1: 2000 Mercury Cougar
Affectionately known as the “cateye,” the 2000 Mercury Cougar was a departure from traditional Mercury vehicles. As the brand shifted its focus toward a female demographic the Cougar was one of the first cars. The performance wasn’t anything to be excited about as the car shared most of its components with the Ford Focus.
As the years went on reliability was a problem for the Cougar and the brand was eventually shelved altogether. The car was not a success for Ford by any stretch of the imagination. The Mercury brand as a whole was disbanded in the late 2000s (via Car and Driver).