Hi Troy, I've been reading the replies from fellow Contour SVT owners with great interest. I agree wholeheartedly with what is being said about how much or rather how little Ford/SVT cares about us as a group. As for the magazine, keep it, there was never anything in it about the Contour SVT anyway.
With that said, my biggest complaint is the rear bumper sag. Ford/SVT has to have known about this since the beginning. It is a slap in my face that nothing has been officially said on this issue. For over a year I've read about people contacting your organization about with substantiating documentation (not that you need it because you all know the problem exists)and still no acknowledgment or attempt to rectify the situation. Why? Is it like most of the responders say, that Ford/SVT doesn't care about us as a group anymore? Ford/SVT stood up and did the right thing with the Cobra exhaust. There is a gentleman who on his own came up with a fix, albeit rudementery, to make the bumper sag less noticable. Why, with all the resources available to you folks at Ford/SVT, could you all not come up with something substantial and of quality to fix the problem? I'm sure it could be done with minor impact to your budget. I wouldn't mind paying for it in the least.
And here's where you should be concerned. Whether you like it or not this product says something about Ford and SVT. Most people don't pay a second glance to to your everyday Contour or Mystique. But they do to a Contour SVT because as a whole the car has very attractive lines in the SVT form. And what do they see - a poorly engineered rear bumper cap. What do you think that is saying about Ford. Does the competition have this problem? Not that I've seen.
The telling tale is how, out of the total production run of Contour SVTs afflicted with this substandard quality engineering (I'm guessing around 80%), we have been ignored by Ford/SVT.
After all of this I must say that I enjoy my Contour SVT very much inspite of the bumber sag and creaky dash. However, when I'm compiling my short list of options for my next vehicle purchase you will have to work very hard between now and then to get me to take a second look at any of your SVT products.
Troy, I give you my respect for signing on here on your own and taking some rounds for your organization. It's too bad they won't do it on their own, but we'll take what we can get. I'd be very interested to hear what outcome, if any, takes place as a result of this online ventilation session. I wish you well and challenge you to go forward and do good things for us stepchildren of Ford.
