Cougar Support Group - A New Start

jimbo_g

...In a perfect world we'd all be independently wealthy and have an endless supply of Cougars! :-)

Glad you're happy with the products i recommended..... It's funny last night I was in my friends garage helping him install foglights on his ne S10 pickup. I look up at the shelf in his garage to find it completely stocked with Maguiar's products. It's funny, because you'll find the same thing on the shelves of all my friends garages. Even my girlfriend's! I guess i'm so nutso about it i recommend it to everyone with out even realizing it:-)

Jimbo_G

dgemini

I have 20,200 miles on my cat. I have only owned my cat for 10 months.

ferrywhistle

I got my cat April 1 and she has a little over 700 miles.

stageleft

Front End Covers (bras):

I got mine from the dealership, and I love the way it fits. I mostly use just the hood piece, but on longer trips I'll strap the whole thing on. It has a sculpted Mercury logo on the side of the bumper cover, and a Cougar logo off center on the hood part.

1 yr., 9 mos., 22,346 mi. I love this car!

fish8

I have a similar story with one of my neighbors. While washing my Cat(shocker), my next door neighbor came over and said I probably have the cleanest car in the county. I guess he said that because I wash it ALL THE TIME. For example, right know my Cat is clean and shining. It is supposed to rain tonight and clear up on Tuesday. I will immediately wash her again after work on Tuesday. I hate to have a dirty car sitting in my garage. Unless it's my wifes car ;-)

As far as Meguiars goes, I love the stuff. Eventhough Meguiars did not get as good a right up in Consumer Reports as in the past. The said that the Zymol cleaner Wax did the best. I still like Meguiars the best.

elywn

Hi all have had my cat for 2 months has 1546 miles.

halo_1

5 month 2 weeks young with 3,950 miles and loving it...

jayhawk5

3200 miles after almost 3 months.

fredly

22098, Born on March 31, 1999. Just over 12 months.

I'm as happy as a ...hummm well almost happy.

Anyone have any suggestions:
My cougar is in for a state inspection and a short list
of demands...uh I mean warranty repair things.
The Dealership has had the car for a week, granted I did drop it
off unannounced. But I decided to pay a little visit to my car to
see how she was doing(after the dealership was closed of course)
well anyway, from what I can see(I Didn't have my other key with me)
Nothing has been done to my car. Just sitting in the Mud in the back lot
flithy and neglected...my Sat Kitty all alone in the night....

MWS anything peculiar here? Granted I do have a secondary vehicle,
it is not affordable to be driving it so much.

MWS also what is involved in winning these so called:
Chairman's Award
and Customer Service awards...

coolchick

My kitty is 2 months old and 2150 miles.

I hate those little helicopter seeds! Nasty little buggers are everywhere :P

MWS -- The Cougar could use a place for spare change. I've been putting it in that little scooped-out area underneath the parking brake but it makes a lot of noise sliding around in there. Would love to see the ashtray/lighter area changed into a coin holder/phone charging port.

badulah

My Kitty is 17 months old and has 30,000 miles on it. I have to get to the dealer soon to get some issues settles before I hit the dreaded 36,000 mile point.

Patte:
My neighbors are past the point of making comments. When they see me they usually just roll their eyes, shake their head, make a face, and walk away. I think they blame me for the drought we had last summer. 8-)

gustafsc

12Kmi in 16mo. Relatively short work commute helps keep the mileage down and get the insurance discount. But, I make sure to do a high speed run or cruise to keep things blown out.

Gear for turns: If you're talking about a normal intersection, 2nd is probably better, as your revs are up a little bit, and the engine isn't lugging.
For anything else, it would be speed dependent.

Stiff 2nd gear. When new, mine really took some pull to get it shifted properly. With mileage, it gets better, although at times it stille feels "notchy".

Skip G.

stageleft

D'oh! I guess I flubbed the HTML code on that last message. The URL is http://home.att.net/~cougarsupportgroup/

Sorry about that ...

stageleft

Hey everyone!

