Apparently, Lincoln did not figure that owners of their flagship luxury automobile would be changing their own oil. You cannot get the filter out with the suspension loaded. It requires a jack or a lift. I was not in the mood to monkey with the floor jack since the car was already up on ramps, opting instead to put the old filter back on and regroup later. I did, however, get the oil changed, having already drained it. 
To be specific, once unscrewed, the filter is blocked by a motor mount on one side and a sway bar on the other. The steering knuckle and headers block it from exiting from above. It doesn't miss by much, but in this case it doesn't matter if its an inch or a mile -- stuck is stuck. I prefer to do this stuff myself, and since I always remove the filter after draining the crankcase, I have a question: What kind of oil volume would you expect if the filter were removed with the pan full? Like most systems, the filter is above the pan level by a little bit, so I'm inclined to think it would go pretty smoothly. Perhaps someone can share their firsthand experience, whether with the Contour or any other car.
To be specific, once unscrewed, the filter is blocked by a motor mount on one side and a sway bar on the other. The steering knuckle and headers block it from exiting from above. It doesn't miss by much, but in this case it doesn't matter if its an inch or a mile -- stuck is stuck. I prefer to do this stuff myself, and since I always remove the filter after draining the crankcase, I have a question: What kind of oil volume would you expect if the filter were removed with the pan full? Like most systems, the filter is above the pan level by a little bit, so I'm inclined to think it would go pretty smoothly. Perhaps someone can share their firsthand experience, whether with the Contour or any other car.