What happened to the Mercury Cougar????

[Power]

Ok, my personal peeve I know.

This has bothered me since they were released a few years ago. Rewind to the 60's era. The mercury cougar was the equivalent of a ford mustang. Much the same that nowdays we have the explorer vs mountaineer similarities.

Why then is the mercury cougar now a totally different car then the mustang. They didn't even bother to rename it.

Just wondering if anybody had some insight on this.

p.s. Yes I know they weren't "exactly" the same.

[This message has been edited by Power (edited 05-29-2001).]

[Rev]

Power, what happened to the Cougar was planned for the Mustang too! It was only due to public outrage that the Mustang didn't become a Probe like vehicle. Yes, FWD and all. Aren't we glad that Ford picked up on public sentiment and caceled that order.

Rev

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'66 Coupe, 306, 300 HP, C-4, 13.97 e.t., 100.3 mph
1/4 mi.

[matt cook]

I am the proud owner of what was supposed to be the last V8 Mustang...and the car that changed Ford's mind!

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1982 Mustang GT

[Unit 5302]

I thought I'd chime in a little.

I like the new Cougar. The old Cougar hasn't been a Mustang since 1973. It became the twin to the Thunderbird. The Capri became the Mercury Mustang, it was horribly altered in 1987 to the cheap afterthought 2 seater sports car. I think the production on those cars ended in 1994.

The Cougar and Thunderbird were discontinued because of poor sales (mostly because of really bad marketing in my opinion), I personally CANNOT believe Ford didn't respond to the ultra popular Impala SS with a Thunderbird SVT or something. That or a totally badass Crown Vic, rename it the Thunderbolt with a big *** hopped up 5.4 or something.

Anyway, the Cougar is a neat little sports car in my opinion.

If you want to get down and dirty, look at what the Cutlass, Monte Carlo, Impala, and Malibu became! LOL.

[Power]

I don't dislike the cougar but it changed from the muscle twin of the Mustang into a more sporty econo-car. I actually looked into getting one awhile back but just didn't want to pony up the dough. I was just confused on the split between the cougar and mustang. And I was referring to the prior 73 similiarties. Sorry about the confusion.

[Mercury]

Mercury had been working on a super charged sports version, but killed it in favor for two special edition Cougars that have garish colors and ground effects/spoilers.

My nieghbors daughter just bought one, and i think there sporty lookin. Alot better than what they looked like before they re-enginered them. They got some pep, there daughter took me for a ride in it, and let me drive it back to there house. Neat little car, not bad for a daily car.

[LincoConti87]

Well my first car wasan 86 Cougar...piece of junk but cool lookin I think. I don't see why ford ever made it like sister car tothe mustang anyways. At least 20 years down the line it still had a somewhat similar size but the new ones might as well be called the mercury eclipse or integra cus all they are is a rip off of that body design. It might be a quick fun little car but I thinks its way tiny inside...the back seat is like a jumbo glove compartment meant to hold a 6 pack of coke or something.

[OKMIC1]

I LIKE THE NEW COUGAR. IN FACT, I SMOKED ONE ON THE WAY HOME TODAY.
BUT SERIOUSLY, IT'S JUST A GLORIFIED PROBE. WHICH IN TURN, IS JUST A GLORIFIED IMPORT.

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1984 GT350
K&N FILTER,UNDERDRIVES,
FLEXFAN,105AMP ALTERNATOR

For what it is: a front wheel drive economy car, it's not bad. I'd never buy one, but that's just me. I've heard rumors of Mercury being phased out sometime in the future because of many, many years of poor sales. Mercury has always been the luxury version of ford and has had grandma-ish styling, but i LOVE the style of the '79+ Capri. The new Mercury Cougar is probably the first car i can remember that distinguishes Mercury from Ford off the top of my head. It's probably not enough to stop the inevitable though.

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'84 Mustang 5.0 LX
My car

Originally posted by OKMIC1:
I LIKE THE NEW COUGAR. IN FACT, I SMOKED ONE ON THE WAY HOME TODAY.
BUT SERIOUSLY, IT'S JUST A GLORIFIED PROBE. WHICH IN TURN, IS JUST A GLORIFIED IMPORT.

