Cougar Support Group - A New Start

badulah · May 2000

Jayhawk & Malibu:
Your going to have to get in line behind me and Stageleft with your little plan. Joe and I have been talking about a job like that for well over a year. But since were such GREAT guys, the two of you can work directly for us. I'm sure the four of us would be able to come up with some great and interesting ways of advertising the Cat.

esbrock · May 2000

Although the advertizing plan that FMC has used for the Cougar leaves something to be desired. I feel there may be another reason why the Cougar has not met Ford's expectations, and it's their own fault. As we know, the average American Joe Shmoe car buyer is interested in one thing, The Numbers Game. Joe is looking for high horsepower numbers and that ever so popular 0 to 60 time. That's why all car magazines use these numbers as a crucible in evaluating new vehicles. Unfortunately for the Cougar, Ford didn't want it to hurt sales of it's beloved Mustang. So it didn't give it the performance numbers it needed to compete in it's segment. If you look at the others cars in the Cougars segment, you will see that 200 horsepower is the norm. This would have helped the Cougar post a better 0 to 60 time, in the low 7's, which in turn would have attracted more of your average buyers who only look at those numbers. I do have to admit than when I first looked at the Cougar, the only drawback I found was the fact that its performance was a little lacking in comparison to the other cars I test drove. I can't speak for anyone else, but I would of happily paid a couple of thousand for better performance. I think it's sad that Ford doomed this otherwise brilliant vehicle. Only an American automaker would build such an amazing car and then completely ignore it. Well, I guess I'll stop ranting now.

bobschm · May 2000

I beg to differ, esbrock.

FMC simply misread the segment the car would end up in. The Cougar was designed to compete with the likes of the Pontiac Sunfire and Camry. Target: Young, female, midlevel employee. HP rating doesn't matter to that demographic. Nor do 0-60 times. This segment wants sporty "now" image. (Cougar's got that) Deft handling. (Cougar's got that, too.) And a nice comfortable price tag. (Cougar's got that, for sure).

What happened is, that demo didn't materialize in the numbers expected. Instead, we performance guys spotted the road-grinder looks and performance potential in the Cougar and snapped the initial shipment up. In the process, we shifted the comparison to all those road rockets you mentioned. Now we're noticing that the Cougar is a little shy in that area.

I bet MWS's comments of shifts in product direction are responses to exactly this. Get the Cougar S out there humming and reposition the Cougar as a performance car.

Another part of the problem is the Cougar was handed to LM dealers used to selling big-[non-permissible content removed] Lincolns and Grand Marguees to old farts. They had no clue what to do with this little cat.

No rant or flame intended. Just my humble opinion.

By the way, I spotted the new Cougar by accident while cruising dealer lots randomly searching for ideas to replace a mini-van. I never saw an ad, and still haven't.

badulah · May 2000

Yes the Cougar-S will put the Cats performance numbers up there with others in it's class, but only producing 3-4000 of them will not have any standing impact on sales.

I have said this from the get go, FMC should have offered a 200 hp V6 as an option. I truly believe that if they offered this option, sales would have been much better. They are unwilling to go the extra step and take the risk. When you risk nothing, you gain nothing.

malibu · May 2000

I first spotted the cougar on an ad on the back of Shape magazine, then started looking online. I think your right about the target market being women, why would they put it on a womens magazine and not one like Sports Illistrated. I looked through alot of magazines after spotting it in order to show it to people and never saw one ad.

krnch · May 2000

I think nhanson had a good point in reiterating that MWS did blame the flatrock cutbacks, in part, to poor export figures. US advertising would not have helped this. Also, don't forget about the 626. Just to play the devil's advocate, it's easy for anyone to be a marketing expert without all of the information. True, I've seen very little Cougar advertising in N. America, but it doesn't necessarily seem that it's this part of the world that FMC is experiencing disappointing Cougar sales. My 2 cents.

jjmorris · May 2000

I live in Tucson, AZ I have seen quite a few Cougars on the road. I usually spot several just driving to and from work (about 10 miles each way). It seems to be doing pretty well here, the one L-M dealer we have (actually two, but it's the same company just two locations) keeps 20-25 units in stock. I have seen more Cougars than Eclipses and Celicas combined.

