Cougar Support Group - Chats On...

gambit293 · February 2001

According to the Mercury website, manual is not an option with the C2...

I have no idea who to believe anymore.

malibu · February 2001

I was just wondering about seat covers with the side air bags. I love the leather but don't want it to get ruined...this sounds bad but I work out every night and I'm concerned about sitting on the seats with sweaty clothes. I put a towel on the seat and always change into a dry t-shirt, but sometimes running on the beach, I can't change and I don't want the seats all yucky. Now you all know my gross secret. I don't want to interfere with the airbags so I will just continue throwing a towel over the seats.

dasaint1 · February 2001

Malibu, maybe you should get another car like a Focus to use when you're sweaty and yucky, and use the Cougar when you're dressed to kill.

Speaking of another car, there's been a lot of talk about Ford not having a suitable replacement for the Cougar. It's still a few years away, but when it's time to replace our beloved Cougar, we can stay in the Ford family. Have you guys/gals seen the new Mazda RX-8?!?

It's actually got 4-doors. The two small rear doors are similar to the 3rd door on the Saturn 3-dr. coupe. It looks awesome. And get this, it's got a 250-hp rotary engine. It's everything the Cougar-S should've been. The only thing missing is an all-wheel drive system, but I can do without it. Now if only Ford/Mazda would keep the price within reach. Hmmmmm!!!

benisem · February 2001

Malibu-

I too work out frequently, so far I am up to 4 days a week. I was concerned about my seats as well. I have found a way to upkeep my seats. I let Bella wear a clean T-shirt over her leather seats and throw a towel over the bottom. In NJ the winter really prevents me from directly touching the seat with my workout gear because I am covered by my coat. Anyhow, I use a leather cleaner/moisturizer once a week on my seats. The stuff I am currently using came from Wilson's Leather Store. When I finish what I have, I will buy some Lexol (sp) and continue using that. Basically, I just spray it on a clean dry rag and wipe the seats down. Honestly, they are not dirty. But I understand your thought processes! Anyhow, just thought I would let you know, you are not alone.

-Denise

dasaint1 · February 2001

What's with all this talk about working out?!? Do we have any members in here that are couch-potato and proud of it?

Just to let you know, I get a complete cardio-vascular workout driving my Cougar every day. My left foot steps on the clutch, my right foot steps on the brake and gas, my left hand steers, and my right hand changes gears. By my estimation, that should burn at least 1,000 calories after a few miles.

malibu · February 2001

Thank you! It's helpful to know I'm not the only one with such concerns. My mother actually mentioned the t-shirt idea. I think I will try that this evening. I have used that Lexol cleaner and it works great! I also had the dealer put the sealer they recommend on the seats and everywhere else. (they did it for free since it was my second cougar in three months). Thanks again.

Dasaint1: Couch Potato? not this close to boating and water skiing season! Besides I've discovered that the seats in the cougar are a bit narrow, if your bottom gets to big you can't burn those 1000 calories driving and shifting! See the cougar has another great purpose...weight control! What a car.

badulah · February 2001

All:
I will be unable to host the chat this evening. Something came up and I had to take the day off from work and travel down to my parents house (that's where I am right now). I will not be home in time to make the chat. I have sent StageLeft an email and I asked him to host it this evening. Sorry about this, but there was nothing I could do.

Have a good afternoon and a great night!!

-Rob
AKA "Badulah"

Karen_S · February 2001

I'm sure you were missed! Hope everything is okay on the home front.

KarenS
Host
Owner's Clubs

badulah · February 2001

Everything is okay (thanks for asking), and I'm back in action.

Where is everyone today? This place is like a ghost town.

krnch · February 2001

I'm here.

