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Cougar Support Group - A New Start

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Comments

  • coolchickcoolchick Member Posts: 174
    Big scare yesterday evening: Hail! Pea-sized pellets pelting my poor kitty! She seems to have come through without any cellulite showing up, but it really makes me think that the best mod I could make is a garage for her!
  • badulahbadulah Member Posts: 961
    Coolchick:
    When you saw it hailing, did you run outside and throw yourself on the hood and roof to shield her from the pellets?
  • malibumalibu Member Posts: 155
    Work is the one place my kitty will be very safe, we have a corner spot with landscaping on both sides and a nice big shade tree in front, I took posession of it 6 years ago for the 4-runner and it will be perfect for the cat. I will have to get a cover for her though, those birds in the shade tree have no respect.
  • badulahbadulah Member Posts: 961
    My neighbor moved out about a month ago. While he was cleaning out his storage spot he came a cross a cover for his old Saab. It was over 12 years old, but it had never been used and was in perfect condition. He asked me if I knew anyone with a Saab that might want it. I said no, but I would be more than happy to take it off of his hands. The cover fits the Cat very nicely. With the exception of the antenna hole, you would never know it wasn't made for it.

    I use it on nights when I know it isn't going to rain out. The only thing I had to do to it was let it air out for a day. Like I said, it was in storage for 12 years and was full of dust.
  • coolchickcoolchick Member Posts: 174
    badulah:

    By saying I should have covered my cat with my body, are you somehow implying that I'm....fat?!? grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
  • badulahbadulah Member Posts: 961
    Fat? Who said anything about fat????

    I was merely stating that you should have shielded your Cat from raining death with your own life.

    Women! Sheesh!!


    8-)
  • fish8fish8 Member Posts: 2,282
    Can't live with 'em can't.........anyway!!

    Today, my Cougar's handleing really shined. I was driving down the road and some idiot pulled right in front of me. Needless to say I served and missed her. The Cat never winced. What a car!!!!!
  • jayhawk5jayhawk5 Member Posts: 70
    Yeah- I got some hail out here last night too- with no garage. Fortunately, it looks like no damage, the hail was too small. I was about ready to have a nervous breakdown when I saw hailstones hitting my cat! I think the big stuff missed me to the north about 2 miles- Whew!!
    On a different note, I now know the cat's brakes are great. I was on an on ramp to 295 south (which isn't very long), and some old lady in a Camry screeched to a full stop at the end of the ramp. AUUGGGHHH!!!!!! We had plenty of room before the next set of cars! Needless to say I had to slam on the brakes pretty hard, but my kitty kept me out of harm's way. Good kitty. Why do people do that? I've driven in every state except Alaska and Hawaii, and so far Washington DC drivers are by far the worst (and stupidest). People in LA or NY may disagree with me, but at least there's an unwritten set of rules that everyone follows there (well, almost everyone). Here everyone's just an IDIOT!!! This excludes coolchick, stageleft, and any other friendly Cougar drivers of course. Sorry, I'll go stand in the corner and count to 10 now.
  • badulahbadulah Member Posts: 961
    DC is definitely an "interesting" area to drive in, that's for sure.
  • coolchickcoolchick Member Posts: 174
    Jayhawk --

    Never, ever drive on the interstate in Roanoke then. EVERYONE stops at the end of the on ramps...I guess they must like the view from there!

    And, yes, DC drivers are far more imaginative than any others I've ever encountered en masse. I think some of them must be controlled by a 4-year old with a joystick somewhere!
  • dasaint1dasaint1 Member Posts: 230
    Fat!?!?! Who's fat??? Did you say Coolchick was fat?!?! Hey man, that's not nice. :o
  • jayhawk5jayhawk5 Member Posts: 70
    I was thinking more of 'nerveracking', or 'nightmarish'. Interesting is a little too mild mannered! For instance, I fear for the life of my Cougar every single time I drive around DC (not to mention my well being). And I consider myself a very good driver! Oh well, at least I'm not in Kansas anymore (insert Wizard of Oz joke here).
  • gustafscgustafsc Member Posts: 361
    Had a few minutes to kill so I went back into the archives to the first 99 Cougar topic. Turns out that I beat Badulah to the post by about 2wk.

    But, I wonder where all of our old buddies from the days of the long wait went to? Did they all just Cougar off into the sunset, or do they sometimes still monitor Edmunds to see what's up?

    If you're out there guys, sound off and let everyone know how you're doing.