My spruce green V6 MTX will be arriving at the dealer next week. I ordered it through Carorder.com, sport & conv. groups, ABS, traction control, stereo w/CD & tape for $16,351. Soon I will be able to share in all the Cougar talk with the rest of you, although I have been lurking around here for about 6 months. Just one thing: we need to stop calling our Cougars "kitties". A kitty is that thing my girlfriend has as a pet. A Cougar is a wild beast!

badulah · May 2000

Yes European sales are poor due to their economy and fuel costs, but you can't make me believe that the layoffs at the Flat Rock plant are only based on Euro sales.

No i'm not a marketing manager, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that if FMC actually advertised this car, sales could have been better.

Speaking of Euro sales. Did anyone at FMC ever even consider the fuel costs in Europe before they introduced this car over there? I know there is a bigger market for the I4 Cat over there, but the I4's gas mileage isn't much better than the V6's mileage.

When I was in England I swung by a Ford dealer to check out the Euro Cat. When I saw the sticker price and did the conversion from pounds to dollars I almost fell over dead. Later on that day when I saw the gas prices and did the conversion, I then realized that there was no way I could afford a Cat if I lived in Europe. My friend who lives over there and works for British Telecom (and makes damn good money) can't even afford one. All of the extra bells and whistles offered in the Euro Cat are really cool, but they raises prices beyond belief. These extra bells and whistles would have been better off if they were offered on both continents as options. This would keep prices down, and yet allow you to pick and choose things that are better suited for individual needs.

There was obviously a lot of thought put in to the design and engineering of this car, but I think FMC forgot to allot funds to their marketing and advertising divisions. Either that or they need to start questioning the individuals in charge of these divisions. I know a lot of work was done to target this car to younger buyers, but if they did all of their homework, FMC would have realized from the beginning that younger buyers are attracted to cars such as the Integra GSR, Eclipse Turbo (still in production at the time), Honda Accord V6, and other cars boasting around 200 HP. All they had to do was look at the Cougar design and they should have realized that it was going to appeal to a younger crowd that is in to performance as well as comfort and style.

Why do companies like Toyota enjoy HUGE successes with cars like the Celica, which is a ripoff of the Cat? I'll tell you why, they push the hell out of them. Commercials, billboards, magazine ads, internet ads.

Will someone wake up the advertising manager at FMC and tell him he is the reason why this car is not doing as well as it could. Will someone please tell Jack Nasser to realize that FMC is missing out big time in the Sports Coupe market because FMC has chosen to turn a blind eye towards the Cougar.

FMC WHAT'S THE DEAL????????

fish8 · May 2000

MWS, Are you hearing us???

Badulah, You don't think the New Yellow Cougar that MWS is referencing will fire up Cougar sales?
(this question has slight sarcasm)

Maybe thats part of the problem. Instead of focusing on advertising, they provide a new color. That aint going to do squat!!

badulah · May 2000

How about paying attention to focus groups like all of us here in the CSG? I know MWS and his crew value our feedback, but I don't see any real results. I'm sure MWS and his crew take us seriously, which tells me that someone above them is the reason nothing is being done.

New colors are nice, the "S" is going to be GREAT, but if no one advertises them, then no one is going to know about them except for groups like us. Hell they might as well rename the "S" and call it the "CSG limited Edition" cause I don't think anyone else even knows its actually coming out.

jayhawk5 · May 2000

Yeah man- you're on a roll today! OK- I will work for you and Stageleft as long I as get my company car. Cougar S of course, and not in yellow!!!

krnch · May 2000

Sign me up for a CSG limited edition cat.

I too was surprised at the market segment FMC was originally expecting the Cougar to participate in.

giddeup_50 · May 2000

Hey, but there's a bright side to this otherwise dismal turn of events... We'll all have cars that we become instant classics once they stop production. Sort of a niche car. So hold on to them and drive them proudly. These are not Edsels!

krnch · May 2000

I was just playing the devil's advocate to stir up more discussion. Looks like it worked.

