[CougarLover]

I guess Ford, er I mean Mazda, isn't going to make the Cougars anymore. Personally I won't miss those things they called Cougars. They did a good job with the new 'Stangs and the T'birds, but the Cougars were pathetic. Sorry, but that is my opinion. So what will become of that proto we heard about?

 

[leonbray]

Current Cougar is rebodied British Ford Mondeo - which is a reasonable car in that market. Hopefully the next time they use the name they will put in on rwd T Bird or Mustang platform with V8 power. Not sure if they ever will though, now that the bean counters are back in control at Ford

 

[ChadInman]

I'm not proud of the Cougar for what it is now, but what it couldn't have been in the future. Seeing another muscle Cougar in the future would be great, but as of now things aren't looking too good. The Cougar - Mercury Villager - Lincoln Continental -Ford Escort have all been discontinued from production indefinitely... I don't suspect it's the last we've seen of the Cougar, but the bad news is that I'm betting on the next Cougar to come out in 2007 for the 40th anniversary-which will be a super retro Cougar. We'll see, but if this is the end of the Cougar, it's a sad pathetic end indeed! - Chad

 

[leonbray]

I don't know why they don't put a coupe body on the LS and share the frame parts with Jaguar. Wouldn't that be a turn for the books - both cats with the same heritage. It is already V6/V8 rear drive.

 

[ChadInman]

Good call leon! I could go fot that as long as it didn't cost too much. - Chad

 

[TheRktmn]

I have 2 FWD Cougars and I think that they are great.
It's about time Merc put the name on something other than a Tbird boat anchor clone!
If they are going to use the name at least they put it on a car that is sporty and handles well instead of those pieces of crap they produced for 25 years!
Mercury put out almost 30 years of Cougars before I found one that I felt was right for me again. If you don't like it - don't buy it.
Okay, so it's ONLY a V6, but it gets 30 MPG and puts out
190 HP, as I recall the "Musclecar" 302 V8 was 200 HP.
There are mods available for the V6, but I have a big block in my 69 - why do I need to *ick around with my V6 daily driver? With the K&N and dual exhaust this one does just fine.
As for the FWD - I would not have bought it if it was RWD because I need a car that is good in the snow. After driving RWD in the snow for 25 years I swore I would never do it again after my first FWD.
I too would like to see a more classic, musclecar Cougar offered, but I would not buy it. I already have a RWD musclecar.

 

[TheRktmn]

P.S.:
You can't go back. Mercury will NEVER build a Cougar that will live up to our classics.
Be thankful that they build the early ones the way they did - but don't expect a repeat performance. Anything else will be a cheap imitation. You cannot compare apples to oranges.

 

[republik a.d.]

Apples, oranges... lemons...

I'd have to agree - those of us who are fortunate enough to have the classic cats will likely be not only critical of "new" Cougar offerings, but also likely to be disappointed.
If the option were available I'd rather see some of these hard to find and no longer reproduced parts be made available rather than a whole new line of Cougars.

Of course, I'd also like to see that prototype Lincoln Mk.9 go into production too but I'm not holding my breath waiting.
Check it out here: http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/010411-7.htm

 

[TheRktmn]

"If the option were available I'd rather see some of these hard to find and no longer reproduced parts be made available rather than a whole new line of Cougars. "

Hear, Hear.

I saw a set of NOS wheel opening moldings for a 69 sell on eBay for over $690.00!!!!:eek2: At that rate Ford would make more money selling NNS (New New Stock) parts than they have been selling new cars!

 

[republik a.d.]

Damn! That's just plain ridiculous. It's not like we're restoring Ferraris or something. Then again, the only thing worse than seeing something like moldings sell for that much is being the person who paid that much for them.

 

[sixt9coug]

oh GOD!! the moudings went for that much?????? wow, makes me wonder what that fuel door went for...... ALL of the parts to it combined. makes me wish i had a bunch of that NOS stuff lying around......... or maybe i should start stockpiling Bullitt NOS stuff and save it for 30 years down the line

 

[Tim B]

IMHO

Like TheRktmn I like the current Cougars. I tried one out when they first came out and again recently. They are a good, reasonably priced FWD sport coupes. I think the styling has faired well since new, the Celica is going to look very silly VERY soon IMHO LOL.

The current Cougar never got the 200hp (or 190 hp) V6 it should have had. It's always been 170. Not bad, not great. But there are a lot of hop up kits available, from the old SVT Contour bits to turbos. The parts were there! They made an 'S' and an 'Eliminator' prototype, one even had 4wd.

