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Why do people say Contours were cheaply made Fords?

Off the subject but the old MII had one dash feature I'd love to see other Fords use, the top of dash came off all the way down to expose most stuff under it for much easier maintenance, never seen another car do that before or since. Can't see why they didn't do a lot more of that...................

They rattle too much and are too expensive to produce. Everything's got to be one piece and cheap to produce. Great idea though.

Here's my Connie with 202k on it. http://fresno.craigslist.org/cto/5184584666.html
 
oops, I almost forgot, cheapie simulated chrome strip in the middle of the bumper, fades to milky yellow. Yes, it is cheaper than stainless steel. Oops, also forgot about the reverse lockout plastic that the shift boot attaches to, that crumbled to pieces, I had to make one of wood to be able to put it in reverse.
And if stabilizer bracket failures are due to rust, that says maker went cheap on corrosion protection.
And as for speakers, I have three other cars (not fords) from the 90s with original speakers, that still sound good, no problem.
The odometer gear was so not a problem, that you may buy aftermarket replacements. If there was not a market, there would not be a supply.

So think what you want, as for my own direct experience, the evidence is piling up, I've just too many cheap seeming parts break, first hand. I still like my 95, like the way it drives, and sounds, and I got it, in a word, for cheap.
 
Again, I see what you are listing mostly as being due to the age of the vehicle. I think in general cars of the 90's where cheaply made, all around. But a 95 is 20 years old now. Fading and worn out things happen. A cheaply purchased car is often has not been taken care of, and will show a lot more issues.

Yes my cars sit in a garage most of the time, but mine and others which are not garage that are taken care of do not show the wear that most that might still be on the road do.
 
Again, I see what you are listing mostly as being due to the age of the vehicle. I think in general cars of the 90's where cheaply made, all around. But a 95 is 20 years old now. Fading and worn out things happen. A cheaply purchased car is often has not been taken care of, and will show a lot more issues.

Yes my cars sit in a garage most of the time, but mine and others which are not garage that are taken care of do not show the wear that most that might still be on the road do.

^^^This^^^ has a great deal of merit.

My 30 year old Mustang SVO, which I have owned for 30 years, has always been garaged, and for the past 20 years, that garage has been climate controlled. Even with 47K miles on the clock, the car interior and exterior is essentially museum quality. If I had parked it outside for 10 years, perhaps less, it would be a goner.

Before we sold my wife's 1996 Mercury Tracer LTS a few years back, it sat outside and the plastic interior bits deteriorated quite a lot in just one year.
DCP00823.jpg~original
 
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