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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 54
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 54 |
Now that I'm driving a sexxay new Mazda 3S hatchback, here are some of the things that I miss about my late Contour:
- High mileage at high speed. What other car this size could get 30+ mpg at 80+ mph? One of the first things I noticed with the Contour was that when I took my foot off the gas on the freeway, it scarcely slowed down.
- Steering feel. The tightness and road feel when driving near straight beat the Mazda 3, and everything else I test-drove too.
- The ability to go over residential speed bumps smoothly at 25 mph. In general, the tour is much better at smoothing bumps while still being able to corner hard.
- Back seat room. The Mazda is, after all, a compact. The Contour was... I guess you'd call it "almost midsized".
- The feature that lets you adjust the cruise control speed up or down by 1 mph.
- An ATX shift lever that you can operate quickly by feel without having to think about what you're doing.
- The big back window.
- Believe it or not, the speakers. (The Mazda comes with Bose speakers which are, like every Bose product, hideous garbage with a huge price markup.)
- Seat upholstery that breathes. Those Mazda seats... I may need to put sheepskin on them.
- Outside keyholes in all the expected places. The Mazda hatch has only one outside keyhole!
- Front compartments that are actually sized right to put CDs in. (Not that my contour played CDs.)
- The absence of a dead-pedal.
Things I don't miss:
- Disposable head gaskets. Plus other engine parts prone to premature failure, like the timing belt pulleys and maybe the water pump.
- The primitive automatic transmission.
- Brakes that were about as brawny as Kate Moss.
- No spare power for high altitude.
- A trunk you can't wrestle a bicycle into.
- No lumbar support.
- A cassette deck that changed speed when you stepped on the gas.
- Cheap interior plastics.
- Seat belt shoulder height adjusters that jam and break.
- The city mileage.
There's no doubt I'd still be happy with my first Contour, had it lived. What I've got now, though, not only outperforms it significantly but is also more practical.
. . . Two zetec Contours, two blown head gaskets... for some reason I have a Japanese car now.
anybody in California want a Diehard Gold 100 month battery? inquire by PM.
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 21,197
I have no life
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I have no life
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 21,197 |
Originally posted by cheapest GL around:
Brakes that were about as brawny as Kate Moss.
Didn't have Bendix Ti pads on it did you? 
Originally posted by cheapest GL around:
No spare power for high altitude.
Move. Or get a GL w/ a V6.
Originally posted by cheapest GL around:
A trunk you can't wrestle a bicycle into.
Guess you didn't have a folding seat. Fit two bikes in mine.
Originally posted by cheapest GL around:
No lumbar support.
Mmmmm SE seats. 
-'96 SE MTX 3L
-'98 SVT 1,173 of 6,535
-'05 Mazda 6s, loaded, g/f's ride
-Need a 96-00 manual on CD? PM or email me
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 54
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 54 |
Originally posted by todras:
Originally posted by cheapest GL around:
Brakes that were about as brawny as Kate Moss.
Didn't have Bendix Ti pads on it did you?
Better pads won't reduce overheating on downgrades.
Speaking of anorexic brakes, have you looked at the wheels on an Escalade? I just saw one outside and I swear the discs are smaller than the ones on my little hatchback. Or maybe they're as big but they're so dwarfed by the enormous wheels that they look smaller.
Originally posted by todras:
Originally posted by cheapest GL around:
A trunk you can't wrestle a bicycle into.
Guess you didn't have a folding seat. Fit two bikes in mine.
Folding back seats make it possible to get bikes in the back, but they can't make it easy or convenient.
. . . Two zetec Contours, two blown head gaskets... for some reason I have a Japanese car now.
anybody in California want a Diehard Gold 100 month battery? inquire by PM.
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 2,978
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 2,978 |
FWIW, I take the tires of my mountain bike and I can get it in my trunk with ease. As long as i take my 12" sub out, everything fits... along with a backpack. water, helmet and everything else biking related....
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 785
Veteran CEG\'er
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Veteran CEG\'er
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 785 |
i put enough wires to be able to put my 12" far enough on my back seat to be able to fit a bike (withtout the front wheel) without having to remove my sub of the car
1998.5 Toreador Red/Midnight Blue Contour SVT - #5912/6535 - DOB - 05/11/1998 -
RU-3530/CTA Intake Pipe
MSDS Heaser/Y-Pipe
Magnaflow #10435
9mm Ford racing
SPEC Stage one/Spec Alum. Flywheel
HERE
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,659
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,659 |
Originally posted by cheapest GL around:
Now that I'm driving a sexxay new Mazda 3S hatchback, here are some of the things that I miss about my late Contour:
- High mileage at high speed. What other car this size could get 30+ mpg at 80+ mph? One of the first things I noticed with the Contour was that when I took my foot off the gas on the freeway, it scarcely slowed down.
- Steering feel. The tightness and road feel when driving near straight beat the Mazda 3, and everything else I test-drove too.
- The ability to go over residential speed bumps smoothly at 25 mph. In general, the tour is much better at smoothing bumps while still being able to corner hard.
- Back seat room. The Mazda is, after all, a compact. The Contour was... I guess you'd call it "almost midsized".
- The feature that lets you adjust the cruise control speed up or down by 1 mph.
- An ATX shift lever that you can operate quickly by feel without having to think about what you're doing.
- The big back window.
- Believe it or not, the speakers. (The Mazda comes with Bose speakers which are, like every Bose product, hideous garbage with a huge price markup.)
- Seat upholstery that breathes. Those Mazda seats... I may need to put sheepskin on them.
