title: Mercury Cougar

text: Largely intended as a stopgap during the development of future production models, the 1977 redesign of the Ford intermediate range transitioned the exterior from early 1970s "fuselage styling" to the sharper-edge lines of the Fox and Panther-platform sedans in development for the 1980s. The revised front end adopted a larger radiator-style grille and four rectangular headlamps.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: While limited funds precluded a complete redesign or downsizing of the Torino intermediates, all sheetmetal (above the bumpers) was revised. As a revision of the rear bodywork of station wagons was deemed too extensive, the Cougar wagon adopted the 1977 front fascia with the body shell of the previous Montego wagon. For 1978, the Cougar wagon was withdrawn to make way for the all new Mercury Zephyr wagon and the downsized 1979 Mercury Colony Park wagon (4 inches shorter).


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For 1979, though in its last year, the Cougar adopted several body revisions, with revised taillamps and body-color grille inserts, along with an electronic voltage regulator and a plastic battery tray.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For 1977, the Cougar was introduced in three trim levels: a base trim level and Brougham trim (for wagons, a wood-paneled Villager trim was offered). For 1978, the Cougar became a single trim level, with the Brougham returning as an option package.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: Returning from the previous generation, the Cougar XR-7 continued as a personal luxury coupe. Now serving as the flagship model of the Cougar line, the XR-7 was now the direct Mercury equivalent of the Ford Thunderbird; for 1977, the latter had shifted from the Mark IV to the Torino chassis (replacing the Elite).


title: Mercury Cougar

text: Though sharing its front fascia with the standard Cougar, the XR-7 was distinguished with its own roofline (with its own hardtop-style windows), louvers on the opera windows, and its own rear fascia. Evoking the flagship Continental Mark V, the rear fascia was given a (vestigial) continental tire trunk lid (with a trapezoidal design) and horizontal taillights similar to the Continental Mark IV.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The XR-7 included power disc brakes and steering, 15-inch wheels, rear stabilizer bar, walnut wood-tone instrument panel, Flight Bench seat, "XR-7" trunk key-hole door, "COUGAR" decklid script, large hood ornament (with cat emblem), and sport-styled roofline with back-half vinyl and rear opera side windows and louvers. Some XR-7s had the Rally Sport Tachometer and Gauge package (only 25% of all Cougars came with this option).


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For 1978, two new decor packages became available, the XR-7 Decor Option and the Midnight/Chamois Decor Option. In line with the Designer Series from the Mark V, the latter option offered a color-coordinated exterior and interior, with a half-vinyl roof, padded "Continental" type rear deck, and Midnight Blue and Chamois interior with Tiffany carpeting.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For the 1980 model year, Mercury downsized the Cougar XR-7. Alongside its Thunderbird counterpart, the XR-7 entered the mid-size segment for the first time, shedding 15 inches in length, 4 inches in width, and approximately 900 pounds of curb weight (depending on powertrain). In a strategy similar to 1977, the standard Cougar returned for 1981 in place of the Monarch in the Mercury product line (sharing its body with the redesigned Ford Granada).


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The first Cougar not to offer a V8 as standard equipment, the standard Cougar was produced as a two-door and four-door sedan, adopting the five-door station wagon from the Zephyr from 1982; the model line was repackaged as the Marquis for 1983 as Ford revised its full-size and mid-size product branding.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: Both the Cougar XR-7 and mid-size Cougar were produced using the Ford Fox platform. The Cougar XR-7 was produced upon an extended-wheelbase Fox chassis (to 108.5 inches), shared with the 1980–1982 Ford Thunderbird, 1982–1987 Lincoln Continental, 1984–1985 Continental Mark VII and 1986–1992 Lincoln Mark VII. The mid-size Cougar shared its 105.5-inch wheelbase with the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr, the launch vehicles of the Fox platform.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The Cougar XR7 was offered with two V8 engines. Shared with the Mercury Marquis/Colony Park, a 4.2 L V8 was standard, with a 4.9 L V8 offered as an option; both engines were paired with a 4-speed Ford AOD overdrive automatic.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The mid-size Cougar was offered with its own powertrain lineup. Shared with the Fairmont/Zephyr and Mustang/Capri, a 2.3 L inline-4 was the standard engine, with a 3.3 L inline-6 and a 4.2 L V8 offered as options; the four and six-cylinder engines were paired with a 3-speed automatic transmission.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For 1982, an all-new 3.8 L V6 replaced the inline-6; in various forms, the engine would be used by the Cougar and Thunderbird through their 1997 discontinuation. The 4.9 L V8 option was withdrawn from the Fox platform, leaving the 4.2 L engine as the sole V8 offering for both the Cougar and Cougar XR-7.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: In its development, many design elements of the 1977–1979 Cougar XR-7 were carried forward in the fifth-generation redesign, including its Continental-style trunk lid, louvered opera windows, and sharp-edged fender lines. While the fourth-generation Cougar XR-7 had proven successful in the marketplace, the design elements fell out of proportion on a radically smaller car, leading to negative reception. In what would prove disastrous, the Cougar saw little to no differentiation from its Ford Thunderbird and Ford Granada counterparts, with the XR-7 externally distinguished only by its grille, exposed headlamps, taillamps, and trunk lid.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: During the production of the fifth-generation Cougar, the Cougar XR-7 was produced solely as a two-door coupe, with the mid-size Cougar produced as a two-door notchback coupe and four-door sedan. For 1982 only, the mid-size Cougar was offered as a station wagon replacing the Zephyr station wagon. For the first time, Cougar's two-door models featured a fixed "B" pillar and a fixed steel frame around front door windows, as in the sedan.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: In what would become a long-running tradition for the Mercury brand, 1981 marked the debut of "GS" and "LS" trim lines for both the mid-size and XR-7 Cougars. Both trim packages were largely similar, though the LS was exclusive to four-doors. The GS package focused on appearance, while the LS package offered luxury touches such as power windows, keyless entry external number pad, and other luxury trim touches. The Cougar station wagon was offered in either GS trim or wood-grained Villager trim (the Mercury equivalent of a Ford Squire station wagon).


title: Mercury Cougar

text: Ford of Venezuela marketed the Fox-platform Cougar from 1983 to 1986 as the Ford Cougar Brougham four-door sedan. Derived from the fifth-generation Cougar sedan, the Ford-badged Cougar Brougham was produced with the front and rear fascias of the 1983–1986 Mercury Marquis.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For the 1983 model year, Mercury introduced the sixth-generation Cougar. While again derived from the Fox-platform underpinnings of the previous generation, the new model line served of the replacement of the Cougar XR-7, as the Cougar reverted to its early 1970s role of a "luxury sports coupe" (again a counterpart of the Ford Thunderbird). Within Mercury, the Cougar was slotted above the Capri and below the two-door Grand Marquis two-doors (both would be discontinued during its production).


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The 1983 redesign of the Cougar was part of an extensive revision of the Ford and Mercury model ranges. For Mercury, its mid-size sedan range underwent a minor model revision, as the previous Cougar sedan/wagon adopted the Marquis nameplate (with the full-size Grand Marquis becoming a distinct model line for 1983).


title: Mercury Cougar

text: Along with its shift in model segment, the sixth-generation Cougar (and the Thunderbird) marked the first large-scale use of aerodynamic-intensive design for an American automobile; the Cougar/Thunderbird were the first Ford vehicles developed using computer-aided design (CAD). While styled with a notchback roofline, the 1983 Cougar was far sleeker than the 1982 Cougar XR7, reducing its coefficient of drag from 0.50 to 0.40 In 1987, the sixth-generation Cougar underwent a mid-cycle revision with additional aerodynamic improvements, reducing its drag coefficient to 0.36.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The sixth-generation Cougar retained the rear-wheel drive Ford Fox platform from the fifth generation. Downsized to a 104-inch wheelbase, the chassis underpinnings were largely unchanged, including a MacPherson strut/A-arm front suspension with a four-link coil-sprung solid rear axle with front and rear anti-roll bars.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: As with the previous generation, 14-inch wheels and tires were standard, with Michelin TRX tires and metric-size wheels as an option (shared with the Thunderbird and Capri/Mustang). For 1985, 15-inch wheels became an option for the XR7.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For its 1983 launch, the sixth-generation Cougar offered a 120 hp 3.8L V6 from its predecessor as a standard engine; a 130 hp 4.9L V8 made its return as an optional engine. For 1986, the V8 was changed to sequential fuel injection, increasing output to 150 hp. For 1988, the 3.8 L V6 was given multiport fuel injection, increasing output to 140 hp; the 4.9 L V8 was retuned to 155 hp.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: From 1984 to 1986, the XR7 was equipped with a 2.3 L turbocharged inline-4; shared with the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, the engine produced 145 hp with an automatic transmission (155 hp with a manual transmission). For 1987, the XR7 dropped the turbocharged engine (and 5-speed manual transmission) in favor of the 4.9 L V8.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The 2.3L inline-four was paired with a 5-speed manual transmission; a 3-speed automatic transmission was optional. The 3.8 L V6 was paired with a 3-speed automatic; a 4-speed overdrive automatic was optional (the only transmission with the 4.9 L V8). For 1987 and 1988, the 4-speed AOD transmission was fitted to both the 3.8 L and 4.9 L engines.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The exterior design of the sixth-generation Cougar was designed largely in response to the negative market response to the introduction of the fifth-generation Cougar. While retaining a common chassis, a primary objective for designers was to maximize the visual differentiation between the Thunderbird and Cougar. To reduce production costs, the two model lines shared exterior body parts, including front and rear bumpers, both doors, the windshield, the hood, and front fenders. While the Thunderbird adopted a fastback roofline, the Cougar adopted a notchback roofline with a near-vertical backlight, distinguished by upswept rear side windows.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: During its production, the sixth-generation Cougar underwent several exterior revisions. For 1984, the hood ornament was replaced by a flat hood emblem. For 1985, the waterfall-style grille was replaced with an egg-crate design (similar to Mercedes-Benz); the red taillamp lenses were replaced by a dark gray design. 1986 saw few changes, highlighted by the addition of a government-mandated center rear brake light (CHMSL) and a power-operated moonroof; for the last time, the Cougar was available with vent windows.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: To mark its 20th year of production, the Cougar underwent an extensive mid-cycle revision for 1987. Originally slated for the 1986 model year, nearly every exterior panel was changed. To visually stretch the roofline, a compound-curved rear window replaced the nearly flat rear glass and the rear quarter windows were redesigned (with a curve inversely matching the windshield angle). To further distinguish the model line from the Thunderbird, the 1987 Cougar received its own grille (with a large "cat" emblem), front bumper cover and aerodynamic composite headlamps. Shared with the Mustang GT, the Cougar received new 15-inch wheels, becoming the standard alloy wheel design for 1988. For 1988, the exterior of the Cougar underwent no changes, introducing several monochromatic paint options.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For its 1983 launch, to lower production costs, the sixth-generation Cougar was required to carry over interior parts from the 1980–1982 Cougar XR7, including a modified dashboard; an analog instrument panel was standard, with a digital instrument panel offered as an option. For 1984, the steering column was redesigned, returning horn control to the steering wheel. As part of the introduction of the XR7, the model introduced an instrument panel including a tachometer and turbocharger boost gauge. For 1985, the interior underwent a complete redesign, with new door panels and dashboard; a redesigned rear seat expanded seating capacity to five passengers (four passengers with full-length console). The standard instrument panel was a digital speedometer with analog secondary gauges; a fully digital instrument panel was optional (the XR7 was given a fully analog instrument panel).