I purchased a 99 cougar as soon as they came out. I was disappointed and pratically had to give it away to get rid of it.

[95mustanggt]

Originally posted by bitethebullitt:
I purchased a 99 cougar as soon as they came out. I was disappointed and pratically had to give it away to get rid of it.

Hence is the reason they should change the car. I liked the older T-Birds and Cougars. My parents had one, and while they were a bit bigger, they rode real nice and were a grear highway car.

If ford wants to cash in on the "import sport compact" market, they better go back to the drawing board. They need something wiht a little better (more aggressive styling) and a whole lot better performance. Even a V6 with mild boost from a Turbo or SC would help. They'd need around 200-220 HP. And give the car the handling to keep up with the ITR's and other imports.

Actually I think it is too bad that Ford canned the Probe. I liked the probe, for the car that it was. I even looked at buying one before I looked at my stang. It's just not the car for me.



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Driving: 1998 F-150
Far way in Edmonton==>
1995 Mustang GT

[Rev]

Aren't Probes just Mazdas with a Ford name tag? I think Ford had some alliance with Mazda there.

Rev

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'66 Coupe, 306, 300 HP, C-4, 13.97 e.t., 100.3 mph
1/4 mi.

[Power]

You all didn't like the antenna right in the middle of the top of the windshield???

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'66 Coupe, 289ci, and many minor upgrades. All major stuff is waiting for my move to Texas. Countdown begins to November.

[Unit 5302]

The Probe was basically a rebadged Mazda MX-6.

The Mercury Cougar uses the same engine as the Probe did, a Mazda built 2.5L V-6. It's rated at 164hp, but honestly, the old Probe GT's could run high/mid 15's with that engine. All I've heard is high 16's from the Cougar with the same engine. Somethin fishy there.

[Moxie]

Actually, the 2.5L V-6 available in the current Cougar is the same Duratec found in the Contour/Mystique/Mondeo. A modified version came in the Contour SVT.

The V-6 that came in the 93-97 Probe GT, while having the same displacement, is a totally different engine. It was a Mazda design, and aside from the Probe GT, was only used in Mazdas.

The Probe GT shared the chassis and drivetrain with the Mazda MX-6, although they had different bodies and interiors. They were both built here at the Flat Rock, MI assembly plant.

I personally CANNOT believe Ford didn't respond to the ultra popular Impala SS with a Thunderbird SVT or something. That or a totally badass Crown Vic, rename it the Thunderbolt with a big *** hopped up 5.4 or something.

The Mercury Marauder has supposedly been approved as a 2003 model, and should be in dealers in mid-2002. It is a Grand Marquis with a complete blackout treatment, ala the Impala SS. It will likely have a 32V 4.6L engine.

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Moxie Racing

The Nitrous Oxide Information Site

[WHITECOBRAGIRL94]

Of course the Merc Maurauder
is comming out alittle too
late considering what the
impala has become today. (boy
was that a dumb move by
Chevy). I think they should
have mad the svt tbird, and
they were going to. The
actually had the cobra-r
wheels already made for it
for a 1997 svt model, but
because sales sucked they cut
that out. I would have bought
one, b/c I love my SC.

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Amy(wife of bigwhitecobra)
94 Mustang Cobra: off-road h-pipe, 3:73 gears, motersports underdrive pulleys, MAC cold air induction, MAC 1 1/2 inch lowering springs, K&N Air filter, Maximum Motersports caster/camber plates. steeda tri-ax shifter, Motorsports King Cobra Clutch with Steeda Cable Linkage.(its a gripper!)
94 Thunderbird SC: only mod is a K&N air filter. But she runs very well and hard.
00 Focus ZTS

[mjacoby321]

I like the new Cougar. The old Cougar hasn't been a Mustang since 1973. It became the twin to the Thunderbird. The Capri became the Mercury Mustang, it was horribly altered in 1987 to the cheap afterthought 2 seater sports car. I think the production on those cars ended in 1994.
___________________
Mercury Cougar repair