ghent96
10-24-2007, 04:11 AM
2000 Mercury Mystique, black with tan interior, LS 2.5L V6, ATX, stock so far except for a new stereo system - self amp'd, mp3/wma CD-R/RW capable. She's my second, after totaling the first in a freakishly sudden and strong thunderstorm with high winds. 80k miles.
195/60/R15 Michelin Harmony ...and for the moment wouldn't put anything else on my or my wife's car! They're safe, quiet, long-wearing, and traction to defeat any situation. Ice, rain, snow, dry, cold, hot - ANYTHING.
My Mysti is a bit sickly lately:
fuel mileage is dropping, only 23. Used to be 25 avg. Sadly, I've never gotten above that.
EGR, IAC, PVC have all been clogged or beyond cleanable, some twice.
One problem with dirty gas/fuel tank before.
One problem before with not starting all day long on a cold-ish spring day on a lower tank of gas.
Check Engine light is always on for some reason or another, usually crap reasons, so I've pretty much ignored it for a year or 2.
Currently - fuel pump is dead, very costly fix :/ +560$ was the quote. I'm sure there's more things lurking.
Wishlist - SVT the Mysti, add turbo, fix all the tiny sun-cracks in tail lights, replace 'foggy' old headlights, new speakers, maybe some window tint. Window tint is tough to get it looking classy and natural, not poser-ish, toolish, or just downright stupid. Hood scoop/intake following the natural lines. Tan lateral pinstripe to replace the current grey one.
PS - Contour sucks.
PSS - ...so does the Mercury "Mistake"
...seriously, who are we kidding? I'm despondent...
These are grandma cars! Seriously, that's what Ford originally intended them as. They suck. They're not well engineered for the most part. The window and glass space is way too long, high, and disproportionate to the height and width of the body. Why? So grandma's can see out!
There's some really crap components. The V-6 engine compartment is possibly the most cramped and dense object in the known universe next to neutron stars. The rear fold-down seats while allowing access to the total width of the trunk, DONT FOLD DOWN ALL THE WAY due to the rear seat cushions underneath them. There's not a full size spare. Fricking VW puts a full size spare on the Jetta, a smaller car, but Ford can't figure it out on the Contour/Mistake.
The bumpers are notorious for sagging, the paint notorious for peeling, the sunroofs notorious for breaking, sticking, leaking. There was a recall on the coolant reservoir for most model years because they didn't position the fluid sensor correctly, and the recall didn't even fix anything.
At least the Mystique has a cooler looking body and hood than the Contour. Contour body sucks. Sucks hard. So does SVT by extension.
I love my little Mysti, with her wheelbase that's the same or longer than a Taurus! HA! One good thing about the car. Probably the only good thing.
...but I hate Ford. I will never buy another Ford, Merc, Linc. Their design officially sucks, and is unoriginal. They copycat everyone else. There's nothing new, nothing good, nothing rational, nothing aesthetic, nothing well priced, nothing quality. Ford is definitely the worst off of the Big 3 US automakers. Idiots even discontinued the Taurus, only to bring it back 2 years later looking exactly like the Ford 500... which of course no one bought. No one is buying the Fusion or Focus either, because for the teens/college people Kia/Hyundai's are cheaper, the BMW 325 is cooler, and the Civic/Corolla/Scion are higher quality and hipper.
Ford SUCKS! ...but I love my Mysti.
195/60/R15 Michelin Harmony ...and for the moment wouldn't put anything else on my or my wife's car! They're safe, quiet, long-wearing, and traction to defeat any situation. Ice, rain, snow, dry, cold, hot - ANYTHING.
My Mysti is a bit sickly lately:
fuel mileage is dropping, only 23. Used to be 25 avg. Sadly, I've never gotten above that.
EGR, IAC, PVC have all been clogged or beyond cleanable, some twice.
One problem with dirty gas/fuel tank before.
One problem before with not starting all day long on a cold-ish spring day on a lower tank of gas.
Check Engine light is always on for some reason or another, usually crap reasons, so I've pretty much ignored it for a year or 2.
Currently - fuel pump is dead, very costly fix :/ +560$ was the quote. I'm sure there's more things lurking.
Wishlist - SVT the Mysti, add turbo, fix all the tiny sun-cracks in tail lights, replace 'foggy' old headlights, new speakers, maybe some window tint. Window tint is tough to get it looking classy and natural, not poser-ish, toolish, or just downright stupid. Hood scoop/intake following the natural lines. Tan lateral pinstripe to replace the current grey one.
PS - Contour sucks.
PSS - ...so does the Mercury "Mistake"
...seriously, who are we kidding? I'm despondent...
These are grandma cars! Seriously, that's what Ford originally intended them as. They suck. They're not well engineered for the most part. The window and glass space is way too long, high, and disproportionate to the height and width of the body. Why? So grandma's can see out!
There's some really crap components. The V-6 engine compartment is possibly the most cramped and dense object in the known universe next to neutron stars. The rear fold-down seats while allowing access to the total width of the trunk, DONT FOLD DOWN ALL THE WAY due to the rear seat cushions underneath them. There's not a full size spare. Fricking VW puts a full size spare on the Jetta, a smaller car, but Ford can't figure it out on the Contour/Mistake.
The bumpers are notorious for sagging, the paint notorious for peeling, the sunroofs notorious for breaking, sticking, leaking. There was a recall on the coolant reservoir for most model years because they didn't position the fluid sensor correctly, and the recall didn't even fix anything.
At least the Mystique has a cooler looking body and hood than the Contour. Contour body sucks. Sucks hard. So does SVT by extension.
I love my little Mysti, with her wheelbase that's the same or longer than a Taurus! HA! One good thing about the car. Probably the only good thing.
...but I hate Ford. I will never buy another Ford, Merc, Linc. Their design officially sucks, and is unoriginal. They copycat everyone else. There's nothing new, nothing good, nothing rational, nothing aesthetic, nothing well priced, nothing quality. Ford is definitely the worst off of the Big 3 US automakers. Idiots even discontinued the Taurus, only to bring it back 2 years later looking exactly like the Ford 500... which of course no one bought. No one is buying the Fusion or Focus either, because for the teens/college people Kia/Hyundai's are cheaper, the BMW 325 is cooler, and the Civic/Corolla/Scion are higher quality and hipper.
Ford SUCKS! ...but I love my Mysti.