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why was the contour a dud?

M

mnewxcv

Hard-core CEG'er
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they offered some of the best bang for the buck in its class, but they were never popular i dont think, by anyones standards. They have depreciated hugely, and still today most people do not recognize them. The svt mustang cobras and f150 lightnings seemed to be much more successful through the years for whatever reason. Was it ford not wanting to give it much attention because it wasnt designed in detroit? was it svt not giving it a special name(lightning, cobra)? I posted this in discussions because thats what i want this to be. what do YOU think?
 
Yes, dud.

They did have the best bang for the $, I agree. Most people felt they were lemons though.

Too many problems to continue production. Wire harness', auto trans, small backseats, bad diffs, oil starvation, etc.... Too bad ford didn't do what we do here with them.
 
So many aspects to your question.

First the mainstream Contour line did not actually offer that much "bang for the buck", at least not to the typical American. Dealers had the smaller contour, and the larger Tuarus at not very different price points, and dealers would press most customers into the larger taurus for roughly the same money. Good for Taurus sales, bad for Contour sales. Further compounding the perception issues, after awhile Ford nearly flooded the rental car market with the most stripped down, and frankly least desirable version of the Contour possible. People would rent a ragged out zetec powered auto-trans'ed Contour, and it would make them think the entire lineup sucked just as bad.

For the SVT Contour, this is where the bang for the buck came in. At the time the only way you could get a quicker and better handling small 4-door sedan was to pony up almost twice the money for the short-lived 4-dr E36 M3. This is certainly one of the major factors in why I bought mine at the time. I think sales were limited partly due to the perception of the Contour line in general, and partly due to the fact that limited numbers of American-brand-centric gearheads were ready for something that fit more into the "Sport Compact Car" crowd, than the drag racer crowd. Lack of direct advertising certainly didn't help, but that's a bit of a cop-out to claim, because it never hurt Cobra or Lightning sales.

And calling the Contour a car for grannies and gramps still seems funny to me, as the CDW27 cars are reasonably light, and nimble handling little sedans. (and no, while the cougar was derived from the CDW27 architecture, it had its own program designation of SW164) Either way, sporty little sedans aren't what I typically associate with the elderly.
 
IMHO, probably a combination of size (vs. class competition), lack of reliability (whether perceived or actual), and a rental car/old-fart stigma.

i would say that most of the car-buying public are blind lemmings who buy what their neighbors & friends like, what JD power & consumer reports recommend, and what their biases and preferences lead them to. also bear in mind that these cars were being sold when SUV's were becoming the "in" thing and midsize sedans - other than cam-cords and the like - were losing popularity. meanwhile, competing midsize sedans were getting bigger, which the contour couldn't do w/o crowding the taurus market.

the relative rarity of CSVT's in particular was always a blessing and a curse to me. i loved the fact that i didn't (and now don't) meet myself coming & going (like the other day when i was at a traffic light in my suburban and counted *7* other GMT900 tahoes/yukons/suburbans/etc. just on MY side of the intersection!!). however, the relative lack of popularity killed the car - it's nice to be part of an elite group of like-minded owners who "get it", but on the other hand that's a crappy business model for a global auto giant like ford. not to say limited numbers of SVT versions was what did it - if the "base" contour platform had sold in civic or accord numbers, i doubt it would've become the redheaded stepchild of the sedan market.

now that i have my 2nd CSVT, i'm reminded of just how "right-sized" and balanced these cars are. outward visibility and maneuverability are 10x better than current cars - i've rented a number of altimas, camrys, and chargers for work-related travel and the visibility is noticeably worse than what i see w/ my CSVT. parking is a breeze (though just about anything would be after hopping out of the suburban!); hitting gaps in traffic is child's play; and i can actually fit two child seats in the rear, despite the tight dimensions there.

i *really* wish ford would do an SVT version of the current fusion w/ AWD, an eco-boost 4 or 6 cylinder engine, and a true 3-pedal manual....but i'm not holding my breath. manuals are unfortunately dying off in favor of the "flappy paddle" gearbox, and we'd probably be looking at a low-$30k sedan that's smaller than its competition and be right back where we started w/ the contour.
 
Oh, and to add, what killed it, is that when Nasser came in, it was the pet project of the previous CEO, and as such, he had little interest in making the effort to keep it a top platform, eventually letting it die on its own largely due to neglect. The SVT version being the one bright spot in the last few years, but when the mainstream program died, SVT had no choice but to let it go.
 