- Outside keyholes in all the expected places. The Mazda hatch has only one outside keyhole!
- Front compartments that are actually sized right to put CDs in. (Not that my contour played CDs.)
- The absence of a dead-pedal.
Things I don't miss:
- Disposable head gaskets. Plus other engine parts prone to premature failure, like the timing belt pulleys and maybe the water pump.
- The primitive automatic transmission.
- Brakes that were about as brawny as Kate Moss.
- No spare power for high altitude.
- A trunk you can't wrestle a bicycle into.
- No lumbar support.
- A cassette deck that changed speed when you stepped on the gas.
- Cheap interior plastics.
- Seat belt shoulder height adjusters that jam and break.
- The city mileage.
There's no doubt I'd still be happy with my first Contour, had it lived. What I've got now, though, not only outperforms it significantly but is also more practical.
Intresting.......Im still with my tour. Once I buy a new car I will make my List!!!
"Do what you like, Because you have to drive it!"-Me
99 Contour LX
95 Mustang GT Convertible
97 Z24 Cavalier
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 21,197
I have no life
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I have no life
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 21,197 |
Originally posted by cheapest GL around:
Or maybe they're as big but they're so dwarfed by the enormous wheels that they look smaller.
 Do ya think?
Originally posted by cheapest GL around:
Folding back seats make it possible to get bikes in the back, but they can't make it easy or convenient.
Well get a van then.  I just take the front tire off. Who owns a bike w/o a quick release? I'm not arguing but some of your points are not valid.
-'96 SE MTX 3L
-'98 SVT 1,173 of 6,535
-'05 Mazda 6s, loaded, g/f's ride
-Need a 96-00 manual on CD? PM or email me
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 54
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 54 |
Originally posted by todras:
Originally posted by cheapest GL around:
Or maybe they're as big but they're so dwarfed by the enormous wheels that they look smaller.
Do ya think?
They're still pretty tiny. The same Escalade was there today, and this time I noticed it also had rear drums. I think it's an older model Escalade -- not as butt-ugly and not quite as enormous as the current ones.
Originally posted by cheapest GL around:
Originally posted by cheapest GL around:
Folding back seats make it possible to get bikes in the back, but they can't make it easy or convenient.
Well get a van then. I just take the front tire off. Who owns a bike w/o a quick release? I'm not arguing but some of your points are not valid.
To get my bike in I had to take both wheels off and it's still a wrestling match. I'd usually end up bungeeing the trunk lid down with the bike sticking out the back, which meant having to be real careful about bumps.
There's nothing "not valid" about mentioning that a moderate sized trunk with no folding seatback is inconvenient for large cargo. Not just bikes -- tomorrow I have plans to help a friend lug a big filing cabinet and a TV set. No problem with a compact hatch, hopeless with a (almost)midsize sedan. Plus, with the hatch I've got tie-down loops.
(By the way, the car that was the single most awkward bike hauler ever for me was an old 626 with a folding back seat. There was enough total room, but it was so cramped that the tolerances for fitting the bike through the seat hole needed to be measured with a micrometer.)
And what else are you claiming is "not valid"? That the car had dinky brakes?
. . . Two zetec Contours, two blown head gaskets... for some reason I have a Japanese car now.
anybody in California want a Diehard Gold 100 month battery? inquire by PM.
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 54
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 54 |
I just had to go back outside and measure that Escalade. Sure enough, the rotors are an inch smaller than the ones on my hatch.
While I was there one of the appalling newer-model Escalades parked nearby (driven by a woman small enough to fit in the dinkiest roadster, as it happens). That one had bigger rotors.
. . . Two zetec Contours, two blown head gaskets... for some reason I have a Japanese car now.
anybody in California want a Diehard Gold 100 month battery? inquire by PM.
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 301
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 301 |
Steering feel. The tightness and road feel when driving near straight beat the Mazda 3, and everything else I test-drove too.
This is one of the main reasons I bought my Contour. IMO there's no excuse for every modern car to not have steering this good. But the only other car I've ever driven that had such good feel was a 2001 BMW 325i. My '93 Lincoln Mark VIII came close believe it or not, but it was a little bit twitchy and overboosted.
The other day I had to drive a friend's '90 fullsize Chevy truck. I was all over the road with the damn thing for the first several miles because it had over 2 inches of free play before the steering would do anything!
The ability to go over residential speed bumps smoothly at 25 mph. In general, the tour is much better at smoothing bumps while still being able to corner hard.
Yep. I like how the ride is firm, but the chassis is stiff enough that it doesn't shudder on rough roads.
Believe it or not, the speakers. (The Mazda comes with Bose speakers which are, like every Bose product, hideous garbage with a huge price markup.)
I agree, they aren't bad for stock speakers! When I took them out I was surprised to see that they have plastic cones and rubber surrounds. Definitely better than the normal factory paper/cloth surround crap.
A friend of mine has a '98 Vette with the Bose system. It's by far the worst "premium" stereo I've ever heard. It makes everything sound like an AM radio station. Certainly lives up to the "no highs, no lows, must be Bose" saying.
Front compartments that are actually sized right to put CDs in. (Not that my contour played CDs.)
Now this I'd like. It seems like Ford designed my 99's center console to be as woefully useless as possible.
Things I don't miss:
Cheap interior plastics.
I'm not too keen on the interior quality either. But it's not horrible, and the damn thing's so fun to drive I don't really care. Plus all the controls feel really good (especially the turnsignal/wiper stalks), even if they don't look like a million bucks.
'99 Contour Sport V6 MTX
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