Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Pan-Anglo taste regarding the Mondeo/Contour

From what I can gather from watching British shows like Top Gear, the Mondeo has done very well for itself. While its cousins across the pond, the Contour and Mystique, were no flops, they certainly weren't the barnstormers the Mondeo was.

What do you guys think the reasons for this were?

What network did you watch Top Gear on? I think marketing may have been a problem, and lack of rear seat room. The Tempo/Topaz cars were not the biggest market segment for Ford, and the Contours replaced those (I was happy!) The car magazines did like the Contour if I recall, and Consumer Reports did as well (until repair data came in..). European needs were met more directly than American needs by the car. I do notice we are not overrun by BMW's or even VW's here in the states.

I've always blamed it on the fact that 1996 was OBDII year and more CELs appeared and maintenance concerns shot up in the consumer reviews for used vehicles. IIRC, my two previous used Chevys (84 Cav and 88 Celeb), at 8 years old with tranny issues when I sold them, had only one CEL each in the 4 years that I owned them (O2 sensor and ECM respectively). And it was cheap and easy to maintain or repair those cars (not necessarily more reliable but it was cheap and easy to repair them). Case in point would be the alternator, it took me only 35 minutes for the Cav and 25 minutes for the Celeb doing it for the first time (as they were right on top). I have not had the misfortune to swap the alternator for the Contour yet (dealer had to replace it under warranty at 35K) but I know it won't be fun when the time comes.

One phrase: Grandma's grocery getter.

Well-known, although it wasn't quite the image Ford would want to market.

(Not that I discourage seniors against the Contour; my elderly neighbors have one and I tried to get my grandparents into one when they bought their Taurus. A good, comfortable, responsive car with few blind spots and easy accessibility makes the Contique a perfect choice, which I believe is partly why many older people went with it, and still do. My car was owned by a 61-year-old lady before she succumbed to cancer.)

IIRC when the Mondy was released in the UK it was hit quite badly with the 'bland' image ... kind of like here too.

Naturally sales there were higher than here because of the different ranges of cars, it didn't have to 'compete with itself' like the Contour/Taurus here either.

I imagine, from what I've read and seen, that the Mondeo survived much better there than here because it was a) given time and support and b) given a facelift to match what customers wanted.
Don't forget too, we were two whole years behind Europe in versions ... the 98 Contour is really a 96 Mondeo!

I personally feel that if Ford had not dropped it, the Contour would be very popular by now. The handling is really above par, which is something that grabs the interest of real drivers. It's a very comfortable vehicle, and capable ... a very well rounded car. It had potential here.
Consider that when the Focus came out, a lot of people were put off by the different styling, and lowly 4-banger. If Ford had not dropped the Contour, I would bet that between 2000-2002 Contour sales would have rocketed up because of that ... as long as price dropped a little. Naturally too, if development remained we would have had the factory 3.0 L version probably 2000+, and we'd all be salivating over upcoming the 2007 duratec 35 Tour!

Another thing that I think really helped the Mondeo was it's fleet sales. It helped exposure, it helped establish a contented driver-base too. I remember guys having these as company cars back in the UK, and then buying one for themselves. Personally I bought a Mondeo after spending some time spinning about in the company's Mondy. Ford USA should have really paid attention to this in the UK, as the Mondy was basically designed not only as a family car, but to compete as a 'rep-mobile' against the Vauxhall Cavalier.

I think one of the reasons that it became 'Grandmas grocery getter' is because the older buyer wanted a CAR. The younger market where all over the SUV and Minivan at the time. With a little perseverence, and dropping the 3.0l in the factory I would imagine that the Contour would have comparable sales to the Mazda6, although slightly higher as it's a "domestic". In effect, Ford USA didn't know how to market a European car ... they just added to the product line and that was it, expecting people faithfuly buy it simply because it was there.

One major assister in Ford UK sales ... BTCC Mondeo's. Granted not everynody watches it, but it definitely helped the reputation of the Mondy as a 'fun sports sedan' when it whipped the other makes. A very good bonus was having Nigel Mansell driving one for a season. The big name probably drew some interest to it too.

your also missing the point that as americans "we" want big spacious vehicle...most of the time for no real reason...and although there was room in the front, the back was lacking...and if you read enough reviews its brought up everytime, and as a carsalesman i know every customer reads consumer reports (???why???) and the such....

its on the speed network from time to time as well