Dear oh dear...

Aside from those people who immediately hate anything Ford regardless of what model it is, I just don't know who these people are that hate the Cougar.

Sure, I've seen some criticism of them online, some of it even justified... such as the mechanics who have ever had to change an alternator on one... But personally I'd say the mix of people I've met are:

85% Who've never seen one, have no idea what it is, but think it looks/sounds nice.
10% Who recognise it (often after they see past the US badging).
5% Who say, "My mate used to have one of them. It was silver".
 
Never liked the Mondeo to be fair (drove a couple, named them mundanes afterwards) Always dismissed the Cougar until I bought one as a cheap stop gap. Won't hear a bad word said about them now and am on my second, but this one is staying part of the fleet.
 
when I first heard/saw a pic of one of these I hated them. Claimed ford had sold out. that they were terrible. bugged a Mate that had one constantly about how can you drive that piece of crap Its front wheel drive. thats not even a cougar.
I was a horrible person. Which I was allowed I owned a 1988 cougar at the time.

Then I drove one.

Jane is number 5 of 99-02 cougars I've owned. As soon as she drives again I'll gladly take anyone for a ride who says these cars are crap.
 
rooster2100 said:
when I first heard/saw a pic of one of these I hated them. Claimed ford had sold out. that they were terrible.
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Let's be honest. The 8th Gen Cougar is a long way from what the '67 was. But like any other car, she had to be based on something else, otherwise she would never get built. That's not unusual. And of course I love it.

What annoys me is... Camaro. Challenger. Charger. But no Cougar.
 
I still maintain my postion - the car is good, but more importantly it gets you into the club, where the people are the best you're likely to find.
 
Mako said:
Let's be honest. The 8th Gen Cougar is a long way from what the '67 was. But like any other car, she had to be based on something else, otherwise she would never get built. That's not unusual. And of course I love it.

What annoys me is... Camaro. Challenger. Charger. But no Cougar.
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I think it has alot to do with how amazing the mustang came out. Ford wasn't required to come up with something to save their company from going bankrupt.

The charger and challenger arent that impressive unless its the hellcat. But what are die hard dodge fans really going to turn to? the avenger is unreliable and the dart is a fancy neon.

As for the camaro? had we not had bumblebee I don't think it would be as big as it is. I wasn't impressed behind the wheel of one. and the camaro emblem is the first thing to go so we can put the autobot symbol. They dont like that its a camaro, they like that it was a freakin tramsformer.

Maybe when mustang sales drop we'll get a cougar again.
 
Herak said:
Never liked the Mondeo to be fair (drove a couple, named them mundanes afterwards)
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There were some cheesy names for the cars in the original Grand Theft Auto game (the map view version on the Sony Playstation console), the boring salesman fleet car called the Mundano ...
 
You're right. I had forgotten about GTA, but was probably the reason nestled in a deep dark recess of my subconscious mind.

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Every now and then AutoExpress et al grab a 3D render of a Mondeo/Cougar hybrid and announce Ford are bringing the Capri back. Never happens. Personally, I think Ford's last nod to bringing back a proper coupe form was the UK Mustang. I doubt we'll see Cougar, or Capri names used again except maybe as a trim level - Ford seem to ditch flagships as soon as another comes along instead of having two competing for honours. That said, the rate at which they sold Mustangs was so high that somebody somewhere must be thinking about exploiting the retro/nostalgia market...
 
Herak said:
You're right. I had forgotten about GTA, but was probably the reason nestled in a deep dark recess of my subconscious mind.

- - - Updated - - -

Every now and then AutoExpress et al grab a 3D render of a Mondeo/Cougar hybrid and announce Ford are bringing the Capri back. Never happens. Personally, I think Ford's last nod to bringing back a proper coupe form was the UK Mustang. I doubt we'll see Cougar, or Capri names used again except maybe as a trim level - Ford seem to ditch flagships as soon as another comes along instead of having two competing for honours. That said, the rate at which they sold Mustangs was so high that somebody somewhere must be thinking about exploiting the retro/nostalgia market...
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Not researched it but I thought you can now buy the latest Mustang this side of the pond. Certainly seen a few around this part of the world. Just a few days ago I was passed by one and spent a few mins wondering if I'd like 5.0 badge on my wing. Maybe if I had one I would but as I haven't it seems a bit posey. As always depends were you are sitting.
Sorry if I've wandered off subject.
 
Herak said:
...Every now and then AutoExpress et al grab a 3D render of a Mondeo/Cougar hybrid and announce Ford are bringing the Capri back. Never happens. Personally, I think Ford's last nod to bringing back a proper coupe form was the UK Mustang..
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The latest Mondeo (which itself is quite a handsome car), along with similar cars from Audi, VW and BMW, seem to be five-door coupes, rather than saloon (sedan) or hatchback. I guess with this trend, there's not really a space for a 2/3 door coupe of that size.
Though with the corporate grill currently resembling Aston Martin and now that Ford no longer owns them, it would be a great car to build.
The last time a 3-door version of the class above the Escort/Focus was made was the Sierra (1.3/XR4i/Cosworth) until it was replaced by the four-door Sapphire.
 
nvingo said:
The last time a 3-door version of the class above the Escort/Focus was made was the Sierra (1.3/XR4i/Cosworth) until it was replaced by the four-door Sapphire.
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Erm... You know that blue oval badge on your grille, and how your car shares a lot of the Mondeo DNA? Before that there was the Probe.
 
Herak said:
Oh indeed, but still a Ford sold and assembled 3 door...
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...which didn't share a single panel/pane with any Ford saloon/hatchback/estate, which was my point; the Classic and all Cortina incarnations, and the Granada saloons, all had (albeit rare in the case of the Granada) a bodyshell variant with two side doors.

Mazda was the odd one; some 323s had totally different 3/4/5 door models at the same time,

Also, I'm sure Ford have used Mazda (lower production runs) as a test bed for later Ford models' styling or mechanical refinements, to me the Mondeo MK4 bonnet/grill resembles the earlier RX8, whilst I bet Mazda 3s carried ideas intended for later Focuses.
 
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Now I'm with you.. I thought you meant just a 2/3 door of mondeo size or larger. I've been awake a long time.
 
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