True, it doesn't take a genius to realize that more advertising means more sales but what I was intending was that us mortal CSGers don't know how or why FMC has prioritized it's business objectives. I agree 100% with others in this group that the priorities seem wrong and the Cougar is definitely worthy of more advertising. It's too bad that not pushing the Cougar thus far has resulted, in part, in the loss of x # of jobs at the Flatrock plant. Personally I like the idea of owning 'a classic'.

bobschm · May 2000

Hey, I didn't even think about that! If they stop production after only three years, my car will be worth MORE.

Have you checked the price of Edsels lately?

bobschm · May 2000

"Rebuilt Edsel E-475, body in good condition, 48,000 miles, needs new transmission and rear end seals, drivers side window, and some odds and ends. Located 30 miles east of Pittsburgh, PA. Price $15,000. "

malibu · May 2000

We need to consider ourselves "special" and "unique" for having such a cool car that not everyone knows about or owns. If I didn't want something different I would have bought a mustang, but in this college town I live in EVERYONE has an Eclipse or Mustang. The uniqueness is why I have waited 13 weeks (today!) to get a cougar. You all should be very proud.

vraj2525 · May 2000

It seems like Ford is paying much more attention to the Ford division and ignoring Mercury. How else can you explain the success of the very mediocre Ford Focus compared to the mediocre sales of the kick [non-permissible content removed] Mercury Cougar. I think they should split the company up. It is so big that the executives don't even know which product they should be marketing. The only ads i've seen for the cougar are ones where the local dealers are trying to give $1,000 cash back and a free mountain bike in order to unload cougars from the lot.

badulah · May 2000

I too like owning a unique vehicle, but if things keep going the way they are, the current Cougar model will be discontinued and forgotten.

I would like to think that I could hold on to this car for years, but the fact is I can not afford to own two cars (one for everyday use and one stored in the garage for nice weekends and summer night drives).

If FMC doesn't advertise, the car won't sell. If the car doesn't sell, it will be discontinued, If it is discontinued, the after market segment for this car will fall off the face of the earth and move on to the next little hot sports coupe.

I don't understand the logic behind all of this. Even multi-billionaire Bill Gates gets himself on TV to promote his latest software. This is all really sad in a pathetic sort of way.

I don't hold MWS and his crew responsible for this in any way. I believe if it were up to him and his team, there would be Cougar advertisements all over the place, and we (the CSG) would get some funding from them. I really believe their hands (arms, legs, & feet) are tied by those higher up on the corporate ladder. I think it's time for someone to light that ladder on fire and bring everyone down to the same level. Sometimes people need to be reminded that they are all on the same team.

krnch · May 2000

Well put, badulah.

Talk about ignoring Mercury, vraj2525, in Canada as of 1999, there was no more Mercury. The Cougar and Grand Marquis are now sold at Ford dealerships. Is this the future fate of Mercury world-wide?????

fish8 · May 2000

While driving to my parents house after leaving work this afternoon I came to a complete stop at a red light. On my drive I had noticed a teen girl behind me TALEGATING the whole time. Anyway, after I stop I notice this girl playing with her hair. Well, I look forward and BAM, she rear ends me. We pull off the road and I look and I have 2 holes in my rear bumper. I get her info and I'm off. The whole time she is saying how sorry she is and that she doesn't want this to go through insurance. TOUGH CRAP!!!!

I have already called her insurance co. and am taking my car in next Tues to get the appraisal done. Then off to the body shop again!!!! At least its no $ out of my pocket. These cars attract morons!!!!!

dasaint1 · May 2000

What's all the hype about?

Someone had posted before that sales for the 1999 Cougar was over 56,000. What exactly is wrong with that number? Were you guys expecting sales of over 100,000 Cougars? Let's be realistic here.

How can you even compare the Cougar's sales to that of the Focus'? The Focus is an everyday car, so you don't have to drive your dream car Corvette or Harley bike or souped up 4x4 truck to work everyday. One of our own member here at CSG doesn't drive his/her Cat in winter time; perfect time to drive the Focus instead. Although I use my Cougar everyday, there are times when I leave it in the garage and use my wife's car instead depending on where I'm going and parking space situation. I can't imagine anyone putting a child seat in the rear seat of a Cougar. So obviously, Focus would have a much higher sales number.

