• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Contour article on Wikipedia seems light on details and overly critical

JensenHealey

New CEG'er
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
19
Location
Girard, Ohio
In reading through the Ford Mondeo article on Wikipedia that has a short section on the Ford Contour and Mercury Mistique, there seems to be a little lack of detail. It also seems to sort of indicate that the Mondeo platform was not a huge sales success for Ford in general. I notice that there are currently no Contours listed for sale at all on Ebay Motors. Is the car really that unusual to find? I remember another friend owning a Contour SVT when they were new and he seemed to really like the car.

Are there any sites that have more information on common issues or upgrades that are common for the car? Also how hard would it be t convert an automatic equipped car to a manual trans?
 
I think, for the most part is the Contour being at its age now is something that is old and parts are not easily available for it, In my area, a lot of these cars are being crushed due to the lack of sales in the used part market, and various issues with the car.
 
The Mondeo and all it's various versions (sedan, wagon, hatchback, FWD, AWD, sports models such as ST200, etc...) have been a great success for Ford of Europe, and a hit with European drivers. When Ford brought the Mondeo state-side as the Contour and Mystique, they dumbed it down to a FWD only sedan. Then, Contour and Mystique were de-contented each successive model year until finally they just weren't interesting to American buyers and died an ignominious death. Add to this poor initial quality and a host of reliability issues for the first 5 or 10 years of ownership, and it's no wonder you might consider the Wikipedia review to be overly critical, but unfortunately or not, it's mostly right.

The youngest of the Contours are now 16 years old, and unless they were exceptionally well taken care of, they're badly showing their age. For years here in Colorado Springs and Denver, I've seen SVT Contours hit the junkyard for want of a new clutch. The owner gets a quote to replace the clutch and finds out it costs more than the car is worth, so off to the scrapper it goes. My observations are that the few Contours and Mystiques that remain on the road around here are being driven into the ground and thrown away.

The only survivor cars are going to be the small numbers that remain in the hands of enthusiasts, and you'll find a lot of those folks here. I'm one of them, every vehicle in my sig I bought new and still own.
 
It use to be that I would see a Contour/Mystique/Cougar very often. Now I do not see them at all.

I the US market the vehicle was not a hit. Basically a base model was the same cost as a fully loaded Escort, and a fully loaded model was the same price as a base Taurus. I think one of the biggest issues was back seat space for a family. Also there was no marketing for the vehicle as I recall.

Additionally the vehicle was more European feeling, especially for the early SE model. This wasn't what buyers wanted at the time. I know I personally like the way the car handles.

gmorrell hit the rest of the details completely on the head.
 
It use to be that I would see a Contour/Mystique/Cougar very often. Now I do not see them at all.

I the US market the vehicle was not a hit. Basically a base model was the same cost as a fully loaded Escort, and a fully loaded model was the same price as a base Taurus. I think one of the biggest issues was back seat space for a family. Also there was no marketing for the vehicle as I recall.

Additionally the vehicle was more European feeling, especially for the early SE model. This wasn't what buyers wanted at the time. I know I personally like the way the car handles.

gmorrell hit the rest of the details completely on the head.


I was saying this to the wife not to long ago. Don't see them around like we use to. Just look at how NECEG fell apart. We had one of the most active chapters on here and now pretty much nothing. I'm glad I still have mine. It will 17yrs this summer. The main issue I have is finding quality parts since nos ford stuff is drying up. I think you, me , Matt and Mike are the only few that still have our cars that I know of, there could be others.
 
I was saying this to the wife not to long ago. Don't see them around like we use to. Just look at how NECEG fell apart. We had one of the most active chapters on here and now pretty much nothing. I'm glad I still have mine. It will 17yrs this summer. The main issue I have is finding quality parts since nos ford stuff is drying up. I think you, me , Matt and Mike are the only few that still have our cars that I know of, there could be others.

Tony (CSVT1214) still has his, in fact he has two. Chris (hotdimes) I think still has his SE, but he might have gotten rid of it now. He might also have his brothers SVT now. RichR is somewhere in CT in I think still has one. I haven't talked with Greg (aircougar) in some time, but I would assume he still has his. Its a guessing game after that.
 
Tony (CSVT1214) still has his, in fact he has two. Chris (hotdimes) I think still has his SE, but he might have gotten rid of it now. He might also have his brothers SVT now. RichR is somewhere in CT in I think still has one. I haven't talked with Greg (aircougar) in some time, but I would assume he still has his. Its a guessing game after that.

I figured there where others I just couldn't remember its been so long.
 
Still have 2 95 SE's -- Drive them daily. One ATX one 5 Speed -- much prefer the 5 speed, unless I'm in traffic. Both have been well cared for, hope to get another 10 year out of them.
 
Still have 2 95 SE's -- Drive them daily. One ATX one 5 Speed -- much prefer the 5 speed, unless I'm in traffic. Both have been well cared for, hope to get another 10 year out of them.

Dude, seriously I loved my 96 SE MTX so much. Let me know if you ever plan to get rid of your 5 speed SE. I would seriously pay cash for it. Something about they way they drive.
 
Back
Top