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For the 1987 model year, the Cougar saw few changes to its interior, with the XR7 adopting a fully digital dashboard as standard equipment. For 1988, the analog XR7 dashboard made its return; along with the deletion of the boost gauge, the tachometer was revised for a lower-revving V8 engine.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The sixth-generation Cougar continued the trim nomenclature of its predecessor in modified form, with the Cougar GS serving as the base trim, the Cougar LS as the luxury trim, and the Cougar XR7 as the high-performance version. The GS trim was largely used for internal purposes, with advertising dropping the designation entirely. For 1987, to move the Cougar upmarket, the Cougar LS became the standard trim level, with both V6 and V8 engines available.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For 1984, the XR7 made its return after a year-long hiatus. Serving as the counterpart of the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, the XR7 was fitted with a performance-oriented suspension, a turbocharged 2.3 L engine (shared with the Turbo Coupe and Mustang SVO), blacked-out window trim, and full analog instrumentation. In 1987, to better distinguish the Cougar XR7 from the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, the turbocharged inline-4 was replaced by the "Windsor 5.0" V8, along with a standard 4-speed automatic.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For the 1987 model year, Mercury produced the Mercury 20th Anniversary Cougar as a commemorative edition. Derived from the Cougar LS, the 20th Anniversary Cougar was produced in a near-monochromatic exterior (Cabernet Red with Midnight Smoke moldings); the wheels, all badging, and regular chrome trim were finished in 24 karat gold, with a gold-trimmed C-pillar emblem. The trunk was fitted with a (non-functional) luggage rack.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The 20th Anniversary Cougar included the V8, sport-handling suspension with quad rear shocks (derived from the XR7), and 15-inch alloy wheels (from the Mustang GT, painted gold). Along with a limited-slip rear axle, the only options offered were a power moonroof, power antenna, illuminated entry, keyless entry, automatic climate control, and an engine block heater.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: On 26 December 1988, the seventh-generation Mercury Cougar was introduced for the 1989 model year.<ref name="aerocats.net/1989"></ref> Developed from the second quarter of 1984, as a counterpart of the tenth-generation Ford Thunderbird, the $2 billion redesign of the two vehicles was intended to create handling benchmarked against far more expensive coupes (BMW 6-Series, Mercedes-Benz 560SEC, Jaguar XJS) while remaining in the same price segment. During the development of the 1989 Cougar, the form factor of coupes shifted significantly, as the quartet of GM G-body coupes were replaced by front-wheel drive vehicles; the introduction of the Acura Legend by Honda marked the introduction of Japanese-produced luxury vehicles.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: At its 1989 debut, the Cougar was marketed largely as the flagship coupe of the Mercury division. As Mercury revised its model line during the 1990s, the Cougar became the sole two-door model offered by the division. As market demand shifted away from large two-door coupes, the Mercury Cougar and Ford Thunderbird were discontinued after the 1997 model year, with the final example produced on 4 September 1997.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The seventh-generation Mercury Cougar is built upon the Ford MN12 platform. Designed specifically for the Mercury Cougar and Ford Thunderbird, the MN12 chassis retained the use of rear-wheel drive. While its exterior footprint changed negligibly, in a major change, the wheelbase was expanded nine inches to 113 inches (longer than a Mercedes-Benz 560SEC).


title: Mercury Cougar

text: Centered around the design of the MN12 chassis was its use of four-wheel independent suspension in place of a live rear axle. With the exception of the Chevrolet Corvette, the Ford MN12 chassis marked its first use in a mass-produced front-engine rear-drive American automobile. In front, the Mercury Cougar was configured with a short/long-arm wishbone suspension. As an option, the Cougar was available with 4-wheel anti-lock disc brakes (standard on the Cougar XR7).


title: Mercury Cougar

text: As part of the 1989 redesign, the MN12 chassis was powered solely by a 3.8 L V6, as the lowered hoodline of the MN12 was too low to fit the V8, making it the first time a V8 was not available in the Cougar or Thunderbird. LS-trim Cougars were offered with a naturally aspirated 140 hp version of the V6, while the XR7 was powered by a 210 hp supercharged version (serving as the replacement for the turbocharged 2.3 L inline-4). The naturally aspirated V6 was paired with a 4-speed automatic transmission, while the supercharged V6 was offered with a 5-speed manual (with the automatic as an option).


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For 1991, a version of the Windsor 5.0 was introduced featuring a redesigned intake manifold to allow sufficient underhood clearance. Offered as an option on the Cougar LS, the V8 replaced the supercharged V6 in the XR7 (which also marked the end of the 5-speed manual in the MN12 Cougar). Originally slated for 1993, the 1994 Cougar shifted from the overhead-valve V8 to a 205 hp 4.6 L SOHC V8 (shared with the Mercury Grand Marquis). In another 1994 change, the 4R70W electronically controlled version of the AOD 4-speed automatic was introduced for both the V6 and V8 engines.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: As the sixth-generation Mercury Cougar had proved successful in the marketplace, the 1989 redesign of the Cougar was largely an evolution of the previous generation, with updates of many previous design elements. The upright notchback roofline underwent a major revision, with the controversial upswept quarter windows of the previous generation abandoned. While proportioned differently, wraparound headlamps and taillamps were modeled similar to the Mercury Sable. As a result of the longer wheelbase, the rear overhang was shortened. During the development of MN12, Ford designers sought to develop increased differentiation between the Cougar and Thunderbird. While fenders and doors are common between the two vehicles, in comparison to the 1983–1987 generation, fewer visible parts are shared.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: As part of the shift to the wider MN12 chassis, the Cougar again became a 5-passenger vehicle (for the first time since 1982). As a result of the wider interior, all Cougars were fitted with a center console with a floor-mounted shifter. In following with the previous generation, LS-trim Cougars were fitted with digital instrumentation; the Cougar XR7 was fitted with an analog instrument panel. Originally slated to be launched with dual airbags, cost overruns and market demand necessitated the use of automatic seatbelts to meet passive-restraint requirements. For 1994, the interior underwent a complete redesign (similar to the Lincoln Mark VIII), with dual airbags replacing the automatic seatbelts. For 1997, the Cougar received a new instrument panel (similar to the Taurus/Sable), with cupholders added to the center console; several items were removed as part of de-contenting, including the courtesy lamps, underhood light and glove box light.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: During its production, the seventh-generation Mercury Cougar underwent several revisions. For 1991, the Cougar underwent a slight facelift, with new headlamps, taillamps, and front bumper; the facelift is distinguished by a smaller grille (1989–1990 versions extend above the headlamps). For 1994, a second facelift saw a revision of the grille, taillamps, and a simplification of the side molding. The interior was also revised at this time and now included dual airbags with a wraparound style interior. For 1996, the Cougar received a major restyling sharing its entire front fascia with the Ford Thunderbird except for the front bumper cover and grille. The bodysides received wide body-colored cladding.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: At its launch, the seventh-generation Mercury Cougar retained the same model trims as before, with the LS geared towards luxury and convenience features and the XR7 geared towards performance and handling. Externally, the LS was given chrome window trim while the XR7 was nearly monochromatic with black window trim. To optimize its handling capabilities, the XR7 was fitted with many model-specific features. In addition to the 210 hp supercharged V6 (replaced by a 5.0 L V8 in 1991), the XR7 featured four-wheel antilock disc brakes, electronically adjustable handling suspension, 16-inch alloy wheels, and a 5-speed manual transmission. To differentiate the XR7 from the LS, the model was fitted with sport seats, two-spoke sport steering wheel, and full analog instrumentation.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For 1993, Mercury revised the Cougar model line, with the XR7 becoming the sole trim level, dropping the LS and the monochromatic sport-oriented XR7 (eliminating some overlap with the Ford Thunderbird). Adapting much of the equipment of the previous LS, the 1993 XR7 adapted chrome exterior trim and a standard digital instrument cluster, with four-wheel disc brakes becoming an option. In contrast to the previous LS, the 1993 XR7 offered both V6 and V8 engines.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: Alongside the LS and both versions of the XR7, several limited editions of the Cougar were produced. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Mercury Cougar, in 1992, the 25th Anniversary Mercury Cougar was an option package (nearly exclusively on XR7 models). Equipped with 15-inch BBS alloy wheels, all examples were painted green with a tan interior (with green carpet). Other features included model-specific trunk lid and C-pillar badging and an imitation trunk lid luggage rack. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Mercury Cougar, for 1997, Mercury produced a 30th Anniversary Mercury Cougar XR7 as an option package. Distinguished by its use of Lincoln Mark VIII wheels, the 30th Anniversary Cougar featured model-specific C-pillar emblems, embroidered seat and floormat emblems; the option also included commemorative items shipped to the owner. Approximately 5,000 25th anniversary and 5,000 30th anniversary Cougars were produced.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: By the mid-1990s, Ford engineers had completed design work on the third generation of the Ford Probe. Intended for a 1998 model year launch, the new Probe shifted its design from the Mazda MX-6 to a platform shared with the Ford Contour. At the end of the 1997 model year, Ford announced a major streamlining of its coupe offerings, with Ford discontinuing the Thunderbird and Probe; Lincoln-Mercury lost the Cougar and Lincoln Mark VIII (the latter, after 1998). To make room for the updated 1999 Ford Mustang and all-new Ford Escort ZX2, the Contour-based Ford Probe continued into production, with Ford shifting the vehicle to the Lincoln-Mercury Division to adopt the Mercury Cougar name.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: After skipping the 1998 model year, Mercury introduced the eighth-generation Mercury Cougar for the 1999 model year at the 1998 Los Angeles Auto Show. Serving as the replacement for the Ford Probe, the first front-wheel drive Cougar shifted market segments from two-door personal luxury coupe to three-door sport compact, introducing the first Mercury sport hatchback coupe since the 1986 Mercury Capri.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: While marketed in Europe and Australia under the Ford brand, the eighth-generation Mercury Cougar was the first Mercury car since the 1991–1994 Mercury Capri sold without a direct Ford model equivalent in North America.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: Initially outranking its predecessor in sales, the eighth-generation Cougar (marketed towards younger buyers, similar to the ZX2) struggled to compete for sales against sedans (the Mercury Sable and Grand Marquis) in the Mercury model line. While coupes had traditionally been offered in Lincoln-Mercury dealerships for several decades, the shift of the Cougar to the sports compact segment presented a challenge to sales personnel acquainted with marketing luxury-segment vehicles to new-car buyers along with attracting younger buyers into Mercury showrooms.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: In 2002, Ford announced another restructuring of its model line, with 2002 marking the final year for the Cougar, Mercury Villager, Lincoln Continental, and Ford Escort. The Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique (Ford Mondeo MkII) ended production in 2000, with the Cougar outliving it by two model years. As part of the model line revision, the Ford Mondeo platform was no longer used in North America until its consolidation with the 2013 Ford Fusion; the Mercury Cougar was effectively left without a donor platform.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The last Mercury Cougar rolled off the assembly line on 9 August 2002; following the end of its production, the Mercury model line offered no cars with four-cylinder engines until the 2006 Mercury Milan.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The 1999 Cougar shared the Ford CDW27 world-car platform introduced by the Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique. The first front-wheel drive Cougar, it was designed with fully independent multilink suspension.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: The 1999–2002 Cougars were available with two engine options, the 2.0 L Zetec straight-4 engine with , and the 2.5 L Duratec V6 with . Also, two transaxle options were available: the manual Ford MTX-75 transmission or the automatic Ford CD4E transmission (available in the US with either engine, although the I4/automatic combination was extremely rare; supposedly only 500 Cougars were built with the I4/auto).


