The Black Cat

My current car is a decked-out '89 Mercury Cougar XR7 that I bought in excellent condition with 150,000 miles on it. Unfortunately, it only stayed that way for 4,000 miles and four short months. On September 12, 1999, it was nailed by a drunk driver. Then I made the mistake of prepaying the collision repairman. He proceded to sit on his butt until he promised to have it done by the end of November. Still, no work was done until three weeks later. When I finally got to test drive it in late December, I had the luck of hitting a deer within five minutes. The deer did little damage, but the collision repairman continued to procrastinate. I finally got to drive my XR7 home on February 4, 2000, almost five months after it was first wrecked.

My friend Jose jumped out to snap a quick pic of the XR7 after 164K miles.

Despite major suspension damage, as shown in the photos, the XR7 now drives down the road straight as an arrow. No, it's not like before - the driver's door seals poorly and the tranny just doesn't seem to shift quite as smoothly. (The linkage busted completely two weeks after I started driving it again. I got it fixed, and now it shifts VERY tight with VERY short throws.) There have also been problems with the automatic ride control and ignition switch. But I was still overjoyed to get it back at all. Why? . . .

The XR7's large dimensions belie its sportiness. The 3.8L V-6 is supercharged, cranking out 210 horsepower at 2400 rpm, and 315 foot-pounds of torque at 2600 rpm. That's enough to lay the smack down on many Mustang GTs with the 5.0L V-8. Well, I might not be able to make that claim if I had the automatic transmission, but mine is equipped with a 5-speed. It needs this strong transmission to handle all that tire-melting torque.

All this power equals 0-60 times in the sub-7-second range, and quarters in 15 seconds at 90+ mph. I can only give rough estimates, since I don't have the proper equipment to test it myself. I have seen figures for similar cars at both MotorTrend and Cool Cats, though. The biggest functional difference is that Mark's Cougar at Cool Cats has an automatic tranny, making it slightly slower than mine.

The Cougar has nearly all the trimmings:

• 16-inch 7-spoke aluminum wheels with P225/60HR16 Firestone Firehawk SZ50 tires - amazingly grippy in corners and rain
• Traction-Lok rear axle and independent rear suspension
• leather
• dual power seats with power lumbar and side bolster adjustments
• power windows/locks/mirrors
• tilt steering
• air conditioning
• tinted windows
• keyless entry
• illuminated entry system
• JBL sound system with an amp and subwoofer
• automatic headlights
• automatic dimming headlights (for incredibly lazy people)
• selectable suspension settings - Auto or Firm
• cruise control
• electric trunk lid release
• rear seat pass-throughs
• power sliding moonroof
• speed-sensitive steering
• engine fluid level monitor
• anti-lock four-wheel disc brakes
• and plenty of other things that we all take for granted these days

I have also added a CD player.

There were a few things that were left off the options list:

• electric fuel-filler door release
• CD player
• automatic transmission
• automatic dimming rearview mirror
• automatic climate control
• alarm system
• full-size spare tire
• engine block heater

The White Cat
Before I owned the '89 Cougar I had an '83 Cougar LS. It, too, was decked out. It's no coincidence that I bought my current Cougar at the same time as I traded in the '83. I liked my old car so well, that I got another Cougar to replace it.

My old car had 138,000 miles when I handed in the keys, but it still ran surprisingly well. I got rid of it mainly because it only made 9 city/18 highway miles per gallon, compared to 20 city/28 highway miles per gallon with my '89 Cougar. It also had some suspension problems - a bad front right strut that chewed through a tire in 10,000 miles. That could've been easily fixed had I kept the car.

What did it have? The '83 Cougar had an electronically fuel injected 5.0L V-8 mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. It had power everything - windows, mirrors, locks, driver's seat, antenna, trunk lid release, and fuel filler door release. The navy velour bucket seats provided an optimal driving position, with an easy view to the digital instrument panel and within easy reach of the digital stereo (top of the line for 1983) and the climate controls. Other conveniences were the automatic headlamps, cruise control, and keyless entry. It was missing only a trip computer, automatic climate control, a moonroof, and real wheels from the options list.

But for as much gas as the 5.0L guzzled, it sure didn't put out much power. It made a meager 130 horsepower. The automatic transmission didn't help matters much with it's laggardly shift points. At least it was a relatively light car at around 3,200 pounds. Handling was decent, but nothing to brag about. The '83 was just more of a luxury-oriented than performance-oriented car. But you have to remember that this engine was designed near the end of the 1970s oil shortage, so the designers took out all the power while still making it a gas hog. I stilled liked the car enough to continue keep it all the way through high school and get a newer one afterwards, though. Weak points and all, I have thoroughly enjoyed driving both of my Cats.

If you're still in the mood to read about Cougars, here's some excellent Web sites:

• Cool Cats
• Thunderbird and Cougar Club of America
• Super Coupe Club of America