I took a road trip this past weekend to Toronto. The Cougar ran great but on the way home I got a rock chip in the windshield. A hairline crack was visible in the windshied about 1 cm (1/3") long. I took the car to a glass place yesterday and they filled the chip. You can't even see the hairline anymore. Just a little speck where they drilled to insert their filling compound. Pretty cool. Hopefully it will save me a windshield replacement. I can't wait for spring and clean dry roads again!

dasaint1 · February 2001

Thanks for that piece of info, Krnch. I didn't know you could get cracks fixed on a windshield. Once again, you learn something new from CSG.

How did the CSG Chat go last night?

stageleft · February 2001

The chat went rather well ... for the four of us. Mouse409, Coolchick, Jimbo_G, and myself talked it up for the hour, and it was pretty fun. We talked some about the CT race weekend trip to support Leo Capaldi, and we talked about how our Cats are running. We even talked about when and what might happen with each of us when the last Cougar rolls off the assembly line - whenever that may be.

I think we were avoiding talking about the Cougar S though, probably because we're all still upset about the decision still. Oh well, time heals all wounds - even the gaping, open-heart kind.

The Bad-man updated the Lime Rock park page with the most current info, and I posted it this morning (www.cougarsupportgroup.com/limerockpark.htm) so if you need any up-to-date info on the trip, you can find it there.

Take care everyone, and I'll be hollarin' atcha later!

Happy Cougaring!

patte · February 2001

grinsekatze
My MTX cougar also does the chirp/jerk when the AC is running. This was discussed a bit last summer in this forum. As I recall, the only answer offered was maybe the o-rings are faulty. Our service center couldn't duplicate the sound so I assume it will remain a problem again come June or July or whenever the great thaw happens this year.

dasaint
YES!!! I too am a couch potato and proud of it. My theory is as long as my little backside still nestles into that cougar seat I'm okay... If I ever decide to trade it in for one of those big ole boats with bank-type seats mercury is now pushing I'll start to worry. And not only do we get a good workout shifting - think of all the great upper body toning we do with obsessive washing and waxing of our cats.
(this is where badulah would insert a little blue monster with cellulite....)

gustafsc · February 2001

Hope you guys are coping with the big snow out there.

Saw the big Virginia pile-up in the news. Gave me the impression that you-all were starting to drive like Californians in the fog.

Skip G

badulah · February 2001

Skip:
I'm doing fine, thanks for asking. We got around 5 inches last night, but its supposed to go up to around 40 today, so hopefully a good deal of it will melt.

dasaint1 · February 2001

Patte:

Cellulite or no cellulite. Who cares!! Does it really matter?!? When you buy an airline seat, they'll still charge you just one ticket, right?!?

malibu · February 2001

I too saw the pile-up on the news and I'm thankful all we have around here is rain.

I noticed that this Cougar doesn't jerk as much as the other one did with the a/c on. I also noticed that it doesn't get as cold as the other one, I may have to have it checked when summer gets here...if it ever does. As far as upper body workout, don't forget the face muscles that get a work out as we drive out kittys with big ol smiles on our faces!

dasaint1 · February 2001

My '00 Cougar doesn't jerk when I turn on the A/C. However, it doesn't get very cold either when it's really hot out. I wonder if there's a corelation between the two. For those of you whose A/C jerks, does it get cold on hot days?

badulah · February 2001

Have a GREAT and safe weekend everyone!!!

patte · February 2001

dasaint
Our cougar that gets the hiccups whenever the AC is running does not seem to cool down very quickly either.

Has anyone who has experienced this managed to get a service department to acknowledge it?

cyroncat · February 2001

Thanks for all of the thoughts on Cloth vs. Leather ... it helped me finally make a decision [the fact that it was hard to find the leather in the color I wanted, helped too ;-)] Although there seem to be advantages and disadvantages with both -- the fact that I live in Sunny Southern California tips the scales against having Black leather seats.

I just confirmed my order for a 2001 C2 with Blue Exterior and Cloth Blue/Black Interior. They claim to be delivering it to me on Tuesday.

Thanks again for the support!

gambit293 · February 2001

Does anyone here have the Leather WITHOUT the power driver seat? Most of the pricing sites I go to seem to suggest that you have to get the power seat if you get leather.