title: Mercury Cougar

text: "Sport Package" models of the V6 featured four-wheel vented disc brakes (from the Contour SVT), 16-inch alloy wheels, and the speed governor removed. While this was considered attainable given enough road, the automatic transmission version could not reach this speed without significant engine modification. However, the manual transmission version of the car, when given enough road, was capable of reaching speeds of around 145. Without the sport package, the speed governor was set at due to the H-rated tires with which the car was equipped.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: Ford also prepared two high-performance concept-only versions; one dubbed the "Eliminator", which was a supercharged version built with aftermarket available parts, and the other the "Cougar S", which featured new bodywork, all-wheel drive, and a 3.0 L Duratec engine.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: A high-performance Cougar S (not to be confused with the concept) was discussed in the press, which was essentially a Cougar with a Contour SVT engine; however, this version never made it into production. It was also to be sold in Europe as the Ford Cougar ST200.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: This generation of Cougar had a far more contemporary package, with modern DOHC 24-valve six-cylinder Duratec engines, a fully independent multilink suspension, and front-wheel drive. This was also the first hatchback Cougar, and the first to have its own body, unshared by any Ford (except its European twin Ford Cougar). The body design used a philosophy Ford dubbed "New Edge" design: a combination of organic upper body lines with sharp, concave creases in the lower areas. The Cougar's body, and the New Edge idea in general, was introduced as a concept called the Mercury MC2 in 1997 and was considered a bigger version of the European Ford Puma.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: For the 2001 model year, the Cougar was updated with new headlights, front and rear fascias, and updated interior trim.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: In 1998, Ford launched the Cougar at the 1998 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Without the Mercury brand in Europe and Australia, Ford marketed the Cougar as the Ford Cougar through Ford of Europe and Ford of Australia from 1999 to 2002. Replacing the Ford Probe in European markets, the Ford Cougar was manufactured in the United States. Slotted above the Ford Ka and Ford Puma (both based on the Ford Fiesta subcompact), the Cougar was marketed as a mid-sized coupe.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: With the exception of Ford Blue Oval badging replacing Cougar emblems on the exterior and interior, both Ford and Mercury versions are essentially identical. Export Cougars also have clear marker light lenses (in place of amber) and amber rear turn signals. In the United States, the Ford Cougar was built in both left and right-hand drive, with the latter allowing for its sale in the UK and Australia.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: In 1967, NASCAR race car builder, Bud Moore, campaigned Mercury Cougars in the Trans-Am Series with Ford Motor Company factory support. The team featured drivers, such as Captain Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Peter Revson, David Pearson, and Ed Leslie. Factory support ended towards the end of the season and the Cougars began to show their wear. Ultimately, Mercury lost the championship to Ford by two points.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: In 1968, Bud Moore took his Cougars NASCAR racing in the newly formed Grand American series. Driver Tiny Lund dominated the series and took the championship. After the Cougar changed to the Thunderbird platform in 1974, the body style was raced in NASCAR. The Wood Brothers Racing team with David Pearson and later Neil Bonnett was successful with the car and scored a number of victories until the body style became ineligible following the 1980 season. The next year (1981) saw the previous Cougar teams switch to the Thunderbird when NASCAR mandated the smaller (110-inch-wheelbased) cars, though oddly the Thunderbirds had to have their wheelbases extended 6 inches because the actual wheelbase of production cars was 104 inches.


title: Mercury Cougar

text: From 1989 to 1990, Lincoln-Mercury Motorsport fielded Cougars of the new body style in the GTO class of the IMSA GT Championship. The cars collected the championship both years and continued the teams' streak to seven manufacturer's championships.


title: Níðhöggr

text: In Norse mythology, Níðhöggr ("Malice Striker", in Old Norse traditionally also spelled Níðhǫggr , often anglicized Nidhogg) is a dragon who gnaws at a root of the world tree, Yggdrasil. In historical Viking society, níð was a term for a social stigma, implying the loss of honor and the status of a villain. Thus, its name might refer to its role as a terrible monster in its action of chewing the corpses of the inhabitants of Náströnd: those guilty of murder, adultery, and oath-breaking.


title: Níðhöggr

text: In the standardized Old Norse orthography, the name is spelled ', but the letter ' is frequently replaced with the Modern Icelandic "" for reasons of familiarity or technical expediency.


title: Níðhöggr

text: The name can be represented in English texts with "i" for "í"; "th", "d" or (rarely) "dh" for "ð"; "o" for "ǫ" and optionally without "r" as in Modern Scandinavian reflexes. The Modern Icelandic form ' is also sometimes seen, with special characters or similarly anglicized. The Danish forms ' and ' can also be encountered; or Norwegian ' and Swedish "".


title: Níðhöggr

text: According to the "Gylfaginning" part of Snorri Sturluson's "Prose Edda", Níðhǫggr is a being which gnaws one of the three roots of Yggdrasill. It is sometimes believed that the roots are trapping the beast from the world. This root is placed over Niflheimr and Níðhǫggr gnaws it from beneath. The same source also says that "[t]he squirrel called Ratatoskr runs up and down the length of the Ash, bearing envious words between the eagle and Nídhǫggr [the snake]."


title: Níðhöggr

text: In the "Skáldskaparmál" section of the "Prose Edda" Snorri specifies Níðhǫggr as a serpent in a list of names of such creatures:


title: Níðhöggr

text: Snorri's knowledge of Níðhǫggr seems to come from two of the Eddic poems: "Grímnismál" and "Völuspá".


title: Níðhöggr

text: The poem "Grímnismál" identifies a number of beings which live in Yggdrasill. The tree suffers great hardship from all the creatures which live on it. The poem identifies Níðhǫggr as tearing at the tree from beneath and also mentions Ratatoskr as carrying messages between Níðhǫggr and the eagle who lives at the top of the tree. Snorri Sturluson often quotes Grímnismál and clearly used it as his source for this information.


title: Níðhöggr

text: The poem "Völuspá" mentions Níðhöggr/Níðhǫggr twice. The first instance is in its description of Náströnd.


title: Níðhöggr

text: Níðhöggr/Níðhǫggr is also mentioned at the end of "Völuspá", where he is identified as a dragon and a serpent.