What's really shocking is the sales numbers for the Mustang (over 160,000)! Of course, the Mustang has a true muscle car heritage since '64 whereas the Cougar went from muscle car to luxo-boat to front-wheel drive sporty coupe. I'm not sure what the sales numbers are for the 2000 Cougar, but if it matches the 1999 sales, that's good enough.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd hate to see the Cougar become as common as the Civic.

fish8 · May 2000

Has anyone replaced their rear bumper? Cost?

How long was it in the shop? I am going on a cruise in two weeks and really don't want my Cat to be sitting out in the elements while I'm away. Is that sick or what? I would rather bring it in, have them fix it then come and pick it up immediately after. I don't want it sitting in there lot if it doesn't have too.

badulah · May 2000

Fish8:
Sorry to hear about your accident. Don't you just hate those people who are busy with other things as they drive. I would have been really pissed if I were you.

Dasaint1:
Sales arn't bad, but they arn't good. Factory layoffs are the result of poor sales. If the Cougar continues to sell poorly in the eyes of FMC, they will cut off the bleeding limb and move on to the next project. It's not what you or I would consider good sales, it's what FMC considers good sales. I guess 56,000 last year wasn't considered to be very good.

badulah · May 2000

All:
I'm about to bust out of work, but I just wanted to wish all of you a GREAT holiday weekend. Enjoy the weather (I hope it doesn't rain), you day off, and your Cats.

Have a GREAT weekend and stay safe!!

-Rob
AKA "Badulah"
CSG Caretaker

PS - ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE!!!!

fastback2 · May 2000

Sorry to hear about your accident. It sounds like you handled it very well, considering that the individual who rammed you obviously had other things on her mind besides driving. While I was living near Boston, I would use I-495 to scoot up to either Vermont or NH. On one of these trips, I was driving up to VT on 495 in heavy traffic when two young guys came up behind me in an old Escort and situated themselves about 10' behind my rear bumper. As luck would have it, about a minute later one of the cars up ahead of me decides to drop from 70 mph down to 55 in a couple of seconds (must have seen a cop). We all had to jump on the brakes pretty hard, and I heard the sound of squealing tires behind me. However, the expected whack in the back never came. I looked over my left shoulder and saw that the yoyos behind me had wound up skidding into the grass right beside me. We all got back up to cruising speed and those guys resumed their position 10' behind me. Moral of story: some people are destined to learn the hard way.

Good luck and I hope that your cougar is fixed back up quickly.

jrp6977 · May 2000

Ford Motor Co. has a bad habit of offering the high performance versions of models in limited numbers and at high prices. The Mustang Cobra, Taurus SHO and to a lesser degree, the Contour SVT are examples. GM, for all its errors, tends to offer the performance at better prices and greater availability. I think Ford and its customers would be better off all around offering the Euro Cougar bells and whistles and the 200hp V6 as an option in ALL markets. That's my two cents worth.

fish8 · May 2000

Thanks Fastback.

I also hope to get this taken care of quickly.

lydia_t · May 2000

Hi I'm a CSG newbie, so I hope I've come to the right place.
I fell in love with the cougar when I test drove it. Having compared it with an Acura integra, the "bug", and the Mitsubishi Eclipse, I decided to buy a Cougar.
I'm currently shopping around for a good deal on a 2000 Cougar (V-6 Coupe with sport and convenience packages, pwr sunroof). Price must include tax, doc fee, title transfer, and destination charge. With these additional options I'm not going to pay more than $18000. Would I be paying too much? OR for the additional options what is a good price to "wheel and deal" with?

Also, on a scale of 1 to 10, what is the consumer demand for this car (10 being the greatest)?

Please e-mail me privately:lydia@bombdiggity.com.

Your prospective Cougar Owner,
lydia

katlvr · May 2000

Welcome to the "rearended" club fish8 I was rearended a couple of weeks ago. It seems Cougars are magnets for this sort of thing. Insurance took care of the costs and also provided a rental for the 2 days it took to repair. Costs are in Canadian dollars so I don't think that will be of any help to you -less than 1000.00.

It is infuriating to see your baby hurt by idiots, everyday I get people driving too close to me just to check out my Cougar and figure out what kind of car it is. I had one guy stop in front of me at a light, jump out of his car and run over to me to ask what kind of car is that. That kind of thing is common when I drive my car, I always drive with my doors locked and windows up out of fear of these inquisitors.

dougmckay · May 2000

>> I'm not sure what the sales numbers are for the 2000 Cougar, but if it matches the 1999 sales, that's good enough. <<

It's nowhere near good enough.