    Skip G.
  • badulahbadulah Member Posts: 961
    Skip:

    When I get some time, I plan on going back to those posts and pulling all the old timers email address off of it and mailing them. I would like to hear how they are doing and if they would like to rejoin the group.
  • daexpertdaexpert Member Posts: 140
    Hey guys,

    Rarely, does someone get in the backseat of my kitty, but yesterday I gave some friends of mine a ride home and I found out something sort of comical but also stupid. I wanted to tilt the drivers seat forward so that my friend could get in the back and what do I find????.......The people that installed the leather forgot to cut out the whole where the handle is so that I can tilt the seat forward!!!! So my bud had to go around to the other seat because they did it right on the passenger's side. I called them yesterday and they are gonna show up to my workplace and fix it right here, shouldn't take too long.

    I figured I would tell you guys this (even though it'll make me look dumb!) so that you guys pay attention when something is done to your kitties! I totally overlooked that part, hopefully I learned my lesson.
  • jadejade Member Posts: 10
    Hi all, long time no see. Life has been mega busy with some major career changes that I won't go into because I'm sure they'd bore everyone. :)

    Anyhow, think anyone can help me out? I *HAVE* to change the cabin air filter. It's been a year, and the pollen is miserable here....however the directions for installation are confusing me: I just don't get how to remove the wipers. What is described in the manual just isn't what I'm seeing. You have to remove the wipers to then be able to remove the plastic part at the windshield base to get to the filter. I just can't figure out these wipers!

    Btw, saw in a post a while back about warranties. Check out www.warrantygold.com for some prices: they're much more reasonable than the factory extended warranty.
  • stageleftstageleft Member Posts: 391
    Hey all, back from my trip! It was really nice down at the Beach, I almost wish I worked there year-round ... *sigh*

    Malibu:

    Please do not take delivery of your Cat until you talk the dealership down a few grand because of that dent. If they don't mention it to you, you could always take delivery, then sue because they didn't tell you (a little policy called "disclosure") They HAVE to tell you what happened. If you feel a little froggy, talk to a lawyer and see if when you do take delivery, if you can get it for free when they don't mention it. Don't let the dealership get away with lying to you! Please! I know you've been waiting a very long time, but if the car was banged up, you don't want the hassle of the paint possibly falling off that spot over the next few years, do you? Just my two shiny coins, sorry to repeat this if you've heard it, but no one else here mentioned it.

    All:

    Glad to see that everyone is doing okay, I talked about that same or similar a/c problem over in maintenance. There's some results to that conversation there too. I'm taking my Cat into the dealership Monday to have that fixed, and thanks for the reminder on that cabin filter too!

    So many posts ... so little time. Take care all, and have a wonderful weekend. Happy Cougaring!
  • badulahbadulah Member Posts: 961
    Malibu:
    I have to agree with StageLeft. You should make them knock a few bucks off the cost.

    Don't let them get the best of you.
  • badulahbadulah Member Posts: 961
    All:
    I hope all of you have a GREAT and safe weekend! I will be out of the CSG Office [Don't tell my boss I changed the name of the company I work for without telling him 8-) ] until next Wednesday at which time we should have a few updates for the site ready to be uploaded.

    Talk to all of you then!
    -Rob
    AKA "Badulah"
  • bobschmbobschm Member Posts: 42
    Just got back from Italy. Lots of teeny-tiny cars whizzing around. Butt ugly Citreons, laughable Fiats, and some eastern bloc stuff that defied description.

    Then there was the convention of Ferrari owners in Stresa. Never saw so many brilliant red cars in one place. All shined to the nines and sporting trophy babes in the passenger seats. Don't know which I drooled over more.

    I saw only one Cougar. A silver Cat parked on a street in Bologna. Not only was it a sight for sore eyes, but it was a V6!
  • fredlyfredly Member Posts: 201
    Jade: Pollen filter removal

    1. Disconnect Battery Ground
    2 Remove wiper arms
    i. remove the plastic covers(2)
    ii. Loosen the nuts(2)
    * Lift the wiper arms and release them from the taper by moving them to the side.

    3. Open the hood.
    4. Remove the cowl grill
    i. Remove the screw covers(5)
    ii. remove the bolts(5)
    iii. Remove the weatherseal (1)
    iv. disconnect the cowl grill at the rear and remove it.

    5. Remove the pollen filter Looks like clips on both sides of filter.


    I need to change mine too
    This info is straight from the Workshop manual
  • fish8fish8 Member Posts: 2,282
    How often(miles) are you supposed to change the pollen filter? Isn't it every 15,000 miles? Just curious.
  • fish8fish8 Member Posts: 2,282
    I was just outside cleaning my wifes car and a Contour SVT drove by. What a SWEET car. I can't wait to see the Cougar S when it finally arrives.
  • malibumalibu Member Posts: 155
    Thanks for the info, I wasn't aware they had to tell me, I'm wondering if the guys at wings west even told the dealer. I went over there today, my car was supposed to be there, they said it would be monday, and never mentioned a thing. I will ask an attorney, I will be at a party this weekend and my friends husband is one. I feel kind of bad about calling behind the dealers back, but there really isn't any reason I shouldn't have. As picky as I am, I won't let them pull a fast one.
    RE: Warrany...I have my insurance through Geico and I can get a 7 yr one hundred thousand mile warranty for 50.00 per year added on my ins. It covers everything except tires, wiper blades, brake shoes, clutch and normal tune ups. It covers all but 13 items! It's worth checking into if anyone is insurred through them.