title: Níðhöggr

text: The context and meaning of this stanza are disputed. The most prevalent opinion is that the arrival of Níðhǫggr heralds Ragnarök and thus that the poem ends on a tone of ominous warning. It could be, however, as the prevalent themes of Norse mythology are those of change and renewal, that this could be a 'redemption' of the serpent, 'shedding' the corpses and beginning life anew, much like a macabre Phoenix, or perhaps, lifting the bodies of the righteous rulers mentioned two stanzas before (the stanza immediately before is considered spurious by translator Henry Adam Bellows), so that they can dwell in Gimle, and then either Níðhǫggr sinks, or the völva sinks, depending on the translation, and the poem ends.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplomats. Building on the earlier Page Act of 1875, which banned Chinese women from migrating to the United States, the Chinese Exclusion Act was the only law ever implemented to prevent all members of a specific ethnic or national group from immigrating to the United States.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Passage of the law was preceded by growing anti-Chinese sentiment and anti-Chinese violence, as well as various policies targeting Chinese migrants. The act followed the Angell Treaty of 1880, a set of revisions to the U.S.–China Burlingame Treaty of 1868 that allowed the U.S. to suspend Chinese immigration. The act was initially intended to last for 10 years, but was renewed and strengthened in 1892 with the Geary Act and made permanent in 1902. These laws attempted to stop all Chinese immigration into the United States for ten years, with exceptions for diplomats, teachers, students, merchants, and travelers. They were widely evaded.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The law remained in force until the passage of the Magnuson Act in 1943, which repealed the exclusion and allowed 105 Chinese immigrants to enter the United States each year. Chinese immigration later increased with the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which abolished direct racial barriers, and later by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which abolished the National Origins Formula.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The first significant Chinese immigration to North America began with the California Gold Rush of 1848–1855 and it continued with subsequent large labor projects, such as the building of the First transcontinental railroad. During the early stages of the gold rush, when surface gold was plentiful, the Chinese were tolerated by white people, if not well received. However, as gold became harder to find and competition increased, animosity toward the Chinese and other foreigners increased. After being forcibly driven from mining by a mixture of state legislators and other miners (the Foreign Miner's Tax), the immigrant Chinese began to settle in enclaves in cities, mainly San Francisco, and took up low-wage labor, such as restaurant and laundry work. With the post-Civil War economy in decline by the 1870s, anti-Chinese animosity became politicized by labor leader Denis Kearney and his Workingman's Party as well as by California governor John Bigler, both of whom blamed Chinese "coolies" for depressed wage levels. Public opinion and law in California began to demonize Chinese workers and immigrants in any role, with the latter half of the 1800s seeing a series of ever more restrictive laws being placed on Chinese labor, behavior and even living conditions. While many of these legislative efforts were quickly overturned by the State Supreme Court, many more anti-Chinese laws continued to be passed in both California and nationally.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: In the early 1850s there was resistance to the idea of excluding Chinese migrant workers from immigration because they provided essential tax revenue which helped fill the fiscal gap of California. The Xianfeng Emperor, who ruled China at the time, was supportive of the exclusion, citing his concerns that Chinese immigration to America would lead to a loss of labor for China. But toward the end of the decade, the financial situation improved and subsequently, attempts to legislate Chinese exclusion became successful on the state level. In 1858, the California Legislature passed a law that made it illegal for any person "of the Chinese or Mongolian races" to enter the state; however, this law was struck down by an unpublished opinion of the State Supreme Court in 1862.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The Chinese immigrant workers provided cheap labor and did not use any of the government infrastructure (schools, hospitals, etc.) because the Chinese migrant population was predominantly made up of healthy male adults. In January 1868, the Senate ratified the Burlingame Treaty with China, allowing an unrestricted flow of Chinese into the country. As time passed and more and more Chinese migrants arrived in the United States and California in particular, violence would often break out in cities such as Los Angeles. The North Adams Strike of 1870, broken by the replacement of all workers by 75 Chinese men was the trigger that sparked widespread working-class protest across the country, shaped legislative debate in Congress, and helped make Chinese immigration a sustained national issue.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Subsequent numerous strikes ensued, notably Beaver Falls Cutlery Company in Pennsylvania and others After the economy soured in the Panic of 1873, Chinese immigrants were blamed for depressing workmen's wages. At one point, Chinese men represented nearly a quarter of all wage-earning workers in California, and by 1878 Congress felt compelled to try to ban immigration from China in legislation that was later vetoed by President Rutherford B. Hayes. The title of the August 27, 1873, "San Francisco Chronicle" article, "The Chinese Invasion! They Are Coming, 900,000 Strong", was traced by "The Atlantic" as one of the roots of the 2019 anti-immigration "invasion" rhetoric.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: In 1879, however, California adopted a new Constitution which explicitly authorized the state government to determine which individuals were allowed to reside in the state, and banned the Chinese from employment by corporations and state, county or municipal governments. Three years later, after China had agreed to treaty revisions, Congress tried again to exclude working class Chinese laborers; Senator John F. Miller of California introduced another Chinese Exclusion Act that blocked entry of Chinese laborers for a twenty-year period. The bill passed the Senate and House by overwhelming margins, but this as well was vetoed by President Chester A. Arthur, who concluded the 20-year ban to be a breach of the renegotiated treaty of 1880. That treaty allowed only a "reasonable" suspension of immigration. Eastern newspapers praised the veto, while it was condemned in the Western states. Congress was unable to override the veto, but passed a new bill reducing the immigration ban to ten years. The House of Representatives voted 201–37, with 51 abstentions, to pass the act. Although he still objected to this denial of entry to Chinese laborers, President Arthur acceded to the compromise measure, signing the Chinese Exclusion Act into law on May 6, 1882.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: After the act was passed, most Chinese workers were faced with a dilemma: stay in the United States alone or return to China to reunite with their families. Although widespread dislike for the Chinese persisted well after the law itself was passed, of note is that some capitalists and entrepreneurs resisted their exclusion because they accepted lower wages.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: For the first time, federal law proscribed entry of an ethnic working group on the premise that it endangered the good order of certain localities. (The earlier Page Act of 1875 had prohibited immigration of Asian forced laborers and sex workers, and the Naturalization Act of 1790 prohibited naturalization of non-white subjects.) The act excluded Chinese laborers, meaning "skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining," from entering the country for ten years under penalty of imprisonment and deportation.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The Chinese Exclusion Act required the few non-laborers who sought entry to obtain certification from the Chinese government that they were qualified to emigrate. However, this group found it increasingly difficult to prove that they were not laborers because the 1882 act defined excludables as "skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining." Thus very few Chinese could enter the country under the 1882 law. Diplomatic officials and other officers on business, along with their house servants, for the Chinese government were also allowed entry as long as they had the proper certification verifying their credentials.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The act also affected the Chinese who had already settled in the United States. Any Chinese who left the United States had to obtain certifications for reentry, and the act made Chinese immigrants permanent aliens by excluding them from U.S. citizenship. After the act's passage, Chinese men in the U.S. had little chance of ever reuniting with their wives, or of starting families in their new abodes.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Amendments made in 1884 tightened the provisions that allowed previous immigrants to leave and return and clarified that the law applied to ethnic Chinese regardless of their country of origin. The Scott Act (1888) expanded upon the Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibiting reentry into the U.S. after leaving. Only teachers, students, government officials, tourists, and merchants were exempt.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Constitutionality of the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Scott Act was upheld by the Supreme Court in "Chae Chan Ping v. United States" (1889); the Supreme Court declared that "the power of exclusion of foreigners [is] an incident of sovereignty belonging to the government of the United States as a part of those sovereign powers delegated by the constitution." The act was renewed for ten years by the 1892 Geary Act, and again with no terminal date in 1902. When the act was extended in 1902, it required "each Chinese resident to register and obtain a certificate of residence. Without a certificate, he or she faced deportation."


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Between 1882 and 1905, about 10,000 Chinese appealed against negative immigration decisions to federal court, usually via a petition for habeas corpus. In most of these cases, the courts ruled in favor of the petitioner. Except in cases of bias or negligence, these petitions were barred by an act that passed Congress in 1894 and was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in "U.S." vs "Lem Moon Sing" (1895). In "U.S." vs "Ju Toy" (1905), the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed that the port inspectors and the Secretary of Commerce had final authority on who could be admitted. Ju Toy's petition was thus barred despite the fact that the district court found that he was an American citizen. The Supreme Court determined that refusing entry at a port does not require due process and is legally equivalent to refusing entry at a land crossing. All these developments, along with the extension of the act in 1902, triggered a boycott of U.S. goods in China between 1904 and 1906. There was one 1885 case in San Francisco, however, in which Treasury Department officials in Washington overturned a decision to deny entry to two Chinese students.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: One of the critics of the Chinese Exclusion Act was the anti-slavery/anti-imperialist Republican senator George Frisbie Hoar of Massachusetts who described the act as "nothing less than the legalization of racial discrimination."


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The laws were driven largely by racial concerns; immigration of persons of other races was not yet limited. On the other hand, most people and unions strongly supported the Chinese Exclusion Act, including the American Federation of Labor and Knights of Labor, a labor union, who supported it because it believed that industrialists were using Chinese workers as a wedge to keep wages low. Among labor and leftist organizations, the Industrial Workers of the World were the sole exception to this pattern. The IWW openly opposed the Chinese Exclusion Act from its inception in 1905.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: For all practical purposes, the Exclusion Act, along with the restrictions that followed it, froze the Chinese community in place in 1882. Limited immigration from China continued until the repeal of the act in 1943. From 1910 to 1940, the Angel Island Immigration Station on what is now Angel Island State Park in San Francisco Bay served as the processing center for most of the 56,113 Chinese immigrants who are recorded as immigrating or returning from China; upwards of 30% more who arrived there were returned to China. The Chinese population in the U.S. declined from approximately 105,000 in 1880 to 89,000 in 1900 to 61,000 in 1920.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The act exempted merchants, and restaurant owners could apply for merchant visas beginning in 1915 after a federal court ruling. This led to the rapid growth of Chinese restaurants in the 1910s and 1920s as restaurant owners could leave and reenter along with family members from China.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Later, the Immigration Act of 1924 restricted immigration even further, excluding all classes of Chinese immigrants and extending restrictions to other Asian immigrant groups. Until these restrictions were relaxed in the middle of the twentieth century, Chinese immigrants were forced to live a life separated from their families, and to build ethnic enclaves in which they could survive on their own (Chinatown).


