"FWIW, the problem occurs primarily when driving hard to the right at high RPMs (~5000 IIRC is when the engine gets starved), due to the shape of the oil pan"

People who raced the cars on a track have had the problem and also "driving hard" is a general term. I'd say if you drive the car "hard", then expect issues to come up. "Hard driving" = abuse.

If someone rolls a Tour at a track and totals the car, is it Ford's fault?


Also, try driving that S'nota at a track and see if it would hold up. And see if "Americas Best Warranty" would cover "hard driving".


2005 Nissan Sentra 1.8 SE, Code Red. '00 Tropic Green Ford Escort SE [Contour's little cousin]