I've seen guys (Mustang) put the tripod in the back seat. 2 legs behind each seat (driver and passenger) and the 3rd leg fit snugly into the middle of the seat. (between seat and back cushion)
Hold everything down w/ a couple of straps and the seatbelts.
Not sure if it'll work w/ a Contour though...
Also, few places on-line sell tripods and some sort of attachements specially designed to go in a car. Don't remember where though... IF you Auto-X a lot, might be a worthy investment...
EDIT: This *might* help...
http://members.cox.net/mkpl/carmount.html John