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The Chinese Exclusion Act did not address the problems that whites were facing; in fact, the Chinese were quickly and eagerly replaced by the Japanese, who assumed the role of the Chinese in society. Unlike the Chinese, some Japanese were even able to climb the rungs of society by setting up businesses or becoming truck farmers. However, the Japanese were later targeted in the National Origins Act of 1924, which banned immigration from east Asia entirely.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: In 1891, the Government of China refused to accept U.S. senator Henry W. Blair as U.S. minister to China due to his abusive remarks regarding China during negotiation of the Chinese Exclusion Act.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The American Christian George F. Pentecost spoke out against western imperialism in China, saying:I personally feel convinced that it would be a good thing for America if the embargo on Chinese immigration were removed. I think that the annual admission of 100,000 into this country would be a good thing for the country. And if the same thing were done in the Philippines those islands would be a veritable Garden of Eden in twenty-five years. The presence of Chinese workmen in this country would, in my opinion, do a very great deal toward solving our labor problems. There is no comparison between the Chinaman, even of the lowest coolie class, and the man who comes here from Southeastern Europe, from Russia, or from Southern Italy. The Chinese are thoroughly good workers. That is why the laborers here hate them. I think, too, that the emigration to America would help the Chinese. At least he would come into contact with some real Christian people in America. The Chinaman lives in squalor because he is poor. If he had some prosperity his squalor would cease.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Following the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act, a period known as the "Driving Out" era was born. In this period, anti-Chinese Americans physically forced Chinese communities to flee to other areas. Large scale violence in Western states included The Rock Springs Chinese Massacre (1885) and the Hells Canyon massacre (1887).


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The massacre was named for the town where it took place, Rock Springs, Wyoming, in Sweetwater County, where white miners were jealous of the Chinese for their employment. White miners expressed their jealous frustration by robbing, bullying, shooting, and stabbing the Chinese in Chinatown. The Chinese tried to flee but many were burned alive in their homes, starved to death in hidden refuge, or exposed to carnivorous animal predators in the mountains. Some were rescued by a passing train, but by the end of the event at least twenty-eight lives had been taken.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: In an attempt to appease the situation, the government intervened by sending federal troops to protect the Chinese. However, only compensations for destroyed property were paid. No-one was arrested nor held accountable for the atrocities committed during the riot.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The massacre was named for the location where it took place, along the Snake River in Hells Canyon near the mouth of Deep Creek. The area contained many rocky cliffs and white rapids that together posed significant danger to human safety. Thirty-four Chinese miners were killed at the site. The miners were employed by the Sam Yup company, one of the six largest Chinese companies at the time, which worked in this area since October 1886. The actual events are still unclear due to unreliable law enforcement at the time, biased news reporting, and lack of serious official investigations. However, it is speculated that the dead Chinese miners were not victims of natural causes, but rather victims of gun shot wounds during a robbery committed by a gang of seven armed horse thieves.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Gold worth $4,000–$5,000 was thought to have been stolen from the miners. The gold was never recovered nor further investigated.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Shortly following the incident, the Sam Yup company of San Francisco hired Lee Loi who later hired Joseph K. Vincent, then U.S. Commissioner, to lead an investigation. Vincent submitted his investigative report to the Chinese consulate who tried unsuccessfully to obtain justice for the Chinese miners. At around the same time, other compensation reports were also unsuccessfully filed for earlier crimes inflicted on the Chinese. In the end, on October 19, 1888, Congress agreed to greatly under-compensate for the massacre and ignore the claims for the earlier crimes. Even though the amount was greatly underpaid, it was still a small victory to the Chinese who had low expectations for relief or acknowledgement.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The Chinese Exclusion Act lasted for about thirty years, and it caused the American economy to suffer a great loss. Some sources cite the act as a sign of injustice and unfair treatment to the Chinese workers because their jobs were mostly menial.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Recruitment of foreign students to US colleges and universities was an important component in the expansion of American influence. International education programs allowed students to learn from the examples provided at elite universities and to bring their newfound skill sets back to their home countries. As such, international education has historically been seen as a vehicle for improving diplomatic relations and promoting trade. The US Exclusion Act, however, forced Chinese students attempting to enter the country to provide proof that they were not trying to bypass regulations. Laws and regulations that stemmed from the act made for less than ideal situations for Chinese students, leading to criticisms of American society. Policies and attitudes toward Chinese Americans in the US worked against foreign policy interests by limiting the ability of the US to participate in international education initiatives.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed by the 1943 Magnuson Act when China had become an ally of the U.S. against Japan in World War II, as the US needed to embody an image of fairness and justice. The Magnuson Act permitted Chinese nationals already residing in the country to become naturalized citizens and stop hiding from the threat of deportation. The act also allowed Chinese people to send remittances to people of Chinese descent living in mainland China, Macao, Hong Kong, and Taiwan and other countries or territories, especially if the funding is not tied to criminal activity. However, the Magnuson Act only allowed a national quota of 105 Chinese immigrants per year and did not repeal the restrictions on immigration from the other Asian countries. The crackdown on Chinese immigrants reached a new level in its last decade, from 1956 to 1965, with the Chinese Confession Program launched by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, that encouraged Chinese who had committed immigration fraud to confess, so as to be eligible for some leniency in treatment. Large-scale Chinese immigration did not occur until the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: The first Chinese immigrants who entered the United States under the Magnuson Act were college students who sought to escape the warfare in China during World War II and study in the U.S. The establishment of the People's Republic of China and its entry into the Korean War against the U.S., however, created a new threat in the minds of some American politicians: American-educated Chinese students bringing American knowledge back to "Red China". Many Chinese college students were almost forcibly naturalized, even though they continued to face significant prejudice, discrimination, and bullying. One of the most prolific of these students was Tsou Tang, who would go on to become the leading expert on China and Sino-American relations during the Cold War.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Although the exclusion act was repealed in 1943, the law in California prohibiting non-whites from marrying whites was not struck down until 1948, in which the California Supreme Court ruled the ban of interracial marriage within the state unconstitutional in "Perez v. Sharp". Some other states had such laws until 1967, when the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled in "Loving v. Virginia" that anti-miscegenation laws across the nation are unconstitutional.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Even today, although all its constituent sections have long been repealed, Chapter 7 of Title 8 of the United States Code is headed "Exclusion of Chinese". It is the only chapter of the 15 chapters in Title 8 (Aliens and Nationality) that is completely focused on a specific nationality or ethnic group. Like the following Chapter 8, "The Cooly Trade", it consists entirely of statutes that are noted as "Repealed" or "Omitted".


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: On June 18, 2012, the United States House of Representatives passed , a resolution introduced by Congresswoman Judy Chu which formally expresses the regret of the House of Representatives for the Chinese Exclusion Act. , a similar resolution, had been approved by the U.S. Senate in October 2011.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: In 2014, the California Legislature took formal action to pass measures that formally recognize the accomplishments of Chinese-Americans in California and to call upon Congress to formally apologize for the 1882 adoption of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Senate Republican leader Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) and incoming Senate president pro-Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) served as joint authors for Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 23 and Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 122, respectively.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Both SJR 23 and SCR 122 acknowledge and celebrate the history and contributions of Chinese Americans in California. The resolutions also formally call on Congress to apologize for laws that resulted in the persecution of Chinese Americans, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act.


title: Chinese Exclusion Act

text: Perhaps most important are the sociological implications for understanding ethnic/race relations in the context of American history; minorities tend to be punished in times of economic, political, and/or geopolitical crises. Times of social and systemic stability, however, tend to mute any underlying tensions between different groups. In times of societal crisis—whether perceived or real—patterns of retractability of American identities have erupted to the forefront of America's political landscape, often generating institutional and civil society backlash against workers from other nations, a pattern documented by Fong's research into how crises drastically alter social relationships.


title: Sonic X

text: The series follows a group of anthropomorphic animals who accidentally teleport from their home planet to Earth after attempting to save one of their friends from their enemy Doctor Eggman. Separated, Sonic the Hedgehog is saved by a human boy named Chris Thorndyke, who helps him find his friends while repeatedly scuffling with Doctor Eggman and his robots over control of the powerful Chaos Emeralds, and becoming celebrities. The final story arc sees Sonic and his friends return with Chris to their world, where they enter outer space with a newfound plant-like creature named Cosmo and fight an army of aliens called the Metarex.</onlyinclude>


title: Sonic X

text: "Sonic X" received mixed reviews. Generally, writers criticized its American localization and some characters, but praised its story and aesthetics. The series was popular in the United States and France, though less so in its native Japan. The show's merchandise included an edutainment video game for the Leapster, a trading card game, a comic book series featuring an original storyline, and various toys and other items.


title: Sonic X

text: On an unnamed world, Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Amy Rose attempt to rescue Cream the Rabbit and her pet Chao Cheese from the mad scientist Doctor Eggman, who has already retrieved the seven Chaos Emeralds. While attempting to destroy his base, one of Eggman's robots inadvertently shoots a machine containing the Emeralds, which activates the "Chaos Control" technique. This teleports Sonic, Eggman (and his robots), Tails, Amy, Cream, and Cheese, as well as Big the Cat (with his pet frog Froggy), Rouge the Bat, Knuckles the Echidna, and the Chaotix (a detective crew comprising Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmy Bee) to Earth, the parallel-universe version of their world with humans. Sonic is chased by the police in the fictional city of central city, California, and lands in a mansion's swimming pool, and is rescued by a twelve-year-old boy named Chris Thorndyke, who lives there with his movie-star mother Lindsey, corporate executive father Nelson, scientist grandfather Chuck, maid and chef Ella, and butler Mr. Tanaka. Chris tries to hide the anthropomorphic friends from his family until Cream accidentally reveals them, but they all build up a good rapport with Chris' family and with Chris' friends Danny, Francis, and Helen. Doctor Eggman makes himself known by bringing his robot Missile Wrist to attack the city of Station Square in his first stop in taking over Earth which led to his first fight with Sonic there.


title: Sonic X

text: Sonic and his friends still want to return home, so they repeatedly scuffle for the Emeralds with Doctor Eggman, his robot assistants—the hyperactive, attention-seeking Bokkun and the bumbling Bocoe and Decoe—and his larger, armed robots. Sonic and Eggman's fight catches the attention of the unnamed nation's president, so Knuckles, Rouge, and federal agent Topaz work together to stop him. The other anthropomorphic residents soon join the crusade and, when Eggman is defeated by Sonic with help from his friends, he is hailed as a hero along with his friends.