We updated the site this week, taking into account feedback from you guys, thanks. We're trying to make the site more easily navigable and have added some more new sections. Visit the and let us know what you think. As you'll see, we really appreciate the feedback from the members.

As a side note, it seems that the AT&T server we're using is having some trouble today (I hope it corrects itself soon) and you may have to refresh in order to view all the images/pages within the site. I hope this isn't too much of a hassle on you. We're working to get the CSG it's own URL in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Thanks again for all the support, and if you have any comments or suggestions you can contact us at cougarsupportgroup@worldnet.att.net, as always.

Take care and Happy Cougaring!

badulah

As Lefty pointed out, we are having some difficulty with our server, so if you view the page, please have patience. I have sent AT&T technical support an email, and I received an auto replay stating that they have received my email and will respond within 24 hours.

Things would be much easier if we had our own URL. Lefty and I are working to move the site, but if anyone would like to donate web space to the CSG, please contact one of us. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

daexpert

Hey guys, I got another question, and it might seem kind of dumb but I might as well ask = ).

The rev limiter, beside preventing you from red lining the car, will it also shut off the car or is that what the rev limiter is there for, so that your car has no damage and it won't be shut off? I don't know if I'm making sense though!

If the car is not shut off, then what happens when people hit the rev limiter? Not paying attention today I noticed I got the car close to 5.5K rpms so I got a little scared!

Thanks guys.

badulah

Daexpert:
No the rev limiter will NOT shut your car off. It prevents the engine from being revved passed a preset RPM.

When you hit the rev limiter, the car will not go any faster until you shift and bring the RPMs down. The stock limiter on the V6 MTX is 6250RPMs.

fredly

Daexpert: to expand on what Badulah stated
basically it takes control of your lead foot
by stopping fuel flow(ie letting off the gas)

daexpert

Thanks for the response guys! I was just wondering because I got a little nervous today when I saw the needle hit 5.5K rpm. I quickly shifted to 2nd, but I didn't know what would happend if the needle would have kept going.

I waxed teh kitt this past weekend. It looks great, I just wished it woud stop raining!

gustafsc

I told you that you would be hitting high revs very quickly in 1st. Now take it easy untill you've done the 1st thousand miles and get the oil and filter changed. You'll be better off in the long run.

I realize that the temptation to really rip is hard to resist, but a little discretion is in order, and your cat will last longer, believe me.

Skip G.

jrp6977

After past experience with a car "bra" on a T-bird a few years ago,and advice from auto body professionals, I would advise anyone against buying one. I purchased one from Ford that was a very fine quality. THe main problem is that, even though the bra protects the front end from bugs and rocks, slight scratching of the paint can occur along the upper edge of the bra. If the car is left out in the rain, you must remove the bra and let it dry. THe paint can get "cloudy" if the moisture is allowed to remain under the bra for some time. Just for your info.

mouse409

have also had bad luck with bra's. Messed up paint, rust and scratches. Two different cars, two differant bras, one a Colgan and one a Le-Bra. Both the same result.
Kitty is 9 months old, with 3950 miles, it did take a nap during the winter mounths (nov thru apr) its like driving it fot the first time again
=^..^=

coolchick

So is anyone going to tell us about the NY Auto Show???? Hmmm???? Do I have to bake brownies to get you all to open your mouths?

coolchick

Sorry. I thought the auto show was this past weekend, not the one coming up.

