Did you mean the Cougar Eliminator? It was a brightly-colored Boy-Racer, along the lines of the Pontiac GTO Judge and the lollipop-colored Dodge/Plymouth Bad-Boys.

 

No, I mean this generation Cougar thats the topic of this thread. I was a teenager in the 90s, remember.

 

A good friend of mine had that generation cougar, it was his first car. The V8 was nice, but the overall quality was trash, and the design was just fugly. He had a green one with a brown soft roof, we used to call it "the crocodile", lol.

 

Yes, I know....but teens sometimes like vehicles from previous eras.

I never got to sample a Cougar Eliminator, but did get to sample a couple of Mustang Mach-1s of that era, which were the same mechanicals.

 

I was never into old cars, always been into new cars.

 

Can't say I disagree. I had my fill of carburetors, drum brakes, bias-ply tires, recirculating-ball steering, non-clearcoat paint, breaker-point ignition, grease-jobs with every oil change, and constant tune-ups many years ago. But it's hard to forget the way that big American full-size cars from the 1960s drove. Once you sampled, you were addicted to the ride-comfort and interiors....even the (slightly) stiffer/noisier ride from the Chrysler products and their torsion/leaf suspension and unibodies, which were more difficult to isolate.

 

Most of the newer vehicles are basic generic vehicles nowadays.....No real charater to them.

 

Agreed. Unless you are driving something like a Mazda Miata or Jeep Wranger, the electronics and automation, today, have taken out most of the character. I agree with you that the majority of vehicles today feel more or less alike...rolling appliances.

When I was growing up, in high school, I could usually (not always) tell the difference, even blindfolded, between a typical Ford, GM, or Chrysler product, simply by the sound the doors made when opening/closing, the feel of the interior/seats/controls, what kind of noises/vibrations (or lack of) the engine and transmission made, how much the automatic transmission clunked when put into first or reverse, and how the suspension and power-steering felt. Just try that today LOL.

 

I find plenty of character in most new cars

 

Old cars a nice to look at but that's about it for me.

 

Sure.....they have appliance-character perfectly.

 

In some ways, they were more fun to drive.....when they worked properly. When I was growing up, Chrysler made the most durable engines/automatic transmissions and had the most responsive handling for the time, GM products (and some big Fords) were arguably the most comfortable to drive and had the best fit/finish and interior-detail, and Fords, with their front-disc package, had the best brakes.

 

So....now you don't like new cars?

 

I think some new cars have lost their character. But, maybe we won’t notice the character in the new designs until years have past. Sad the personal coupe for a mainstream brand is pretty much non existent.


‘Mostly agree with this. I find older cars to be more complete with better finishes. The little things seem disappointingly lacking today. The newest trend if deleting components are removal of the rear speakers up behind the rear seats under the rear window. I also really dislike the removal of many of the switchgear whereas they move almost too much of these components to a screen

This interior looks so much more complete than most interiors in the modern era. Far more interesting as well

 

You could (?) say that the Tesla Model 3 has at least some character.....that of an electric drag-racer, more than anything else.




GM, for example, really built their reputation for detail and fit/finish in the 1960s, with the Body by Fisher and the best/most-precise vehicle-assembly in Detroit. Then they blew it in the 1970s....didn't take long.



Yes, that is the 1970 Cougar XR-7. Ford and GM both both did some of their best interiors and fit/finish right around then....'67-70.