title: Sonic X

text: Eggman awakens a creature named Chaos from the Master Emerald. The animals fight a losing battle to retrieve the Emeralds until Chaos absorbs all seven and becomes giant in his perfect form, but an echidna girl named Tikal, who entombed herself and Chaos in the Master Emerald millennia ago, emerges to help placate him. After Sonic uses the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic, he defeats Chaos, who returns to the Master Emerald with Tikal.


title: Sonic X

text: Shortly afterwards, Eggman finds his grandfather Gerald Robotnik's diary and Gerald's old project Shadow in a military base. After being released by Eggman, Shadow breaks into a museum to steal an Emerald, which gets Sonic arrested. Amy rescues him, but Shadow, Eggman, and the duplicitous Rouge escape to the Space Colony ARK, where Eggman threatens to use a weapon called the Eclipse Cannon to destroy Earth unless they submit to his rule; he blows up half of the Moon to prove his power. Eggman collects the Emeralds to power the Cannon, but this triggers a program Gerald set up decades ago, which will cause Space Colony ARK to hurtle into Earth, destroying the planet in less than half an hour. Gerald did this in order to exact revenge on humanity, who he blamed for the death of his granddaughter Maria after she was killed in a government raid on the Space Colony ARK. Everyone teams up and works together to shut it down except Shadow, who is unsympathetic and believes he has fulfilled his purpose of revenge. Chris confronts Shadow, reminding him of Maria's last wish for Shadow to be a protector of humanity, to guide and aid them. Moved to tears and with a new sense of purpose, Shadow teams up with Sonic and both power up using the Emeralds and teleport the ARK away from Earth, though Shadow is seemingly killed in the process. Sonic, his friends, and Eggman reflect on Shadow's sacrifice and return to Earth.


title: Sonic X

text: Another Chaos Control event brings more animals from Sonic's world to Earth including the Chaotix Detective Agency—Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile, and Charmy Bee, as well as Cream's mother, Vanilla, whom the Chaotix help to reunite with Cream. Eggman rebuilds the Moon, seemingly out of remorse, but its position shifts, creating a solar eclipse, so he manufactures and sells "Sunshine Balls" to replicate sunlight. Sonic sees through his greedy motivations and exposes Eggman who is then arrested for fraud. Bokkun activates a robot named Emerl, who quickly allies with the anthropomorphic people, and Eggman escapes prison. Emerl wins an Emerald in a martial arts tournament involving numerous hero and villain characters, but he goes berserk and begins to wreck the city, forcing Cream and Cheese to destroy him.


title: Sonic X

text: Later, two government physicists show up at Chris' mansion to announce that Sonic's world and Earth were once a single world split in two by a cataclysmic event, but are rejoining, which will stop time irreversibly, and the only way to stop it is to send the anthropomorphic people back home. Tails and Chuck begin to build a gate to teleport Sonic and company back to their own world with Chaos Control, but Chris does not want them to leave. When it is finished and all their friends but Sonic have left, Chris suddenly shuts the machine down and whisks Sonic into the woods to hide out of fear his parents will return to never being home once Sonic is gone. Sonic is understanding, yet teaches Chris that as a fellow person neither can force the other to feel a certain way and that their friendship is free will. Chris tearfully acknowledges that he bound Sonic's freedom today and stopped his friend from going back home and remorsefully asks for forgiveness while Sonic tells him he'll be able to be strong even without him being there but promises that they'll see each other again someday. Chris' parents find him and promise to spend more time with him. Chris having learned his lesson and grown as a person goes for one final run with Sonic before they mutually part ways and Sonic returns to his own planet using the Chaos Emeralds and his own Chaos Control, stopping the merging of the worlds caused by Eggman. However, Chris vows that one day, he will see Sonic again.


title: Sonic X

text: Six months later, a race of villainous robots known as the Metarex attempt to steal the Emeralds from Sonic, but he scatters them across the galaxy. Meanwhile, on Earth, where six years have passed and Chris is now eighteen, Chris builds another device to travel to Sonic's world where he reunites with Sonic and his friends, but due to the time difference of the 2 worlds, the teleporter reverses his age, making him twelve years old again when he arrives. A sick plant-like girl named Cosmo lands on their planet and they nurse her back to health, so she joins them, and they all board Tails' new spaceship, "The Blue Typhoon". On the "Typhoon", Sonic and his gang scour the galaxy for the Emeralds and "Planet Eggs" (objects that allow life to flourish on planets, which the Metarex have stolen to depopulate the galaxy) and fight the Metarex at every turn. Along the way, Tails and Cosmo slowly fall in love with each other. Rouge finds Shadow alive in a capsule on Eggman's ship and he is later released (though he has lost his memory). At first, he and Rouge assist Eggman (even saving Chris on one occasion) but after Shadow witnesses the death of resistance fighter who reminded him of Maria, both he and Rouge go off on their own to fight the Metarex independently. Eggman eventually joins the Metarex though this is a ruse to gather more information. After discovering the origins, methods, and goals of the Metarex, Shadow reappears and tries to kill Cosmo, much to Tails' anger. The Metarex's leader, Dark Oak (the powerful robot Sonic fought from the beginning of the third season in super form), appears and reveals that the Metarex and Cosmo are of the same species and that they secretly implanted a tracking device in her brain while extinguishing the rest of their kind; she has been an unwitting spy ever since. It was for this reason Shadow wanted Cosmo dead. Chris, Knuckles, and Tails notice that removing the device will likely destroy her sight and hearing forever. Knuckles pushes for it to be removed anyway (In the Japanese version he stresses to find a way to remove it without damaging her), but Tails cannot make any decisions at the present time so the surgery is called off and the battle against the Metarex continues.


title: Sonic X

text: Sonic and his friends, along with the Chaotix and Shadow, Rouge, including Eggman and his henchmen, head to the center of the universe, where the Metarex are ominously controlling a planet that is made of water and contains a Planet Egg where the group engages Metarex in a long fight. After Sonic almost drowns in it, but he manages to free himself by fighting Dark Oak in his dream, but the planet begins turning into a giant seed; the Metarex reveal that, because they have lost the battle, they will destroy the galaxy with this planet. The Metarex then proceed to fuse together, forming a dragon-like plant monster that attaches itself to the giant seed. Sonic and Shadow use the Chaos Emerald to become Super Sonic and Super Shadow but are still unable to defeat the fused Metarex. Cosmo sees a vision from her mother Earthia, telling her that she must sacrifice herself to save the rest. She fuses with the giant seed and instructs Tails to use the Blue Typhoon's cannon to fire Super Sonic and Super Shadow at her and the seed. Tails hesitates, torn between saving the galaxy and killing Cosmo, but eventually finds the inner strength and annihilates the Metarex along with Cosmo, whose seed disperses throughout the galaxy along with the Planet Eggs stolen by the Metarex which return to their original planets. Dark Oak has a moment of repentance before dying while having a vision of being greeted by Earthia as he passes away. Shadow then apparently sacrifices himself to contain the ensuing explosion. After the battle, Sonic reappears and solemnly informs a heartbroken Tails that he could not save Cosmo and hands him one of her seeds. Back on Sonic's planet Eggman builds a device for Chris to return home, later claiming that this was done to reduce the strength of Team Sonic. The series ends with Chris returning home, but not before saying his last goodbye to Sonic, who then, along with his friends, joyfully gears up into business as usual, to once again put a stop to Eggman's schemes. The final shots show Shadow on an alien planet (Japanese version) and Cosmo's seed sprouting in Tails' workshop.


title: Sonic X

text: The show was created by TMS Entertainment, the animation subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings. It was primarily influenced by other anime rather than work from the West, and was created for a Japanese audience. Yuji Naka, then the head of Sonic Team, filled in as executive producer, and Satoshi Hirayama designed all of the original characters, basing the designs on Yuji Uekawa's original concept. Most of the series consists of original content featuring new as well as established characters, but the second season is mostly based on the plots of "Sonic Adventure", "Sonic Adventure 2", and "Sonic Battle". While traditionally animated, it includes non-outlined CGI elements for things such as Sonic's homing attack.


title: Sonic X

text: Two trailers for the series were produced. The first was developed before Cheese had been given a name in "Sonic Advance 2" (2002); it referred to Cheese simply as "Chao". It was made up largely of footage that would later appear in the series' intro, but also of unused scenes featuring unique anthropomorphic people. Sega showed off the second, which was narrated in Japanese, at its booth at the World Hobby Fair video gaming event on February 19, 2003. It consisted mostly of scenes from the first few episodes, followed by introductions to the main characters. However, it also showed a still frame of a silver anthropomorphic hedgehog who never appeared in the series. Fans nicknamed the character "Nazo", based off the Japanese word for . Years later, on April 20, 2015, Sonic Team producer Takashi Iizuka clarified the character was simply Super Sonic in its early contour.


title: Sonic X

text: Several of the Japanese performers had voiced their characters in the games, but they were also given ample information about their characters' roles in the anime. Chris' voice actress Sanae Kobayashi was not sure she would be able to effectively communicate Chris' growth as a person owing to Sonic's presence, but found that a worthwhile goal. Chikao Ōtsuka, who voiced Eggman, found him a difficult character to play due to the tension in his voice and the desire to have children who watched the show recognize the character as a villain but not hate him.


title: Sonic X

text: Iizuka believed that "Sonic X" and its merchandise, along with the game "Sonic Heroes", had helped expose the "Sonic" franchise to a new generation of potential gamers in 2003, and he dubbed it a "Sonic Year" as a result. More boldly, Naka hoped that "Sonic X" alone would cause the popularity of the "Sonic" series to skyrocket, as that of the "Pokémon" series did after its anime adaptation was first released.


title: Sonic X

text: 4Kids Entertainment handled the show's American localization. The episodes were heavily edited for content and length; 4Kids has been described by Destructoid as being "infamous" among anime fans for this type of overzealous editing. 4Kids removed alcohol consumption, coarse language, instances of breaking the fourth wall, and numerous sexual scenes. Unlike some other series that 4Kids translated around the early to mid 2000s, such as "", "Sonic X" suffered no full episodes being cut. Producer Michael Haigney personally disliked realistic violence in children's programs, but had not intended to make massive changes himself. Instead, he was bound by Fox Broadcasting Company's strict guidelines, which forbid content such as smoking and strong violence. In 2006, near the end of the show's American production, Haigney stated in an interview that he had never played a "Sonic" game, read the comics, or watched any of the previous "Sonic" animated series.