In the words of Rosanne Rosanadana, "Never mind."

jimbo_g

.....Actually let's not go there. ;^)

Jimbo_G

sorry i just couldn't resist making some kind of bra related joke!

jrp6977

I just checked out a site(blueovalnews.com)
According to this site, the Cougar is not selling well in Europe and may be discontinued there and in this country as well. In fact, Ford seems to be determined, despite denials, to eventually kill off Mercury. I think all Cougar fans and owners should visit the Ford site,(Ford.com)
enter the owners connection and give Ford as much feedback as possible so that the Cougar is not discontinued, but saved. Such feedback is always good in that it can tell Ford how we feel and possibly improve future products, especially the Cougar. Ford needs to know that the Cougar has attracted many customers that would have never entered a Mercury showroom, let alone buy a car there. Hopefully, we can save the cat from possible extinction.

fredly

jrp, keep in mind much of the info found on the blue oval site
is not validated and should be taken with a grain of salt, a very BIG
grain of salt.
But your advice is good, If Mercury know's we exist, they know more about the
potential market. If you haven't been here long, Meet MWS he is I believe the Mercury
Brand Manager(I think this is his title) anyway He is here to help us, and surely provide feedback to his superiors.

stageleft

Well, as far as the bra goes, I don't recommend driving with it on 100% of the time. I only use mine for long travel, and when I reach my destination I take it off and put it in the trunk. It's great protection for long highway jaunts because as you're moving faster down the road, the rocks are moving faster at you. Dings from rocks tend to happen less at lower speeds. For this reason, I recommend the front-end cover.

badulah

As Fredly pointed out, Blue Oval News isn't the greatest source for true to life information. They have come out with a few recent articles that were totally off base, and were not valid.

Although I agree that we should make FMC aware of our community. Feedback is aways a good thing, and can do no harm.

dgemini

Since my KKM and exhaust mods I hit my rev limiter all the time, especially in 1st and 2nd gear. I routinely drive my kitty to 6000 plus rpm, and there is no indication that the engine is feeling strained or overworked.

My engine just seems to love it. Prior to my mods however I hardly ever did it. The engine just didn't sound like it liked it.

What happens with me is that the engine just seems to cut the fuel oof so that the engines RPMs stay below the "redline", but it doesn't turn the engine off.

The above occurs in 1st thru 3rd gear.

In 4th gear it just hits the limit and stays there.

When I am driving my kitty and I want put it through the paces from a standstill I run it right up to the rev limit and then shift gears.

daexpert

Thanks for all the responses about the rev limiter guys!

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what is the best way to not roll back on a hill when you are at a standstill and driving manual? I was feeling pretty confident about driving the manual and standing still on hills but I had a little wake up call yesterday = ). I started rolling back (no cars behind me thank God) and for some reason I just couldn't get it to work right so I stalled. I tried again and I did it fine but are there any good methods to not roll back? Thanks guys.

badulah

Daexpert:
Starting on a hill is a bit tricky in an MTX. I know exactly where my clutch engages, so I usually keep my right foot on the brake, put my left on the clutch, put the car in 1st, start to let up on the clutch until it begins to engage, then let off the brake and hit the gas. It takes some practice, but once you get the hang of it you will reduce your rearward roll down to a minimum.

dgemini

I agree with badulah, it just takes practice.

Me, I am an expert (no pun intended) with a manual since my first car was a manual and all subsequent ones have been manuals.

I can actually stand still on a steep incline using only my clutch and gas pedal (no brakes) without stalling the engine. I wouldn' recommend doing this however since it isn't good for the clutch.

ambercadabra

Ditto to what they said. You just have to learn to feel when that "catch point" on your clutch engages, and before long, your foot will find it without even trying.

jrp6977

I know that the info in blueovalnews.com is not written in stone. If you look at the archives, you can see that. However, I have read in other publications that no Mercury models have been announced for beyond the 2003 model year. Not even a Cougar replacement. Ford seems determined to make all future domestic models either Ford or Lincoln products. Even with the economics of platform sharing, they seem ready to turn their backs on faithful Mercury customers. They also stand to lose the new, younger customers gained with the Mountaineer and Cougar. Hopefully, they will keep Mercury and Cougar around for a long time.
Regardless of whether any of this information I've read is accurate, customer feedback to Ford is very very important in future product development. Hopefully, everyone who reads this board will tell Ford how they feel, both good and bad, about their Cougars.

