Our Story

For over 25 years, there has been a COOL CATS website to help owners, potential owners, and fans learn more about the fascinating aero-themed Fox-chassis Mercury Cougar. The first version of this site was published in late December 1997, during the prime era of good, used Fox Cougars at reasonable prices. Since then, these cars have become more scarce but the love for them hasn’t wavered a bit.

The person responsible for bringing COOL CATS to the masses is Eric Dess, a resident of northern Ohio, USA, residing about an hour from the Lorain, Ohio, Ford plant that made most of these cars. Eric was intrigued by the newly-revamped Cougar when he was in high school, which was conveniently situated next to a Lincoln-Mercury dealership. Two days before high school graduation, he took delivery of his first car: an ’84 Cougar base (GS) with the V6. And that began a life-long love affair with these unique vehicles.

Throughout the next few decades, Eric gained quite a bit of experience with these Cougars, from purchasing, mechanical work, and body work, to upgrades and total modification. It is the culmination of that experience that fills the bulk of this site.

COOL CATS features all original Cougar-based articles and illustrations, written mostly by Eric, with the intent that they’ll entertain as well as inform. On occasion, the site will feature articles submitted by viewers and will credit them as such.

Thank you for visiting COOL CATS! Remember that you can add your Fox Cougar or Thunderbird information and photos for free to the Viewer Photos section of this site. And never be afraid to contact us—we’d love to hear your story too!