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Cougar Support Group - A New Start
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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.
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.
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.
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!
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????????
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!!
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.
I too was surprised at the market segment FMC was originally expecting the Cougar to participate in.
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'.
Have you checked the price of Edsels lately?
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.
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?????
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!!!!!
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.
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.
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.
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!!!!
Good luck and I hope that your cougar is fixed back up quickly.
I also hope to get this taken care of quickly.
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
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.
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.
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.
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!!!
By the way, are those little emblems easy to replace?
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
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.
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.
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!
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
Please cite your sources...
8-)
Seriously, who made this announcement?