According to Blue Oval News, Cougar sales were down over 27% for the month of April, compared to April of last year. For the year, Cougar sales are down a whopping 32% compared to last year! And dealer inventories are at over 100 days (average should be about 60).

FMC has a problem with selling the Cougar. They may resort to massive rebates and incentives, because the car doesn't seem to be selling on its own attributes. I agree with others who say a 200hp engine should have been offered from the beginning.

dasaint1 · May 2000

Good piece of information.

I happen to agree with you. The V-6 offered on the regular Cougar need to have 200 hp just to be even with the Eclipse V-6. The Cougar S should have more.

So the whole problem with the car is a lack of hp compared to its competition, specifically the 200 hp Eclipse and the 180 hp Celica.

Advertising alone will not help the sales numbers. No amount of advertising is gonna change that horsepower equation. If a prospective buyer views the Cougar as underpowered, the solution is to add more hp and not merely advertising.

dasaint1 · May 2000

Welcome aboard!!!

I paid much more than S18,000 when I first bought my Cougar back in Dec. '99. I bought mine directly from the L-M dealer. But in checking the prices of online sellers like CarsDirect, they were considerably cheaper than the price I paid.

However, the prices online changes from week to week. At first, I saw my Cat online for about $18,000. Then a month later, I checked the prices again, and it was closer to $19,000. So if you're planning on buying the car online, lock in on a good price.

If you plan on buying it from a dealer, make sure you check the Dealer topic here in CSG to see which dealers offer good service and prices. My dealer sucked on both counts.

With the rebate being offered on the Cougar, you should be able to get the Cougar equipped like you said for about $18K (I'm assuming you wanted an mtx since you didn't mention which tranny you wanted).

You won't regret getting the Cat once you're an owner. If you've read the previous post in here, you already know we all love our Cats.

PS
I love my Cat!!!

fish8 · May 2000

I want my Cat fixed NOW!!!! I hate having to wait until Tues to get it looked at by their insurance company. I also noticed something odd today on my Cat. Once you all hear this you will know how crazy I am about my car. I noticed that the "V" in V6 on the back hatch is cracked. Nobody would ever notice this but while my car is in the shop for the rear bumper damage I will get a service Tech to order a "V" to replace my broken "V". Who is here would not even worry about this and let it be? If I know it is broken, I HAVE to get it fixed. I'm CRAZY!!!!

By the way, are those little emblems easy to replace?

meowlam · May 2000

I feel for you! Last September, a mere 9 days after picking up my kitty, I was rear-ended by a moron, too. Guess the accident-causing morons our kitties attract are too stunned by our cars' beauty to think clearly (I'm being too gracious, aren't I?).

After it took the dealer 3 1/2 weeks to GET a new bumper for me, it then took only 2 days in the shop. Total cost was just over $700 - my kitty is Laser Red, so it had a "special" process done (I can't remember the term).

Having to drive my hurt kitty for weeks was painful - especially since I had to approach it from the rear ALL the time!

Good luck - I really hope that you have a shorter repair time than I did.

:-) Lorrian

lmigliore · May 2000

It doesn't look good to me. Layoffs at Flat Rock, no visibility in the media, no direction for Mercury.

I put the whole blame on lack of advertising and my personal experience supports it. When I was looking for a new car, I didn't know the Cougar existed. I recalled that they stopped making the T-Bird/Cougar a couple of years ago but was not aware that Mercury was selling anything by that name again. I literally stumbled across the Cougar at an auto show while crossing the Lincoln/Mercury booth to get somewhere else. Why? Because I know L/M didn't make anything I wanted! But there was the Cougar with its 5-speed manual sitting on the floor. I was stunned. I left the auto show and bought one immediately.

How many other people are in my situation? How many of us will end up with Toyotas or Saturns? Put the car on TV; it will sell itself. Don't do this to Flat Rock; don't do this to American drivers. The Cougar is a great car that can't be touched at the price (maybe a decent automatic would help) but it's under everyone's radar.

