When I was looking for cars for today, I found these two that didn’t really go together. Try as I might, I couldn’t come up with anything that really went with either one, at least that I felt like writing about, so screw it – they’re facing off against each other. They’re about the same age and price, at least, so that’s something.
Let yesterday’s Showdown be a lesson to anyone trying to sell a car: Presentation matters. Especially if you’re asking top dollar for a car. I don’t think that Buick wagon was as scruffy as the photos made it out to be, but it did not make a good impression. The uber-clean and well-photographed Chrysler LeBaron absolutely trounced it. If the Buick’s seller had taken an hour or two to wash, vacuum, and carefully photograph it, it might have been a closer contest.
I choose the LeBaron anyway, which I’m sure will come as no surprise to regular readers. I really like that body style, and maroon is a good color for it. The basic 2.5 and automatic combo is a bit of a letdown, but it’ll get the job done, and I know that engine well enough to trust it. That’s a good price for that car, too.
So, a bit of an odd couple for today, then. We’ve got a formerly-nice Lexus sedan that has lived a hard life, and an orphaned Ford product that has barely lived at all. Which one is more deserving of your three grand or thereabouts? Read on and decide.
2000 Mercury Cougar – $3,200
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter DOHC V6, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: San Mateo, CA
Odometer reading: 74,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The Mercury Cougar nameplate bounced around between Ford products for most of its existence: it was at various times a Mustang, a Torino, and a Thunderbird. But this final Cougar had no Ford equivalent; instead, it was one of Ford’s cast-offs. This car was meant to be the third-generation Ford Probe, but the Probe was discontinued before it was launched. The development work was already done, so Ford slapped a Mercury Cougar badge on it and sent it out anyway. Unlike earlier versions of the Probe, which were Mazda-based, this one is based on the European Ford Mondeo, sold here as the Contour and Mercury Mystique.
Two different engines and two different transmissions were offered, and this car has the best combo: a 2.5-liter Duratec V6 paired with a five-speed manual. It’s front-wheel-drive, but so were all its competitors at the time. And honestly, if you’re still shunning FWD cars in this day and age, you’re going to find your pickings slim indeed. This car has just 74,000 miles on its odometer, and the seller says it runs and drives “excellent.”
The interior looks great; honestly, I didn’t think these cars were this nice inside. It’s a classic example of Ford’s “New Edge” styling, with grand sweeping curves and almost no straight lines. Whether you’re a fan or not, you have to admit it’s better than a giant screen glued to the dash. I do think I see a modern touchscreen stereo, but if that annoys you, you can always change it.
The New Edge theme continues outside, and I have always thought the Cougar pulled it off better than some other examples. It’s not an exciting color, but that’s all right. It’s clean and shiny, and it shouldn’t have any rust to worry about. The aftermarket wheels are a matter of taste; I would usually rather see stock wheels on a car, just for proper fitment, but these don’t look bad, and I think they’re the stock size.
2001 Lexus IS 300 – $2,850
Engine/drivetrain: 33.0-liter DOHC inline-6, five-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Lake Stevens, WA
Odometer reading: 228,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well, with a couple warning lights
Lexus sedans were a hit in the US from the start, and quickly gained a reputation for excellent quality and reliability, but they weren’t generally seen as a whole lot of fun. With the IS, Lexus aimed to change that perception and set its sights squarely on the BMW 3 Series. This car has an inline six driving the rear wheels, and it’s tuned more for handling than for ride comfort. Those attributes didn’t steal that many buyers away from BMW, but they did make the IS popular among a certain type of secondhand buyer. A lot of them were lowered, equipped with loud intakes and exhausts, and beaten within inches of their lives. This car seems to have led such an existence, but its current seller has been trying to bring it back to some level of respectability.
One thing that made the IS 300 such a darling of the tuner crowd is its engine, Toyota’s 2JZ inline six, shared with the Supra. It’s an already powerful engine that takes modifications well and is capable of making ridiculous horsepower in the right hands. But it’s also a Toyota engine, which means that if you just keep it stock and treat it nicely, it will keep happily spinning indefinitely. This one has no modifications besides a “cold air” intake and an aftermarket exhaust, meaning it’s probably just louder than stock, not really faster. It runs and drives well, but it currently has a check-engine light for an oxygen sensor. In addition, the ABS and traction control lights are on, which probably means a rear wheel sensor has failed or is disconnected. I believe both systems use the same sensors. The car had previously been lowered, but the seller raised it back up to stock ride height, and I have a suspicion that a wire may have been severed during that process.
There are no photos of the interior in the ad, which worries me a little. All we get is this view of the center stack showing the aftermarket Kenwood stereo. This car was most recently driven by a high-school kid, and I know how they treat their cars – after all, I was one once. I hope this isn’t the case, but I fear the interior is in sorry shape, hence no photos. At least the air conditioner works.
The fact that this car was even offered in screaming yellow shows Lexus’s intentions with it. The fact that it is no longer all yellow shows that some previous owners’ intentions were not honorable. Both bumpers and one front fender have been replaced, but not painted to match. There is also some minor damage to the trunk lid and the driver’s door. A new used trunk lid is included, but it’s blue.
With one of these cars, you’re looking at what it is, exactly as it sits: a sports coupe with a somewhat spotty reliability record that’s in really nice condition at the moment. With the other, you’re looking at potential: it was once a nice sports sedan and it could be again with a little love, or it could be the basis for a much wilder build. It all depends what you’re in the mood for.
I was unapologetically unwilling to buy any American car when this gen Cougar arrived – yet when I first saw one in the flesh, I admired its shape and clean sheet design. To me, it was what that generation Celica was trying to be.
Meanwhile, the advertising for the Cougar highlighted a man with a broken neck.
To quote Ryan Gosling’s character Ryland Grace in Hail Mary “Meryl Streep can do anything! “
I didn’t even remember this Cougar existed, but that’s a nice car. Whereas the Lexus has been terribly abused in the past and has a long recovery from that trauma ahead of it that I don’t want to be part of, so Cougar it is.
Would’ve been a good ‘both’ day, but I couldn’t turn down a manual Cougar in nice condition against a high-schooler’s idea of a drift project-turned-future-striker. If the Cougar was also an automatic, I’d go for the IS. But since the IS is pretty clapped, hey, it’s right back to the Cougar.
But you’ve gotta speak to that Cougar, son.