patte

Ditto on the clutch-on-hill advice above. But if you're still uncomfortable you could try what the Swiss driving instructors teach (and they do have a few hills). They suggest using your handbrake until your foot hits the gas pedal and release. On really steep inclines it might be necessary but I found the timing was as tricky as finding the catch point. See what you think.

ferrywhistle

Last night I gave my cat a bath. It' supposed to be really nice and sunny and not rain for the next week so I wanted her all pretty. And she sure was. All shiny and glossy - beautiful. So I leave the house for work this morning expecting to see the cleanest, shiniest car ever, and what do I see instead? A semi-shiny car covered in helicopters and little tiny leaves and various other tree droppings. Now, I consider myself a bit of a nature lover, but MAPLE TREES MUST DIE!!!!!

jayhawk5

ferrywhistle- ah yes, the frustration of trees. I know it well, since there's a tree hanging right over my driveway (and no garage). I washed my car just the other day and the next morning came out to find a cat covered in pollen and helicopters and seeds. Oh well, I think that tree has dropped about all it can. I was actually thinking about cutting it down the other day.....

stageleft

Timber!

And when you're finished with the chipper/shredder, bring it to my house and we'll cut down my tree. :^)

jayhawk5

Now would be an appropriate time for the lumberjack song Badulah!

ambercadabra

oooooohhhhhhhh

I'm a lumberjack
and I'm O.K.
I sleep all night
and I work all day.....

oops sorry Rob - couldn't resist (I happen to be a major Monty Python fan...)

Thankfully, I have a covered underground garage in my apartment building so I don't have to deal with pollen/seeds/etc, but I have a different nemesis....dust. No matter how clean my car is when I drive it into the garage, it's never quite as clean coming out.

Maybe I could borrow the chipper/shredder to take down the garage and build an airtight vacuum bubble kind of thing for my car?

badulah

The one thing I have is a decent driveway. No trees around to kill my Kittys good looks.

My parent's hoe the worst driveway in the world. Several berry trees shade the area, so between the berries, pollen, bird droppings, and leaves your car hasn't got a chance of staying very clean for long. Needless to say, I rarely parked in the driveway when I lived at home.

coolchick

Since stageleft lives near me, you can drop that chipper/shredder off at my place when you're finished with his maple tree so I can take care of mine.

The one good thing is the branches don't extend over the driveway, so although I'm plagued with helicopters and other tree trash, the birds can't hang out over the car and play dookie-dookie-doo on it.

coolchick

I'm hoping to convert a Honda owner

She's been complaining about her Civic and is thinking of replacing it. I've planted the seed in her mind about the Cougar, and she sees how much fun I have with mine.

Soon Honda will be a thing of the past and Kitties will dominate the earth! mwahahah...MWAHAHAHAHAHA

ferrywhistle

Well, I'm glad I'm not alone in my new found hatred for Maple Trees.

badulah:
I don't know if your parents driveway is gravel or asphalt, but either way, they really shouldn't be hoeing it.

badulah

Um Coolchick, you seem to need a little help, so allow me. That's "MU-HO-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

Ferrywhistle
OOPS! I meant to type "Have". Sorry about that. The boss man is lurking so I have to speed-post today. No time to proof read.

coolchick

Thanks badulah!

Lack of testosterone really undercuts an evil laugh. Maybe I should do a Catwoman *hissssssss* instead.

jdice

Open question for CSGers:

I've got a 2k kitty on order that probably won't make it to me until mid June. I'm thinking at this point that it's a far better move to wait until Sept when the 2001 kitties become available, and get one of those. It involves an additional 3 months of torture, but it's difficult to justify paying a new car price for a vehicle that, while new, is basically last year's model. Any thoughts?

badulah

I think the only change will be the front seats. I don't recall any other changes to the Cat, other than the addition of the long awaited Cougar-S.

You can check with MWS0520, he will be able to tell you if there are any other changes.

jdice

It's not just the changes, it's the fact that I'm paying a new car price for what, in essence, is an old car. The resale value on the car is just way lower than, say, a 2001 model would be. It's the timing more than anything else.