1998 Mercury Cougar

By Jim Kenzie

ATLANTA, Ga. On the evening of the second press day of January's 1998 Detroit auto show, Volkswagen, to celebrate the launch of its New Beetle, threw a huge party, starring The

Temptations, at the spectacularly renovated Fox Theatre.

Thousands of media types, industry brass and other car people crowded the sidewalk, trying to squeeze into the Fox's tiny lobby.

Suddenly, a sleek coupe cruised down Woodward Ave. Heads turned. Jaws dropped.

"What the heck is that?" everyone wondered admiringly.

Finally, it dawned: the cruiser was the new Mercury Cougar, itself released to the public that very day.

I thought it coincidence that this car should appear at this place and time, trying successfully, at least for a moment to upstage the New Beetle at its own party.

But it was no coincidence.

Dan Bedore, public affairs launch manager for the Cougar, had heard about the Beetle Bash and knew everyone was going to be there. Why not his car?

Why not, indeed.

Cougar is not only a sensational looking new entry in what is admittedly a fairly small market segment. It's also part of an attempt by Ford's Lincoln Mercury division to change the way it

does business.

In a lot of ways, the Cougar replaces the late Ford Probe coupe.

The newcomer is based on the European Mondeo front drive sedan, which also underpins the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

Cougar is built at the Mazda run Auto Alliance plant in Flat Rock, Mich., which also makes Mazda 626s.

Cougar will be sold as a Mercury in North America and as a Ford in foreign markets.

Ford says about 70 per cent of the coupe's parts are carried over from its Con Tique siblings. But the car is much different than that would suggest. This is not a two-door Mystique.

Cougar is Ford's first domestic application of its New Edge styling, previously used on the European Ka and Puma.

The combination of planes, curves and intersecting lines brings welcome relief from increasingly bland and look alike aero cars.

The Coug is also a hatchback, a body style that is usually the kiss of death in the United States for reasons that no one has ever been able to explain to me. What's so wrong about a stylish car that also makes it easy to cart stuff around?

In the Cougar's case, the roofline sweeps back to the rear glass, then breaks at what would be the trunk lid. Until the hatch is open, you'd never know it was there; this is the car's

dirty little secret.

The interior is designed to be a full four-seater. Rearseat riders usually take it in the, um, rear in coupes, but this Mercury's deeply contoured rear buckets at least provide some

support for thighs.

Taller foreheads will come pretty close to the roof, but it's at least a possibility for adults to ride back there across town. A splitfold rear seat back improves cargo hauling

flexibility.

The front seats are terrific; they're deeply contoured for excellent lateral support and well padded. I could ask for more lumbar support (it's not adjustable), but then I usually do.

The dash features a large heck, huge whitefaced tach and speedo flanked by fuel and temp gauges.

Oven-style knobs run the climate control system, which offers air filtration. They are located above the radio, but the latter is still easier than most to work, thanks to large

wellseparated push buttons.

The radio also features a removable face plate; take it with you when you leave the car and the system is useless to thieves.

The Markham, Ont. built Securi Lock theft deterrent system is standard equipment.

Indeed, safety and security were strong considerations during the Cougar's development. The car has Ford's first North American application of side airbags, a $500 option. The company

says they will be available as of May 1, but the formal rollout to dealers starts May 7. Cougar powertrains start with the base Zetec 2.0litre, twin cam, 16-valve fourc-ylinder. It produces

125 hp at 5500 r.p.m. and a substantial 130 lb.-ft. of torque at 4000 r.p.m. Eighty per cent of that peak twist is available at as low as 1200 r.p.m.

This is a smooth four, with decent flexibility, although it had a little trouble coping with steep hills with the air con on; it was hot in Atlanta last week.

And a four-cylinder Mitsubishi Eclipse (a.k.a. Eagle Talon), among rivals provided by Ford for comparison, felt punchier during brisk laps on the Road Atlanta racetrack.

Cougar's oneup engine option is the Duratec 2.5-litre V6, also a twin cam four-valve design. Its 170 horses at 6250 r.p.m.

and 165 lb.-ft. of torque at 4250 r.p.m. are respectable numbers, as is the 80 per cent of peak torque offered from 2000 r.p.m.

This is a nice motor, again smooth and responsive.

The base transmission with both engines is a five-speed manual, with a cable shifter that was added as part of Con Tique's mid-life makeover last year. Ford claims better shift

quality than the former rod operated design, but I don't buy it.

It's not bad, but it's not best in class, either.

A four-speed electronically controlled automatic is optional.

The fact that Ford's suspension engineers are now on the third calibration of the Con Tique platform, with most of the changes aimed at reducing friction in the steering and front suspension,

suggests to me that the criticisms of the original car made by myself and precious few other journalists weren't all misplaced, no matter what three-time world driving champion Jackie Stewart

said.

The point is, they've got it right now.

The European Mondeo's suspension bushings, plus retuned springs, shocks and roll bars, have maintained excellent ride quality, with crisper steering.

Again, the Mitsu Eclipse felt a bit more responsive, if a bit "darty" on the racetrack.

Cougar suspension development engineer Ed Knoy noted that research showed women did not want what they called a "girl's car," one that looks sporty but which drives no different than a

sedan.

I'm happy to see that at least one carmaker has figured out that there is no monolithic "women's market." Women have the same variety of tastes in cars that men do; the only difference

is they're typically more honest in saying what they want.

In Canada, the Cougar will be asked to play two roles.

In four-cylinder form, it will go after the coupe versions of the Chev Cavalier, Pontiac Sunfire and Honda Civic, all of which offer a lot of style for the dollar. But their style is clearly

based on a more prosaic sedan. To get a $19,995 entry level price, Pierre Corriveau, Cougar's Canadian brand manager, had to delete a few things that are standard on base U.S. models,

notably air conditioning.

"Affordability is extremely important to these buyers," he says.

Starting at $24,295, the uplevel Cougar V6 will sport 16-inch aluminum wheels, the dreaded fog lamps and four-wheel disc brakes (ABS is still, sadly, an option). It also comes with a

trunklid spoiler that can be deleted for a double credit: a few hundred off the price and a salute from the Taste Police, since the car looks vastly better without it, as most cars do.

Corriveau opines that while four-cylinder Cougar buyers will bask in the reflected glow of all the loaded, 30 grand V6s driving around, owners of those more expensive cars won't feel

diminished by the cheaper models.

The sporty coupe market may be small, but many industry prognosticators feel it's poised for a rebound.

It's a segment defined by style, driving pleasure and price.

Hence, it's hard to see the gorgeous, entertaining, practical, safe, well-equipped and affordable Cougar not being a hit.

Freelance journalist Jim Kenzie, among a group of auto writers invited to Atlanta, prepared this report based on sessions arranged and paid for by Ford Motor Co.