title: Sonic X

text: 4Kids found new voice actors rather than using those from the games. 4Kids president Norman J. Grossfeld invited Jason Griffith and Mike Pollock to audition for Sonic and Eggman, having known them from their work on "" and "Kirby: Right Back at Ya!" and chose him for his yelling and pitch-wavering talents; Pollock and Griffith also voiced Ella and Shadow. 4Kids allowed Pollock to make minor alterations to the dialogue when lines "[didn't] work for some reason." He recalled being given only short samples of Eggman's voice from the games—he was not told specifically which game—and brief descriptions of his characters' roles. The rest of the cast assumed their characters' voice roles after their auditions. Beginning with "Shadow the Hedgehog", the cast of "Sonic X" would assume their respective voice roles in all Sonic games released between 2005 and 2010, at which point all the roles were recast with the exception of Mike Pollock as Eggman.


title: Sonic X

text: "Sonic X" aired in Japan on TV Tokyo's 8:30 a.m. time slot from April 6, 2003 to March 28, 2004. It consisted of three seasons, each of them 26 half-hour episodes long. In Japan, the third season was never aired on TV until 2020 or released on DVD, but was available through rental streaming services. 4Kids licensed the series in North America from the beginning, ShoPro Entertainment was also made a license holder in November 2003. It aired in North America on the FoxBox block of Fox channels.


title: Sonic X

text: On June 16, 2012, the bankrupt 4Kids sold its "Sonic X" license to Saban Brands's Kidsco Media Ventures. TMS Entertainment has since taken US rights, and in 2015, Discotek Media licensed the series alongside several other TMS properties for home media releases. In 2021, FilmRise was given the AVOD rights to 38 TMS Entertainment titles including "Sonic X" for US and Canada.


title: Sonic X

text: Outside North America and Asia, Jetix Europe (previously Fox Kids Europe) held the rights to the series, which the company acquired in August 2003. Buena Vista International Television handled television distribution, while Jetix Europe handled all other rights. The company held consumer product rights to the series in Pan-European territories.


title: Sonic X

text: The European airings of the series featured a different intro sequence than the North American airings but was otherwise the same as the North American version. The European French dub, was however based on the original Japanese version and was completely uncut.


title: Sonic X

text: The series was released on DVD, in Japan, only seasons one and two were released, and their 52 episodes spanned 13 discs.


title: Sonic X

text: From 2003 to 2009 in the United States, 4Kids Home Video and their exclusive distributor FUNimation Entertainment released VHS tapes (until 2005) and DVDs of the series in single-release volumes and later multi-disc boxsets. The first two to be released were "A Super Sonic Hero" and "The Chaos Factor," released on June 1, 2004.


title: Sonic X

text: Another such volume released was "Project Shadow," released on November 15, 2005. It was released to tie in with the release of the game "Shadow the Hedgehog", and covered the first arc that focused on Shadow (episodes 33–38).


title: Sonic X

text: Discotek Media released the 8-disc DVD set, "Sonic X Collection 1" in North America, which includes the English dubbed seasons 1 and 2 (episodes 1–52) on November 22, 2016. They later released the 4-disc DVD set, "Sonic X Collection 2" in North America, which includes the English dubbed Season 3 (episodes 53–78) on December 6, 2016.


title: Sonic X

text: On May 28, 2019, Discotek Media would release a 2-disc Blu-ray set of the English dubbed series with all three seasons and seventy eight episodes. Despite the upgraded format, the series is based off the original 4Kids beta tape, retaining a 480p resolution as opposed to the standard 1080p resolution on most Blu-rays. On October 24, 2022, Discotek announced a subtitled Blu-ray release of the complete series in its original Japanese language. While remastered, the series is still presented in standard definition like the previous release.


title: Sonic X

text: Yoshihiro Ike composed the score for the Japanese version of "Sonic X". Its opening theme was "Sonic Drive", performed by Hironobu Kageyama and Hideaki Takatori. The series included three ending themes: by Run&Gun for episodes 1–13, by Aya Hiroshige for episodes 14–39 and again for episodes 53–78, and "T.O.P" by KP for episodes 40–52. 4Kids musicians John Angier, Craig Marks, Joel Douek, Louis Cortelezzi, Manny Corallo, Matt McGuire, and Ralph Schuckett, known for their work on the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" franchise, composed a new background score for the North American release "for both artistic and commercial reasons." The North American opening and closing theme (also used as the closing theme in the European version), titled "Gotta Go Fast," was composed by Grossfeld and his friend Russell Velazquez. A soundtrack titled "Sonic X ~Original Sound Tracks~" was released in Japan on March 8, 2004, it consisted of 40 tracks of original music from the first two Seasons.


title: Sonic X

text: "Sonic X" was extensively merchandised in various forms of media and other products. Two Game Boy Advance Videos of episodes from the first season of "Sonic X" were released in May 2004. In October 2004, ShoPro licensed four manufacturers to create "Sonic X" merchandise, they variously produced items such as toys, bedding, beach towels, backpacks, stationery, and pajamas. Six "Sonic X" novels were published between 2005 and 2007: "Aqua Planet," "Dr. Eggman Goes to War", "Battle at Ice Palace," and "Desperately Seeking Sonic" by Charlotte Fullerton, "Meteor Shower Messenger" by Paul Ruditis, and "Spaceship Blue Typhoon" by Diana G. Gallagher.


title: Sonic X

text: Archie Comics, which published "Sonic the Hedgehog" comics until 2017, started a "Sonic X" series in 2005. It was originally set to run for only four issues, but was extended to 40 issues due to high demand. The last issue was released on January 1, 2009, and led into the first arc of the "Sonic Universe" series. The comics were written by Ian Flynn, who also authored the main comic series. Some issues were published in "Jetix Magazine" in the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland.


title: Sonic X

text: While the comics are set during the "Sonic X" timeline, their plot is original. Eggman imprisons humans inside robots and tries to use them to kill the animals, but the animals destroy the robots. Eggman uses malicious Chao to destroy Station Square, but Tikal and Chaos arrive from the past, return the Chao to normal, and bring them back to the past. Soon, Sonic finds a machine in the desert and thinks nothing of it, but after fighting with Eggman in Paris and a bizarre world created by the doctor, Eggman reveals the desert machine was his and it begins to wreck Station Square. Sonic defeats it, but he is accused of working with Eggman, so he and Eggman are both locked up. Nelson bails Sonic out of jail, and he saves Cream and Chris from some ghosts.


title: Sonic X

text: Eggman enacts more malicious schemes based on holidays like Christmas, Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day. Afterwards, he temporarily fires Decoe and Bocoe and creates replacements, Dukow and Bukow, who kidnap Sonic and give him to an organization called S.O.N.I.C.X. Sonic escapes with ease, but S.O.N.I.C.X. repeatedly tries to ruin his reputation. Meanwhile, the animals take on Eggman in his various schemes—including becoming a wrestler and creating a circus—to keep the Emeralds from him. In the final issue, a crossover with the continuity of the main comic series, that continuity's Metal Sonic appears and allies with Eggman to defeat Sonic, but that continuity's version of Shadow steps in and warps himself and Metal Sonic to another dimension, leading into the events of the first issue of "Sonic Universe".


title: Sonic X

text: In 2003, McDonald's packaged five different single-button dedicated console games, mostly based on various sports, with Happy Meals to promote "Sonic X": two featuring Sonic and one each for Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow. Another Happy Meal game based on Big the Cat fishing arrived the following year.


title: Sonic X

text: LeapFrog Enterprises released a "Sonic X" educational math game for its Leapster handheld game console; it was released in 2005 in North America and 2007 in Europe. The game stars Sonic and Chris, who must rescue Tails, Amy, and Knuckles from Eggman. It is a fast-paced platform/action game in which Sonic runs and jumps through levels and destroys Eggman's robots along the way. Periodically, Sonic must answer math questions to continue. The game features three levels, each with its own math concepts: the city Station Square (sequencing, counting in increments); Angel Island, the home of the Master Emerald (addition), and Eggman's base (subtraction). There are also math-based minigames unrelated to the levels to supplement these skills.


title: Sonic X

text: Score Entertainment created a "Sonic X" collectible card game for two players released in 2005. Players battle for Chaos Emeralds, whoever gets three first wins. Each turn, both players lay out five cards face-down and flip over one at a time; whichever card has a lower number value is eliminated. Eliminating the other player's cards and combining the special abilities of one's own cards allows one to score rings; whichever player has the most rings at the end of the turn wins an Emerald. As the game does not emphasize collecting rare cards, a few booster packs are enough to build a competent deck. KidzWorld gave a positive review, praising its ease of learning, low cost, and inherent strategy, but also noting that it feels more like a generic card game with "Sonic" characters than like a wholly "Sonic"-based product.


title: Sonic X

text: "Sonic X" received divided reviews. Many reviewers were critical of its American localization. Conrad Zimmerman of Destructoid cited "Sonic X" "horrible localization" as a main reason for negativity. Tim Jones of THEM Anime gave the show two stars out of five and criticized the English voice acting: "It's really annoying how all the recent Sonic games use these untalented actors/actresses in their dubs, because they make the original English voices sound like award-winning performers." Other comments on the show's aesthetics were mostly positive. Staff of GamesRadar admitted, "At least the song fits. Can't imagine Sonic listening to "Underground"s wailing Meat Loaf light rock, but he'd definitely jam to "Sonic X"." Jones praised the rock music from "Sonic Adventure 1" and "2", as well as the "pretty piano music" and "catchy" Japanese intro and outro themes. He also found the backgrounds "nice to look at" but did not like the use of CGI for Sonic's homing attack.


