I concern that I’m within the minority for even fascinated by the now-defunct entry-level luxurious model Mercury and its vehicles, however I shouldn’t be within the minority after I say that I believe the 1999 Mercury Cougar is likely one of the best-looking vehicles ever offered within the U.S.. I used to be an enormous fan of most of the Ford Motor Firm’s new-edge designs like the Ford Focus and the Ford Ka , however the 1999 Cougar was the primary FoMoCo car offered in North America with this placing design theme. This was the primary front-wheel-drive Mercury Cougar ever, and sadly it ended up being the ultimate iteration of the Cougar nameplate, however earlier than all else, it was a stunner.
The primary Mercury Cougar was launched in 1967 as a barely lengthened, barely extra upscale model of the unfathomably in style Ford Mustang on the time. The primary era gained over patrons with its hideaway headlights and V8-only line of engine choices, and was the one Mercury to ever win MotorTrend’s Automotive of the Yr award. As was the case with all American vehicles, its subsequent generations suffered from the plight of the Malaise period and have become overgrown, underpowered land yachts, even changing into a household wagon at one level. The Cougar’s glory was revived in its sixth era when it shared a platform with the Mustang as soon as extra, and the seventh-generation Cougar which was constructed on the identical devoted platform because the Ford Thunderbird.
In 1999, Ford launched the eighth-generation Cougar which really moved down-market from its predecessor’s two-door private luxurious coupe designation to a three-door, front-wheel-drive sport compact. It used the Ford World Automotive platform that additionally underpinned the Ford Contour in America and the Ford Mondeo in Europe with four-corner unbiased suspension and that platform’s well-respected dynamic talents. Sadly for the Cougar’s efficiency picture, the eighth-gen automobile was solely provided with an financial system automobile I-4 that produced 125 horsepower and 130 pound-feet of torque or a Duratec 2.5-liter V6 that produced 170 horsepower and 165 pound-feet of torque. Apart from its lackluster straight-line efficiency – MotorWeek was solely in a position to obtain a 0-60 time of seven.9-seconds with the highest V6 and 5-speed guide powertrain – the Cougar was well-respected for its playful dealing with traits.
Putting styling is what really units this automobile aside, although. It had a few of the curvaceousness that was so widespread in ’90s automobile designs, however it managed to include the curves with out wanting like a jelly bean. It had sharp creases and angles to interrupt up the rounded shapes. It had sleek arcs to most physique strains on the automobile from its Cheshire Cat decrease air consumption, to its dramatic cat-eye headlights – it’s named after a species of feline, in any case – to its large spherical bottom with distinctive bulges on the enormous triangular tail lights. It’s a masterclass of an early-2000s tackle Artwork Deco-esque design with out venturing into cheesy territory just like the Chrysler Crossfire. The eighth-generation Mercury Cougar exhibits simultaneous risk-taking and restraint in its design, and I believe it deserves much more love and recognition than it will get.