    Thanks again for looking out for me..you guys are awesome! Have a safe weekend.
  • lmigliorelmigliore Member Posts: 148
    Remove battery ground?

    don't that lobotomize the car?

    To change a filter?
  • fredlyfredly Member Posts: 201
    I believe its just incase you bump the wiper motors or something with a tool,
    so they don't start spinnin while your arm is buried in the cowl
  • daexpertdaexpert Member Posts: 140
    As you guys know, my dad was the one that taught me to drive stick-shift on my kitty. well, I"m here to say that my kitty became a Cougar yesterday. I decided to let my dad drive my kitty yesterday cause he hasn't driven it since I learned to drive stick. I treat my car pretty nice, but my dad, he was reving that thing like crazy.....he loved the way the KKM intake sounded! = ) Anyways, he was hitting the rev limiter (quite a few times) and I was like sh%#!!

    I never drive it that hard, but I also didn't know the kitty could accelerate that fast!!! He even raced an Eclipse on the way back. And how can you say not to Dad? So I'm gonna go out there right now and show some love for my Cougar and wash her. She needs a good massage!
  • mws0520mws0520 Member Posts: 45
    Fredly - my lifeline was a chassis engineer at the plant. Here is the info you requested. Sorry for the delay.

    2000MY 15": 17.6 lbs
    2000MY 16" Painted and Bright Machined: 18.9 lbs
    2001MY 16": 20.2 lbs
    2001MY 17 Bright Machined: 23.0 lbs
  • fredlyfredly Member Posts: 201
    Thank you MWS,
    hey Wait one second, 17" boo hoo, those must be a new option. Oh well, thank you very much, I'm sure the delay has a great story behind it.... running from person to person asking if they know the wieght :)
    Thanks again,
    E-
  • fredlyfredly Member Posts: 201
    Ok its way too quiet in here, I know its MOM's day,
    but where is everyone.. hhehe.
    caio, going out to look at my car again :)
  • giddeup_50giddeup_50 Member Posts: 27
    The radio (Visteon of Europe) in the Cougar and Focus will operate w/o a key for 1 hour once the key is removed. If the radio is normally on, push off and then on again to activate for one hour. I thought my car was possessed and I should know better since I work in Visteon audio but US content radios do not have this feature. Just thought you'd want to know
  • fredlyfredly Member Posts: 201
    Well actually the US radios will do this as well, a very cool feature.
  • dgeminidgemini Member Posts: 161
    To bad the sound quality sucks on the Ford radios.

    However, I think the factory speakers have outstanding midrange reproduction. I wish I would have kept them in the car and just replaced the head unit. I have a cd that has some nuances that only the factory speakers have been able to reproduce.
  • projectzx3projectzx3 Member Posts: 256
    hi, i am looking for some advice. i will be in the market for a car possibly the end of this summer or i may wait until the 01's come out. anyway, my wife and daughter have narrowed the list down to a couple of cars based on aesthetics... listed in order of preference:

    1. Mercury Cougar V6
    2. Toyota Celica GT
    3. Ford Mustang
    4. WW Beetle
    5. Chrysler PT Cruiser
  • gustafscgustafsc Member Posts: 361
    IMHO:

    1. Cougar. As you would expect in this group, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

    2. Celica GT. Not enough car for too much money. Cougar is equal in performance, and just more practical for passengers, trunk space. Besides, the Cat looks so much prettier.

    3. Mustang. Totally different vehicle philosophy. It's a muscle car, great straight line performance, but not the sophisticated touring car that the Cat is. Besides, the insurance is gonna kill you. Cool car though.

    4. Bug. How long can you survive on, "Cute car". Other than that, nothing to offer.

    5. PT Cruiser. Very interesting car, but a little low on performance. Great versatitlity with the amount of space provided. Will be a real head turner untill a few hundred thousand are built.
    It's reported that dealers are really gouging the customer for the few units currently available. Again, it's a completely different design philosophy than your other candidates.

    We all think that the cat is the best overall combination of style, performance, and price out there.

    Good luck,

    Skip G.
  • jayhawk5jayhawk5 Member Posts: 70
    Skip- you took the words right out of my mouth! The only thing I can add is- I would not buy any of the first four if I had a family like you do. That's just my opinion. Now, if your other car is a mini-van, and your the only one that's going to be driving this- definitely go with the Cougar!
  • fish8fish8 Member Posts: 2,282
    The only car I would totally stay away from is the Chrysler. First year production is very iffy(even with the '99 Cougar) in regards to quality control. Chrysler is also known for their poor quality vehicles(for the most part). I have personal experience with this. I drove a Jeep prior to my Cat.