title: Sonic X

text: The human characters and, to a lesser extent, the animal ones were also criticized. Jones described Chris as "a dull, boring, uninspired character" and also described Tanaka and Ella as "bland" stereotypes of Japanese and African-Americans, respectively. Jones also criticized the presence of Amy and Big, but took particular issue to the show's portrayal of Sonic, which he summarized as: I'm gonna run around downtown until something exciting happens and use a stinking Ring to defeat my enemies. GamesRadar bemoaned both the "piss-poor "Adventure" characters" and the original human ones. In contrast, writer Gaz Plant of NintendoLife opined that "one of the key successes" of the series was its incorporation of numerous characters from the games, including lesser-used ones like Big and the Chaotix. Fans were divided on the merit of the Thorndykes.


title: Sonic X

text: The show was praised for its faithfulness to the games. "Famitsu" offered a uniformly positive review before the first episode broadcast in 2003, commending the skillful transition of the games' speed and style to animation, and expected the series to continue to grow more interesting. Plant stated that "where "Sonic X" truly succeeded was in its retelling of iconic stories." Independent of the characters involved, GamesRadar appreciated the idea of following "Sonic's core concept." The original storylines were also praised. Amidst his criticism of most of the show, Jones praised the first episode in general, especially its humor. Plant acclaimed the character development that built on the stories of the original games, especially Sonic and Amy's relationship and the Chaotix's newfound viability as comedy devices. Concurrently, he found the show "surprisingly touching," particularly in its "emotional" final climax, and favorably compared the space exploration of season three to "Star Trek". "Famitsu"s first preview called the story .


title: Sonic X

text: Common Sense Media gave it three stars out of five and, while not commenting further on its quality, stated that it was appropriate for grade-school children but that some violent scenes were inadvisable for younger viewers. A second "Famitsu" review from later in 2003 called the anime an outstanding success and encouraged readers to tune in.


title: Sonic X

text: The show was quite popular in the United States, France, Indonesia and Malaysia, consistently reaching the number-one position in its timeslot in both countries. By 2007, it was TMS' best-selling anime in the non-Japanese market, despite that the third season did not air in Japan until 2020, and it inspired TMS to focus on properties that would sell well outside Japan. In April 2009, a six-year-old Norwegian boy named Christer pressed his parents to send a letter to King Harald V of Norway to approve his name being changed to "Sonic X". They allowed Christer to write it himself but did not send it until he badgered them further, and the king responded that he could not approve the change because Christer was not eighteen years old. Extending over a decade past the show's initial release, the show has spawned internet memes and the phrase "gotta go fast", the title of the song that plays in the opening and closing sequence, has been used in the titles of video game periodical articles to represent the "Sonic" series and other fast-paced video games.


title: Sonic X

text: Sonic X: Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack the series of same name, was released in Japan on March 3, 2004, by Wave Master Entertainment.


title: Triangular number

text: A triangular number or triangle number counts objects arranged in an equilateral triangle. Triangular numbers are a type of figurate number, other examples being square numbers and cube numbers. The th triangular number is the number of dots in the triangular arrangement with dots on each side, and is equal to the sum of the natural numbers from 1 to . The sequence of triangular numbers, starting with the 0th triangular number, is


title: Triangular number

text: where formula_2 is a binomial coefficient. It represents the number of distinct pairs that can be selected from objects, and it is read aloud as " plus one choose two".


title: Triangular number

text: The first equation can be illustrated using a visual proof. For every triangular number formula_3, imagine a "half-square" arrangement of objects corresponding to the triangular number, as in the figure below. Copying this arrangement and rotating it to create a rectangular figure doubles the number of objects, producing a rectangle with dimensions formula_4, which is also the number of objects in the rectangle. Clearly, the triangular number itself is always exactly half of the number of objects in such a figure, or: formula_5. The example formula_6 follows:


title: Triangular number

text: so if the formula is true for formula_9, it is true for formula_14. Since it is clearly true for formula_7, it is therefore true for formula_16, formula_17, and ultimately all natural numbers formula_18 by induction.


title: Triangular number

text: The German mathematician and scientist, Carl Friedrich Gauss, is said to have found this relationship in his early youth, by multiplying pairs of numbers in the sum by the values of each pair . However, regardless of the truth of this story, Gauss was not the first to discover this formula, and some find it likely that its origin goes back to the Pythagoreans in the 5th century BC. The two formulas were described by the Irish monk Dicuil in about 816 in his Computus. An English translation of Dicuil's account is available.


title: Triangular number

text: The triangular number solves the handshake problem of counting the number of handshakes if each person in a room with people shakes hands once with each person. In other words, the solution to the handshake problem of people is . The function is the additive analog of the factorial function, which is the "products" of integers from 1 to .


title: Triangular number

text: The number of line segments between closest pairs of dots in the triangle can be represented in terms of the number of dots or with a recurrence relation:


title: Triangular number

text: Most simply, the sum of two consecutive triangular numbers is a square number, with the sum being the square of the difference between the two (and thus the difference of the two being the square root of the sum). Algebraically,


title: Triangular number

text: This fact can be demonstrated graphically by positioning the triangles in opposite directions to create a square:


title: Triangular number

text: The double of a triangular number, as in the visual proof from the above section , is called a pronic number.


title: Triangular number

text: There are infinitely many triangular numbers that are also square numbers; e.g., 1, 36, 1225. Some of them can be generated by a simple recursive formula:


title: Triangular number

text: Also, the square of the th triangular number is the same as the sum of the cubes of the integers 1 to . This can also be expressed as


title: Triangular number

text: More generally, the difference between the th -gonal number and the th -gonal number is the th triangular number. For example, the sixth heptagonal number (81) minus the sixth hexagonal number (66) equals the fifth triangular number, 15. Every other triangular number is a hexagonal number. Knowing the triangular numbers, one can reckon any centered polygonal number; the th centered -gonal number is obtained by the formula


title: Triangular number

text: The pattern found for triangular numbers formula_30 and for tetrahedral numbers formula_31 which uses binomial coefficients, can be generalized. This leads to the formula:


title: Triangular number

text: where is a Mersenne prime. No odd perfect numbers are known; hence, all known perfect numbers are triangular.


title: Triangular number

text: For example, the third triangular number is (3 × 2 =) 6, the seventh is (7 × 4 =) 28, the 31st is (31 × 16 =) 496, and the 127th is (127 × 64 =) 8128.


title: Triangular number

text: The final digit of a triangular number is 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, or 8, and thus never end in 2, 4, 7, or 9. A final 3 must be preceded by a 0 or 5; a final 8 must be preceded by a 2 or 7.


title: Triangular number

text: In base 10, the digital root of a nonzero triangular number is always 1, 3, 6, or 9. Hence, every triangular number is either divisible by three or has a remainder of 1 when divided by 9:


title: Triangular number

text: There is a more specific property to the triangular numbers that aren't divisible by 3; that is, they either have a remainder 1 or 10 when divided by 27. Those that are equal to 10 mod 27 are also equal to 10 mod 81.


title: Triangular number

text: The digital root pattern for triangular numbers, repeating every nine terms, as shown above, is "1, 3, 6, 1, 6, 3, 1, 9, 9".


title: Triangular number

text: The converse of the statement above is, however, not always true. For example, the digital root of 12, which is not a triangular number, is 3 and divisible by three.


title: Triangular number

text: The first several pairs of this form (not counting ) are: , , , , , , ... etc. Given is equal to , these formulas yield , , , , and so on.


title: Triangular number

text: both of which can easily be established either by looking at dot patterns (see above) or with some simple algebra.


title: Triangular number

text: In 1796, Gauss discovered that every positive integer is representable as a sum of three triangular numbers (possibly including = 0), writing in his diary his famous words, "ΕΥΡΗΚΑ! ". This theorem does not imply that the triangular numbers are different (as in the case of 20 = 10 + 10 + 0), nor that a solution with exactly three nonzero triangular numbers must exist. This is a special case of the Fermat polygonal number theorem.


title: Triangular number

text: Wacław Franciszek Sierpiński posed the question as to the existence of four distinct triangular numbers in geometric progression. It was conjectured by Polish mathematician Kazimierz Szymiczek to be impossible and was later proven by Fang and Chen in 2007.


title: Triangular number

text: Formulas involving expressing an integer as the sum of triangular numbers are connected to theta functions, in particular the Ramanujan theta function.


title: Triangular number

text: A fully connected network of computing devices requires the presence of cables or other connections; this is equivalent to the handshake problem mentioned above.


title: Triangular number

text: In a tournament format that uses a round-robin group stage, the number of matches that need to be played between teams is equal to the triangular number . For example, a group stage with 4 teams requires 6 matches, and a group stage with 8 teams requires 28 matches. This is also equivalent to the handshake problem and fully connected network problems.


title: Triangular number

text: One way of calculating the depreciation of an asset is the sum-of-years' digits method, which involves finding , where is the length in years of the asset's useful life. Each year, the item loses , where is the item's beginning value (in units of currency), is its final salvage value, is the total number of years the item is usable, and the current year in the depreciation schedule. Under this method, an item with a usable life of = 4 years would lose of its "losable" value in the first year, in the second, in the third, and in the fourth, accumulating a total depreciation of (the whole) of the losable value.


title: Triangular number

text: By analogy with the square root of , one can define the (positive) triangular root of as the number such that :


title: Triangular number

text: which follows immediately from the quadratic formula. So an integer is triangular if and only if is a square. Equivalently, if the positive triangular root of is an integer, then is the th triangular number.


title: Triangular number

text: An alternative name proposed by Donald Knuth, by analogy to factorials, is "termial", with the notation ? for the th triangular number. However, although some other sources use this name and notation, they are not in wide use.


title: It Happened One Night

text: It Happened One Night is a 1934 pre-Code American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed and co-produced by Frank Capra, in collaboration with Harry Cohn, in which a pampered socialite (Claudette Colbert) tries to get out from under her father's thumb and falls in love with a roguish reporter (Clark Gable). The screenplay by Robert Riskin is based on the August 1933 short story "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams, which provided the shooting title. Classified as a "pre-Code" production, the film is among the last romantic comedies created before the MPPDA began rigidly enforcing the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code in July 1934. "It Happened One Night" was released just four months prior to that enforcement.