The Cougar

...

My dad has had this car quite a long time. A story about this car has always stuck in my head. My oldest sister was born in 1989. Well a day before she was born my dad was in St. James for a wedding. He had driven the Cougar down there to give it a work out after it had been sitting for a while. So, he arrived down there and was celebrating the wedding. Did I mention that my mom was in the hospital getting ready to give birth? Well, my dad had learned that she was in the hospital. Usually it takes him about 2 hours to get down to St. James. He made it to the hospital in a record setting 45 minutes. That always blew my mind at how fast he got home. He was equipped with the right vehicle at the right time.

Another story was when my dad raced a Porsche on the highway with the Cougar. They started racing at the Berry Road entrance ramp to Highway 44. The Porsche had gotten the jump on my dad once they started up the entrance ramp, due to the fact that it was a single lane entrance ramp, and the Porsche was in front. Well they started battling down the highway. One would pass the other and so forth. Well it came to the final stretch and my dad was beating the Porsche by at least two car lengths, but right when his exit off the highway approached the throttle cable from the pedal to the motor snapped. Well he still beat the Porsche, but was then stuck at Kingshighway exit. So even though he won there was a bit of a delay on getting back home.

The thing about the Cougar is that even though it may be a piece of metal to some people or an environmental burden, it means so much more to me. To me it is what sparked my passion for automobiles, especially muscle cars. This car started it all. It paved the way for my hobby of auto mechanics. And the thought that someday the Cougar will be mine just blows my mind. So, whether it’s the rumble of the cammed out motor shaking your ribcage, or the sequential taillights flashing and creating goosebumps. This is what excites me. That smell of pure exhaust, the thought that someday very soon the Cougar will be tearing up the streets again.