    Test drive them all and then make a knowledgable decision based on YOUR needs.
  • giddeup_50giddeup_50 Member Posts: 27
    Mustang Insurance - you should drive both before deciding. Depends a lot on preference FWD - RWD, etc. Insurance is not as steep as you would think if you go for the V6 which is plenty adequate for the Mustang these days with 190 horses. I drive both, a Cougar and a Mustang Conv., and although my Mustang is an older one and a V8, I find each have their claim to fame...
  • fish8fish8 Member Posts: 2,282
    HHHHEEEEEEELLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!(echo echo echo)
  • daexpertdaexpert Member Posts: 140
    Any of you guys know why the seats in the Cougar sit kind of "high"? Even at the "lowest" setting the seat feel a bit high. Did they do that just to have better visibility or what? I think if they would have been a little lower they would have been perfect, but I dunno how that would affect visibility. What do you guys think?
  • coolchickcoolchick Member Posts: 174
    daexpert --

    This Cougar is the sportiest car I've ever owned and it also has the lowest seats of any car! Any lower and there's no way I could get in and out with retaining some remnant of my feminine dignity!! :)

    project zx3 --

    I test drove the Toyota Celica. Not a bad car but certainly lacking the interior room, power and handling the kitty provides. And the styling, although eye-catching for the nonce, is too gimmicky and won't have the staying power of the Cougar's for the longer-term.

    Also keep in mind the huge amount of cargo area that comes with the cat's hatchback. A definite plus!
  • dasaint1dasaint1 Member Posts: 230
    The PT Cruiser will get you the most looks if that's what you're looking for.

    I was in Florida for spring break, and as I was ordering at a fast food place, I overheard the take-out cashier say to the manager, "check out this PT Cruiser." The manager says, "I gotta see this" and dropped whatever he was doing. I felt like telling them, there's a better car parked on the other side of the lot--my 2000 Cougar.

    But the PT is totally different from the other cars you listed. As big as it is, it's still only got an I-4 engine. The Beetle still gets lots of looks and is a classic. Nice car. The Mustang's rear wheel drive, not my thing, but also a classic. The Celica's the first car to copy Cougar's new edge styling. I like the way it looks, but sizewise, it's like a 3/4 scale of the Cougar. And do you really wanna rev the engine to 9000 rpm to get some power??

    They're all pretty good cars except for the Cougar which is excellent. Good luck with your choice.
  • katlvrkatlvr Member Posts: 23
    My Cougar's in the shop getting her scratch mended and they had the audacity to give me a pontiac grand am as a rental. YUCK!!! This has to be the worst car ever, I'm almost embarrassed driving it around.
  • jayhawk5jayhawk5 Member Posts: 70
    You mean the Grand Am isn't driving excitement? I guess all those commercials were wrong! I've got a friend with a Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. It's pretty fast, but the inside looks like a bad 80's video game. The Grand Am isn't fast and has those HORRIBLE body moldings on the side. Does Pontiac really think those things look good? The Grand Am definitely makes my list in the top 5 ugliest cars out there. Let's all just be happy that we have good judgement and have our Cougars. I know I'm glad I'm not driving around a Grand Am. That gives me shivers just thinking about it!
  • fredlyfredly Member Posts: 201
    katlvr, no really a grand am is ok compared to the 97 Chevy Corsica that my dealership
    stuck me with :/ oh in bright red! too.
  • fish8fish8 Member Posts: 2,282
    I think Pontiac has some of the worst styled cars in the car business. What is up with the Pontiac Aztec(sp)? It is like a cross between a car and SUV. AWEFUL LOOKING!!!! I have yet to see one on the streets. No wonder.

    katlvr - at least they provided a rental. Right?
  • malibumalibu Member Posts: 155
    I spoke with my salesman yesterday and he ran the vin #'s of my car against the one that got damaged in shipping and it wasn't my car!!! I'm so relieved. The only bad part is that my car is in Los Angeles waiting to be shipped up here. The salesman is going to try and red tag it for shipping ASAP..I should be a real cougar owner by the end of this week. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. Will keep you posted. Thanks.
  • fish8fish8 Member Posts: 2,282
    Glad to hear the good news malibu!!! I bet you can't wait to pick up your Cat!!!!
  • vraj2525vraj2525 Member Posts: 5
    I feel like walking up to an owner of a Grand Am and asking him what possesed him to buy a car like that. I can't understand why they are so popular. I think it shows how stupid the consumer is.
  • fish8fish8 Member Posts: 2,282
    I'm sure some people would like to approach Cougar owners and ask us the same question.
    Eventhough I think the Cougar is one of the best looking cars out there. The new 3 series is VERY nice too. Maybe someday!!!
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