Badulah is always dead-on, but he's even righter than usual about this one. Great, heart-felt posts full of truth.

9Cougar9 · May 2000

I thought it was bad enough when there was no advertising for our Cougar, but then a limited production in the future and now I read that Ford is bringing back the T-Bird next year as a 2002!!
Is that true??? I think we have been totally forgotten. My Cougar never ceases to attract admiration, with people stopping me, walking up to my car to look and ask about it. It they would just ADVERTISE then people would buy more of them.

halo_1 · May 2000

I took a trip to the Hamptons (NY) yesterday to cruise in my Cougar. The trip mile total = appr. 300 miles. Avg MPG 28.0; highest MPG 29.2. Avg speed around 65-70 MPH; I have to watch the troopers on the road to the Hamptons. I still have over a quarter tank of gas left. Interesting points about the trip, saw over 2 dozen Mercedes, Porsches, Jaguars, and BMW. I saw 1 Plymouth Prowler (definitely an attention getter). Most importantly, I saw about 5 Cougars (4 Laser Red and 1 White). My fiancee told me that it was probably the same Laser Red Cougar that we kept seeing. I doubt it... Anyhow the point of this post, is that even with all those fancy cars mentioned above, I would delibrately look to my left and right while cruising to see many people checking out the CAT. This car is a definite attention getter. Why is Ford/LM letting this car die because of their ineptitude in getting it noticed???

jayhawk5 · May 2000

What is everyone's average MPG? Everone keeps talking about getting 26-30 mpg, while I'm consistantly averaging 22.9-23.3. Is there something wrong with my car? This is overall mpg I'm talking, highway and city combined.

jrp6977 · May 2000

Sometimes I think Ford is trying to kill not only the Cougar but Mercury as well. Other than Sable and occasionally Mountaineer, advertising is virtually non-existent. If sales slide, Ford can justify the elimination of the division.
As I sit hear watching the pre-race show for the Indy 500(the race is blacked out here since I'm 50miles from the track), I think how great it would be to have the Cougar as a pace car instead of another Oldsmobile. Maybe next year, (ARE YOU LISTING MWS!!!) the Cougar S could lead the field. That would give the cat the attention it deserves.
As far as sales go, I drive many miles with my job and see lots of Cougars in Central and Southern Indiana. I still drool over every one!
Long live the Cougar!

fish8 · May 2000

I average about 21-23 mpg going to and from work which is mostly stop and go with some highway. My AC is usually on in the afternoons. On the highway I can usually average 26-28 mpg. When I went down to Fl in Aprtil I avgeraged about 26.5 mpg. Granted I was going between 80-90 most of the time. I have never gotten below 21 mpg.

lmigliore · May 2000

I get about 22 mpg. I have a V6 manual and drive short distances (street/freeway 5 miles) in heavy traffic that goes anywhere from 5 to 75 MPH. I also nail hell out of the car on entrance ramps. Given the car's weight and performance, the mileage seems reasonable for the conditions.

coolchick · May 2000

jayhawk

I get between 21.3 and 22.5 with metro area WDC in-town driving, about 28-30 on highway travels, and about 1000 per gallon in fun

ciara · May 2000

I average 20-22/city miles/AC on most of the time, V6-manual. I get about 270miles/tankful.

giddeup_50 · May 2000

Well, the graffiti is all over the wall. It was announced this morning that he Cougar is "all paws up" as of '03. Mustang (new model based on LS / T-bird) platform is moving to AAI to take its place. Ranger is moving to the Dearborn Assy palnt in Mustang's wake. I like Mustangs and Cougars equally, own both, but am saddened that they really did not place enough emphasis on such a great little car. My 1st and only enjoyable experience in a FWD car with a V6. Guess it will be back to the V8 RWD Mustang in the future!

fredly · May 2000

Announced this morning by who?
Please cite your sources...

badulah · May 2000

Yeah, who made this announcement? I want their name, employer, title, Social Security Number, Mother's maiden name, and Visa Credit Card Number.

8-)

Seriously, who made this announcement?

fish8 · May 2000

MWS - Is this true?

badulah · May 2000

or is this another Blue Oval rumor?

jimbo_g · May 2000

What in the discontinued Cougar is going on in here?

Cougar Support Group - A New Start

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