Although I'd rather have leather, I'd rather not have the power seat. Extra weight and another thing to break down.

patte · February 2001

Gambit
We have leather seats and my husband really dislikes the power seat. We were told by the dealership you could not get leather without the power. From the sounds of some people's experiences with dealers,who knows whether they know what they're talking about or not. But we thought they were accurate and upfront and pretty great about everything else so I'll take it as a fact.

stageleft · February 2001

I have had the A/C system hiccups you all are talking about - and had the problem corrected at my dealership via TSB. There's one out there - you can have your dealer look it up or go to www.nhstb.gov to check on TSB's for Cougars (and other cars).

Have a great weekend!

(sorry I didn't speak up about this before, I must've been sleeping while reading or something)

louf22 · February 2001

Just got my silver V6 mtx about a week ago. I've just finished reading all the CSG posts and thought I'd add a post. My kitty has the sport and convenience packages plus the body side moldings and the in-dash radio/CD changer. I've already replaced the stock speakers and added an amp plus a subwoofer/amp box out of my old '98 Contour. The new setup sounds pretty good but I'm considering eventually replacing the head unit with something with preamp outs so I get a better match to the amps.

Has anybody tried replacing the in-dash changer? I visited Visteon's website but only learned the head unit is of "100mm size". I'm thinking that one of the new double-din radios might fit. I only got the changer because it was an inexpensive option and the car was otherwise just what I wanted. Using the locater my dealer had the car in 2 days.

Lou

camelard · February 2001

Great to have new Kitty owners aboard.

Cyroncat:

I am sure you will be pleased with the blue/black cloth and blue exterior. I love my midnight black interior with the silver frost exterior and on really cold and really hot days I really appreciate the cloth seats.

Louf22:

Welcome. I can't help you with the stereo but I am sure someone in the CSG can.

I am sure you will both love your Cats as much as we all love ours.

jimcal1 · February 2001

Lou:

Go to www.crutchfield.com and search the available units that fit the Cougar. There are probably over a hundred of them, but you can quickly narrow the choices.

Jim

louf22 · February 2001

Camelard: Thanks for the welcome.

Jimcal1: I checked out Crutchfield. Right now they list a lot of standard radios for the 2000 cougar. They have no listing yet for the 2001s. I don't know if the fit is different for the 2 years. My current head unit is definitely taller than a regular radio. I guess it needs the extra internal space for the changer.

I wonder how many CSG members are former contour owners? I may never have considered the cougar if I didn't know it had the same drivetrain as the contour. I might have kept the contour but it just didn't handle as well as my kitty does.

When the dealer found a laser red and my silver one, I was torn between them. The red was definitely handsome, but the silver was sharp plus I thought it wouldn't show dirt so much. Here in Ohio we get the salt film a good part of the year. The silver also had the side moldings. I know they affect the cougar's look but like a lot of you I hate it when some yingyang slams his door into the side. The moldings seem in a good spot to prevent that.

Lou

stageleft · February 2001

Louf22: Welcome aboard! So I know it's winter in Ohio, but tell us honestly: How many times have you washed it in your first week? :-)

The Cougar's din-size is 1 1/2 din, and in order to change the headunit, you've got to use a fitment kit. I believe Crutchfield ships one for free with every headunit to ensure a proper fit and to keep tech. support calls down. They do offer a fine service, and if you need any tools to do the job, they sell those too. The best part about ordering through Crutchfield I would say, and back me up here if anyone else has experience with this, is they do the wiring harness for you so all you have to do when you get it is plug it in. No chasing wires! They do it for the speakers too, from what I understand.

Currently, there is one aftermarket headunit you can purchase directly for the Cougar's din-size, and you can find the information here: www.roadfx.com

You'll notice that the in-dash CD-6 on their page is the same as the one (or similar) in your Cat. It's a good stereo - good choice on doing the speakers first. Have you happened to check the back of your stock stereo to see if there are/aren't RCA-outs? You might be surprised.