Ford's cancellations were no shock to me on any of them. They were all at, or near, or well beyond their cycle. If I were firing 20,000 employees I guess I'd try to make it look like I was doing more too ;-) BTW CNN showed a Mark VIII (old T-Bird chassis) as an example of the Continental (Taurus chassis), the Mark's been out of production since 1998! Guess they didn't even know what a new one was. Can't blame them either, I can't remember seeing an ad for one recently. It was supposed to be a Seville competitor (?)

What's really scares me is the Explorer/Expedition/Navigator. Totally new, yet looks totally OLD. The Mountaineer at least looks fresher. Automobile companies seem to go in cycles. Ford in the 80's was in serious trouble, so they took serious risks and produced some imaginative cars (83 T-Bird, 84 Tempo, and the 86 Taurus) Then they got comfortable, made a few billion $$$$ and stated producing boring cars because it was the 'safe' thing to do. Then profits drop because nobody want a boring car! Chrysler had it's turn in the early 80's and again in the mid 90's. GM is finally on a roll, to some at least. With Lutz as president it should be interesting!

In the long run it will be a good thing. There isn't much in the Ford stable I'd buy right now. In the history of collectible cars, the best cars have been always born out of desperation and competition! The GT40, retro Mustang and new T-Bird are only the start

Tim B
1969 XR7 428 CJR convertible
http://members.aol.com/timbrands/index.html

 

[leonbray]

In Oz they tried to market the new Cougar as something special and it was up against all the hot Japanese and European fwd cars - the Integra R / Celica (we get a hotter version than the US) / Prelude / 200SX / Peugot 306 / Alfa 147 / etc They just ran all over it and they are better equipped, more powerful and handle better for a similar price. Cougar used to always run last in multi-car comparisons - it has no street cred at all.

Guess I probably should buy one as they might end up a classic in 30 years because of the low sales volume

 

[FoKKerj]

I dont know

Personaly i was very excited about the cougar going into the RWD chassis. I am looking for a new car when iget out of college and it was a very likely candidate. I was thinking cobra motor transplant. Oh well

 

[Tim B]

RWD

Just because they are killing the FWD Cougar doesn't mean there won't be another one.........my hope at least.

Tim B

 

[ChadInman]

and how...

Yeah I bet once their profits start going up again and they stat hiring more people they'll be looking for something new to get buyers back. What better way than to make an awesome RWD mustang platform Cougar? I went to the auto show here in San Jose this weekend, the really huge one "San Jose International Auto Show 2002". I saw Ford's new "Forty-nine" concept car-that car is so beautiful. If they start building it, that is going to be a big success [my prediction] - Chad

 

[MAVERIk]

WHAT?!

I have to disagree with everyone who says the new style cougars are "more appealing", or "have a better horsepower rating", because frankly, it's just not American. BIG. That's what America is all about. Size over everything else. As for the horse power rating, sure, the new cougars may have just as much horsepower in a v-6 as the 302(r.i.p.), but look at the torque rating! The 302 kills the v-6 in torque per pound, cubic inch, and everything else for that matter. And you CANNOT beat torque. As for the styling, they don't look too bad, but I enjoy the sexy lines of a '68 XR-7 more than I enjoy some bubble shaped ricer mazda with a Merc emblem on it! But this is just my opinion, so you can disagree with it all you want, that's just your opinion. Classic Cars Rule.:angryfi:

 

[Tim B]

Chad wrote: "Yeah I bet once their profits start going up again and they stat hiring more people they'll be looking for something new to get buyers back."

How do you expect the profits to go up if they don't have buyers for the new products first?
Product, Buyers then PROFITS. That's the good thing about desperation, you see the best products they can imagine in short order.

Tim B
1969 XR7 428 CJR convertible
http://members.aol.com/timbrands/index.html

 

[Tim B]

HUH?!

MAVERik:
"I have to disagree with everyone who says the new style cougars are "more appealing", or "have a better horsepower rating", because frankly, it's just not American............... As for the styling, they don't look too bad, but I enjoy the sexy lines of a '68 XR-7 more than I enjoy some bubble shaped ricer mazda with a Merc emblem on it! But this is just my opinion, so you can disagree with it all you want, that's just your opinion. Classic Cars Rule."

MAVERik, who are you arguing with? This is a Classic Cougar group! Were your comments meant for another board?

I do disagree about classic American cars having to be BIG. In it's time the 67-73 Cougars weren't all that large. But if you are talking about CID I agree with you.

Tim B
1969 XR7 428 CJR convertible
http://members.aol.com/timbrands/index.html

 

[73XR-7owner]

and what could be more American and classic...

than the original T-Bird and the Corvette? They aren't exactly large. However, I do agree that one of the failings of the "new" Cougar is the size. It should have been larger, should have been more retro in design, and should have had more muscle.

If Clay Ford is a member here (ha ha) maybe he'll take notice. Saaaaaaaay, ModifiedMark says he lives 25 miles from Lake Michigan. You don't suppose.......