pies in the skies - like BMWs!
As for going to a different dealership, I have been to three now. In fact, I got into it with two service managers at one place that I was asked to not bring the car back there. I now try to deal exclusively with the Ford rep. I am so disgusted with this car! The longer I have the car, the more that just falls apart on it. And this was rather unsettling, during a recent phone conversation with a Ford mechanic I was telling him how upset I have been with all the repairs, his reply "What do you expect, it's a cougar"
I only hope for everyone else's sake that the newer models are made better (I bought mine in August of 98 when they first came out)
Yeah, I've seen the new CR magazine. And the Cougar's reliability is not pretty. I guess in a few years, when you see CR publish their Used Cars to Avoid list--the '99-'00 Cougar will be highlighted and pictured on it.
It's a good thing for Ford I already bought the Cougar. If I was shopping for a car now, I wouldn't buy the Cougar because of the CR's rating. CR is the only car magazine out there that really looks out for consumers. Instead of focusing or glorifying 0-60 or quarter-mile results that the average driver will never attain, they focus on safety, convenience and reliability.
However, my '00 Cougar has just hit 1-year old last week and has 12,000 miles on it. So far no problems other than replacing the driver seat assembly. I hope and pray she continues to be nice to me and give me many years of trouble free driving experience. I still love my Cat.
I figure I better check so I won't wear out my Comp T/As early!
Lou
louf22: Since the day I bought my Cougar(June'99) I have experienced excess tire wear on my front tires. I wish this was only caused by the rail shipping. I am on my second set of tires with only 22,600 miles on my car. The dealer states that the wear on my front tires is normal and they can't find anything wrong. So, good luck with your alignment. I wish it were that simple for me.
Thanks. I wish I had known about CR putting the Cougars on the avoid list; I might have kept my 98 Contour, which was a very good reliable car. I used last year's CR recommendation as a reason to buy my 01 Cougar. What's funny about the CR avoid list, last year's list had all Contours except the 98, now this year's includes the 98 as well.
What tires came on your Cougar originally? I hope you have better luck on the second set. I've seen that other Cougar owners have had problems with original Firestones.
Lou
Regarding the tires: My car came with the Firestones GTA02's. I got Pirelli P6000 Sport Veloce at about 19,500 miles because my Firestones were wearing terribly. I have had these tires rotated and balanced and aligned about 3 times since they were new. I now have 22,600 miles on my car and my front tires(outside edges) are still wearing bad. I am planning on getting them rotated and balanced for my trip down to Florida in Apr.
As for early or uneven tire wear, I would suspect two things:
1. Incorrect tire pressure. As shipped, the tires were set up like rocks & needed to be bled down a little. I finally settled on 36psi as a compromise between ride softness and good handling.
2. The weight distribution of the Cougar. Heavy forward bias, and, when driven aggressively, the need to overcome the natural understeer by adding tire slip angle by turning the wheel a little more. If the tires are a little soft, they'll tend to roll under, increasing edge wear. There might also be a little more toe-in by spec to increase straight line stability. This might also scrub the outer edge of the tire. Also, sporting tires have a softer compound than the average tire, and are more susceptable to wear.
My Comp T/A's are wearing pretty well, being over 20Kmi with at least another 10K before I'll worry about replacement. But with the Cougar's heavy nose, frequent rotation is a must, especially if you drive a little more aggressively (or should I call that enthusiastically?).
My A/C is working fine since it was correctly charged per tech notice last spring. Of course I havn't had much use for it the last few months
Skip G.
Set that soft, I know that they're rolling under on every turn that you make!!!!!!
I know that you'd have to give up the softer ride, but I think you'll like the faster steering response and I know that the tire wear will improve. In addition, the whole thing gets more resistant to pothole damage. If you should happen to hit one with a sharp edge at any kind of speed, the tire at 32psi won't have enough rigidity to protect itself and the wheel. I blew one unit even with things set @ 36psi.
Skip G.
Set that soft, I know that they're rolling under on every turn that you make!!!!!!
I know that you'd have to give up the softer ride, but I think you'll like the faster steering response and I know that the tire wear will improve. In addition, the whole thing gets more resistant to pothole damage. If you should happen to hit one with a sharp edge at any kind of speed, the tire at 32psi won't have enough rigidity to protect itself and the wheel. I blew one unit even with things set @ 36psi.
By the way, an easy check for alignment is to drive down a flat road, let go of the wheel. If it keeps going straight, the alignment is OK. If the road is crowned, it will want to go to the downhill side. On the interstate, I've driven for miles @ speed without touching the wheel or drifting out of my lane (Ohio's especially good for that).
Skip G.
P.S. - I wonder if car trouble is linked to some cosmic balance thing....see my earlier comments
Over-Inflate the centers of the tread will wear
Underinflate the shoulders of the tread will wear
Skip G.
can't afford to purchase another vehicle, but really I can't bare to sell my Cougar.
But, it should only be considered a basic guideline as it was selected by engineering as what they thought the customer would like in ride quality. Considering that it was Mercury, I feel that they were still thinking soft & cushy, not crisp and responsive.
To me, putting the pressure @ 36psi makes the car come alive. Much more responsive in turn-in response, and no wallow in tighter turns. Anything above that gets a little harsh on rough surfaces and tends to vibrate these old bones too much.
My $0.02, tune the ride any way that you want. You can even tune the handling by changing the front/back pressures around.
Skip G.
The first time I Mercury. Had to call them twice. My friend from work left work to come out and wait for the tow truck. she had to use her cell phone twice for service.
another co-worker went in to have their oil changed and asked about the recall. They told them they were in luck. Normally they would have to wait for two weeks for the part, but luckily they had the part on hand. Last Monday they had no part and said they would call me when it came in. Guess who got my part installed in their car. Meanwhile the battery is still discharging down to nothing again. Struck out with two dealers who stranded me late at night/early morning.
-Rob