I think it was more a question of slotting. The Contour sat between the small econo-cars -> small mid-sizes -> mid-sizes -> slighly larger mid-size -> larger cars, even like the Taurus. There were too many in that slot to choose between Contour, Taurus, Probe, Escort, Tempo and more not to count Mystique, Sables, etc that were all-but identical.
 
blu_fuz said:
Yes, dud.

They did have the best bang for the $, I agree. Most people felt they were lemons though.

Too many problems to continue production. Wire harness', auto trans, small backseats, bad diffs, oil starvation, etc.... Too bad ford didn't do what we do here with them.
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Cup holders, Rear subframe tabs, 3rd gear synchro's, Dash warp....oh the list goes on :crazy:
 
Contour was a dud because of lack of marketing from ford and some build quality issues. Why did the mondeo do so well over seas? Because they had a different customer base, a different sales model, and different cars they sold.

Back in the day the contour was sold for only marginally less than a taurus, and the fuel economy really wasnt much better than the taurus. So people just spent a little more for a taurus and got a larger more comfortable car.

over seas on the other hard, the next step up from the Mondeo was considerably more expensive, which was the Sierra I believe.
 
blake said:
i would say that most of the car-buying public are blind lemmings who buy what their neighbors & friends like, what JD power & consumer reports recommend, and what their biases and preferences lead them to.
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Consumer Reports DID recommend the Contour. I bought my '96 in large part because CR gave it a big thumbs up.
 
My opinion would be that most people want a car that they can easily work on. The contour is more hard to work on, because the engine being in their sideways, their ain't hardly any room to do anything without removing a bunch of stuff first. This is one of the reasons im selling my contour now, and i own a nissan. The engine compartment is bigger, the engine is half the size with probably the same amount of power, and everything is much easier to access. Of course i don't have a garage and a place to actually work in, but the nissan will save me money in the long run, im hoping.

Contours are fast little cars, but they end up catching back up to you in repair bills (if you can't do the work yourself)
 
Mywhip said:
My opinion would be that most people want a car that they can easily work on. The contour is more hard to work on, because the engine being in their sideways, their ain't hardly any room to do anything without removing a bunch of stuff first. This is one of the reasons im selling my contour now, and i own a nissan. The engine compartment is bigger, the engine is half the size with probably the same amount of power, and everything is much easier to access. Of course i don't have a garage and a place to actually work in, but the nissan will save me money in the long run, im hoping.

Contours are fast little cars, but they end up catching back up to you in repair bills (if you can't do the work yourself)
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your car is a zetec isnt it? If your calling that cars engine bay cramped thats one thing but also using fast while still on the same subject is another lol.
 
The "not invented here" syndrome was a very strong part of this. Training instructors were telling technicians that it was an insignificant car and would soon be discontinued. If that was the message they were giving to the technicians, I can only imagine what the sales people were being told.

When I bought my car, I was working at a dealership. I knew what I wanted as soon as I road tested one. The sales people tried to talk me into a Taurus instead.

I think this attitude from the top at Ford led to not trying to prevent or overcome the quality problems, after all, they were going to discontinue it so why spend any more time with it than necessary. They waited until the Focus was established (sort of) and then told us that the Focus was the Contour replacement. Even today that is an ugly thought.

Eventually Ford woke up and realized that they made a mistake by abandoning a viable market segment. Once that happened, it took a while to tool up for the Fusion, the closest thing to a Contour since the Contour was dropped.
 
The original owner of my SVT documented some of his dealings with dealers at the time. He lived in PA and had narrowed it down between the SVT Contour and the Mazda 626 for his business use. The Ford dealers around the area he was looking seemed to have alot of inventory in Fall/Winter 98 of SVT Contours. He has printouts with all the VINs and descriptions of all the cars in the region and also some of the major differences between the 2 cars. The salespeople were generally not quick to want to sell the Contours, even though inventory was very high. SVT Contours in the area also had (on average) longer time on the lot than all the other non-SVT models including mystique. The salespeople were not very familiar with warranty program info at the time for the SVT Contour and seemed to not be very helpful in general. One dealership finally had all the incentives and warranty info and he went with the SVT because thats what he appeared to have wanted all along and was just waiting for the price to be right. I sat down on a rainy Saturday afternoon recently and actually read through everything he had. It was quite interesting. Thought about running all the VIN's on the paperwork to see which ones are still around.