Let us know, take care and welcome to the CSG.

Happy Cougaring, everybody!

louf22 · February 2001

Thanks Stageleft.

You're right that is the same unit. My car stereo installer said I needed adapters to match the low-level input of the amps to the output of the radio. Those adapters cost about $60! If I can get at the back of the head unit and I find it has preamp outs I'll be p***ed!

Lou

gambit293 · February 2001

Hi Lou,

I'm also planning to buy a manual V6 with sport and convenience group in Ohio.

Can I ask which dealer you used and how it went? I'm in the Columbus/central ohio area. Silver and red are two of my top choices too.

If you don't mind saying, how much did you end up paying?

If you want, you can e-mail me instead of posting here. Click on my name at the message header to see my e-mail.

Thanks.

louf22 · February 2001

My dealer was Northgate LM in Cincinnati. The MSRP on my cougar was $19,395. I get a discount (X-plan) because I work for a company that does business with Ford. That gave a no-haggle price of about $1500 off MSRP. Plus I got the $1500 rebate, so my cougar was down to about $16,350 or so. Add in tax and title, out the door was about $17,385. I sold my lovely 98 contour LX outright.

The dealer was really pretty good. He located the car on Monday, had it ready to be picked up Wednesday (Valentines day - maybe I shoulda got the Laser Red). Gave me the go over on the controls and had me meet their service dept. I had my kitty in my hot little hands about an hour after I got to the dealership.

The only additions to the 2 packages were the in-dash changer, side moldings, and the smokers package. And the V6, of course. The ashtray is a nice place to keep change.

Lou

louf22 · February 2001

Has anybody got NECO's screen saver? I tried to get it off their site but got a nolink error. Same with the other screen saver.

Lou

cyroncat · February 2001

If you don't get the smoker's package, what goes into the space for the ashtray? Do they seal it off, or give you a change holder or something?

Curiously,
CyronCat
[still eagerly awaiting my Blue C2]

bkjprince · February 2001

I find the best way to get prices for the car are from carsdirect.com. They include available rebates and dealer invoice. Don't forget if your are a graduate student or recent grad, you can get additional $400 off from ford credit - no you don't have to finance with them!

Question to Lou22: I had a similar deal. But the dealer included in the invoice some 170$ advertising fee. They said it was from Ford and nothing they could do. 1. Did you see this on your invoice or no? I know X plan is A plan (ford employees) plus 4% I think.

Also a processing fee "for the girls in the back" of about $140 was added into the bill / printed on the bill itself. This bumped up the cost. 2.Did you have a similar processing fee (not including tax and tags) or is it just my dealer?

Thanks,

BKJ

badulah · February 2001

Lou22:
Congrats on your new purchase and welcome to the CSG!!!

I have a totally aftermarket stereo system in my Cat. Currently I have the Clarion Pro-Audio DRX9575RZ installed in the dash. I ordered it from Crutch field and as StageLeft pointed out, they shipped the dash adaptor, antenna adaptor, wiring harness, a set of DIN removal tools, and a complete list of instructions for no extra charge. With the dash adaptor you can mount just about any stereo in your Cat.

dasaint1 · February 2001

louf22:

Yeah, I got the NECO screen saver on my PC. It's pretty cool. The only thing I don't like about it is that it's got a NECO logo floating on the screen, and I'm not a NECO member. But otherwise, the Silver Frost Cat looks really cool.

I didn't have any problems downloading it, but I downloaded it a while ago, sometime last year. Wait a couple of days and then try downloading it again. Good luck!!

gocatz · February 2001

Gambit, bought my cat from an individual, but I've had pretty good service from Taylor Linc-Merc in Lancaster. I have the laser red, and I love the color. However, I did find out (after spinning it into a ditch a month ago) that this color is a special process, and is usually more expensive to repaint if you need it.

Sure, dirt shows up pretty quickly, but that just means you get to spend more quality time with your kitty!

Good luck in your search.

gambit293 · February 2001

Thanks for your replies.

