Ford Cougar
Encyclopedia : F : FO : FOR : Ford Cougar
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| Ford/Mercury Cougar | |
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| Manufacturer: | Ford Motor Company |
| Production: | 1999–2002 |
| Class: | Sport compact |
| Body Styles: | 3-door hatchback |
| Predecessor: | Ford Probe |
| Successor: | Ford Mustang |
| Shares components with: | Ford Contour Ford Mondeo Mercury Mystique |
The Ford Cougar was a 1999 mid-sized coupé sold in Europe. Like its predecessor, the Ford Probe, it was sold and built in the United States, where it was sold as the Mercury Cougar. It was Ford's second attempt to introduce a European sports coupe in the same vein as the famous and successful Capri. Just as the Capri was based on the Cortina, the Cougar was based on the mid-sized car available at the time, the Mondeo. It premiered in December 1998 to mixed reviews, but unlike its famous forebears, its sales were never that brisk. The car was named after its famous American muscle car ancestor, the Mercury Cougar.
The design was the third Ford product to use the "New Edge" shape, which combined the rounded, aerodynamic look of previous Fords with a few sharply defined body creases to give it an aggressive "edge". The Cougar came equipped with the 2.0 L Zetec and 2.5 L Duratec engines with two specification levels, broadly equivalent to a Mondeo Ghia (standard) and Ghia X (simply X).
When the Mk 1 Mondeo was replaced by the New Mondeo, the Cougar was dropped in Europe. Reasons for the lack of sales are not clear, as the Mondeo was considered to be a great drivers' car and the Cougar followed suit. However, the car's cost and a lack of a prestigous badge was probably the car's biggest problem; the success of the BMW 3-Series coupe proved there was a market for this kind of car.
The same vehicle was sold as the Mercury Cougar in the North American market beginning in 1999, where it was considered a compact car. This small Cougar was not a success and was discontinued in 2001, the final production run being made for 2002 1/2.
Ford currently has no plans for a new Cougar based on the current Mondeo.
See also
External links
| Ford car timeline, European market, 1980s-present - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||
| City car | Ka | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supermini | / Fusion | Fiesta VI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Small family car | Escort III | Escort IV | Escort V | Escort Vb | Escort VI | Focus MKI | Focus MKII
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| Large family car | Sierra | Mondeo I | Mondeo II | Mondeo III | Mondeo IV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Executive car | Granada II | Scorpio I / Granada III | Scorpio II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coupé | Puma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Probe | Cougar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Compact MPV | Focus C-MAX | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Large MPV | S-MAX | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Galaxy I | Galaxy II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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