Now, in my opinion, I would not have bought a non-SVT Contour/Mystique when they were new mainly because of the interior. One of the same reasons I won't buy a Cobalt or Neon...the interior seems too cheap. My tan dash in my red car absolutely drives me insane because it doesn't match the rest of the interior. What the heck!? Even the MNB interior in my SVT annoys me a little bit because the headliner and sunroof motor cover are a lighter color than everything else in the interior. WHY??? It doesn't make sense to me. I bought my SE because the price and mileage were right at the time and I bought my SVT because I just love the way they look and drive. I felt I could overlook the headliner issue enough to enjoy the car :laugh:
 
Frosty said:
The original owner of my SVT documented some of his dealings with dealers at the time. He lived in PA and had narrowed it down between the SVT Contour and the Mazda 626 for his business use. The Ford dealers around the area he was looking seemed to have alot of inventory in Fall/Winter 98 of SVT Contours. He has printouts with all the VINs and descriptions of all the cars in the region and also some of the major differences between the 2 cars. The salespeople were generally not quick to want to sell the Contours, even though inventory was very high. SVT Contours in the area also had (on average) longer time on the lot than all the other non-SVT models including mystique. The salespeople were not very familiar with warranty program info at the time for the SVT Contour and seemed to not be very helpful in general. One dealership finally had all the incentives and warranty info and he went with the SVT because thats what he appeared to have wanted all along and was just waiting for the price to be right. I sat down on a rainy Saturday afternoon recently and actually read through everything he had. It was quite interesting. Thought about running all the VIN's on the paperwork to see which ones are still around.

Now, in my opinion, I would not have bought a non-SVT Contour/Mystique when they were new mainly because of the interior. One of the same reasons I won't buy a Cobalt or Neon...the interior seems too cheap. My tan dash in my red car absolutely drives me insane because it doesn't match the rest of the interior. What the heck!? Even the MNB interior in my SVT annoys me a little bit because the headliner and sunroof motor cover are a lighter color than everything else in the interior. WHY??? It doesn't make sense to me. I bought my SE because the price and mileage were right at the time and I bought my SVT because I just love the way they look and drive. I felt I could overlook the headliner issue enough to enjoy the car :laugh:
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submit the vins in the registry thread if you havent :cool:
 
I was working for a Ford dealership in spring 97 when these puppies came out. From what I saw and heard was that the manual only option was a big drawback (with women) compare to the BMW's and Nissan, others saw it as a dealer only mock-up of the new front look of the 98 contour. The dealership I was at bumped up the price by adding the rear spoiler and saying that the tires and rims were extra (performance package). I did a lot of test drives with people and the men loved it, but could not justify the 24+K price for a Ford Contour when a Mustang GT was only 22K and the Cobra was 28K.

There was little if any sales info on them, we were told to just say it was a special edition model. The contour was mainly seen as the second car in the family that the wife would drive, so the SVT did not get much attention on the lot, we had two SF and Black. Along with the introduction of the Expedition and the strong sales of the Explorer and the New front end look of the F150. The SVT Contour never had a chance.
 
I think the Contours appearance was also very polarizing - people either really liked the look or they didn't at all. Theres a reason Camrys and Accords were so bland looking, few loved their looks but hardly anyone hates them.

In addition to reliability issues (perceived or real), Ford really dropped the ball on the servicing and warranty coverage for this car. All too often problems were denied or ignored by dealerships alienating many a driver. Far too many dealerships were only concerned with the large profit items like trucks and SUV.

Finally, not offering a 3 liter V6 when many of iits competitors had one didnt help. many people bought far crappier handling Maximas and Camrys just because of the 3 liter engines.
 
icysvt said:
your car is a zetec isnt it? If your calling that cars engine bay cramped thats one thing but also using fast while still on the same subject is another lol.
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Eh, its one of the fastest little cars i have driven, of course i have only owned two small cars >.>
 
My guess as to why it was a dud would be marketing and word of mouth. I can only remember reading one article on the SVTC. The two other mystiques thatmy father owned were all first choices over other cars.

The day I went with my dad to buy the SVT at the dealership the salesman didnt want us to look at anything else other than the SVTC. It might have helped that we pulled into the lot with a tgreen/tan mystique. The guy called the Taurus an old persons car. The SVTC was the audi/bmw killer to him. If there was more guys like him, we wouldnt have this thread.
 
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