According to Edmunds TMV, I should be able to get a manual V6 with sport, convenience group, ABS, side airbags, traction control, sunroof for about 19,000.

Doesn't the non-smoker version come with a normal plug outlet instead of a lighter?

fredly · February 2001

Bkjprince,
the advertising acessment fee or whatever they call it, it is set by the dealership and you are not required to pay it(although many do) I had it taken off my bill, as for the other charge, I didn't have that. My dealership also tried to charge me for the 8 gallons of gas that came in the car, at 1.50/gallon, this was back when gas was 1.10 a gallon.

louf22 · February 2001

Bkjprince: No I don't think I was charged any fees. The dealer told me that if I had bought the car without the X-plan, I would have had the advertising fee added on top of the MSRP.

Cyroncat: The ashtray was put right below the radio. I don't know what normally goes there. I think the cougar gets a power outlet normally instead of the lighter on my car.

Badulah: Thanks for the welcome. I'm gonna keep the original head unit for a while (having a changer in the dash is pretty cool!). If I don't like its sound I'll consider a Crutchfield purchase. I'm glad I won't have to pay out $400-500 or more for one of the new double-din units.

Gokatz: What a small world! My kitty was gotten from Taylor LM in Lancaster!

Lou

louf22 · February 2001

Fredly: I don't mean to boast but my dealer gave me a full tank with my car. From what I'm hearing some of these dealers must not care whether they get any repeat business.

Lou

fredly · February 2001

Gas was the least of my worries. With the advertising fee they tried to charge it was simple, I never stepped foot into their showroom before I picked up my car. It was all ordered via phone, and fax when the car was finally shipped in, I went, cut a check and took the keys to my car...

lmigliore · February 2001

My cat is behaving very irresponsibly. It wouldn't start this morning. Just nothing from the starter. It had done this once before and the dealer replaced the clutch interlock switch. So, since it was in my garage I pulled the switch and checked it out. Both sets of contacts (why have 2 sets of contacts on an interlock switch?) worked fine.

I prevailed on a couple of construction workers to give me a push and I drove to the dealer's, which is where the car is now. Tomorrow, I ride the trolley to work.

Well, I really like my Cougar but I can't tolerate a car that suddenly doesn't start. The cat is my company car and if I don't get to my customer it costs me money big time. The cat gets one more chance; the next time it doesn't start it's gone.

harbachj · February 2001

Just about ALL fees are negotiable. LM does add an advertising fee to every car delivered to a dealer, and that fee varies from state to state and even county to county. It's up to you to negotiate that and any other "fees" the dealer tries to tack on at the last minute. The only legitimate one would be one for processing the registration with DMV and that is set by state law. The key is what is the final price and how does that relate to the invoice and MSRP numbers considering rebates and incentives in effect at time of purchase.

stageleft · February 2001

Besides, Mercury shouldn't be charging for advertising fees when they really haven't done much of that in the past year. I could understand Nissan or Ford charging ad fees - they do an awful lot of advertising.

badulah · February 2001

All:
Be sure to join the CSG chat session tonight!! The session starts at 7pm and goes until 8pm set. According to Edmunds, we will be using new and improved chat software tonight!! Unfortunately I will not be able to make it. I have a 6:30pm appointment with my accountant. I don't think I will be back in time. In my absence StageLeft will be hosting it!!

Thanks Lefty!!

coolchick · February 2001

Years ago, my mom's car just wouldn't start....nothing at all from the starter. Seems the starter had a flywheel in it that was missing one tooth. Don't know if starters are made with a flywheel anymore or not. If they are, that might be worth looking into.

coolchick · February 2001

don' t think I'll make the chat tonight. Supposed to go to a reading and meet the author, and it's tonight or probably never.

stageleft · February 2001

Aaaaaaaand ...

As you read, Badulah will be absent, and I just found out that I will be a little late. I will be there though, and the chat is still on!

Cougar Support Group - Chats On...

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