Originally posted by 96RedSE5Sp: ... the racer-boy gee-whiz styling of the CSVT is an enormous liability and the overall styling of the second generation Contours was a serious mistake.
I want to like this styling, I really do, but the styling, especially the front grill and headlights of the second generation makes me cringe. My next car will be either a pristine '96 CSE with low mileage or a new Mazda 6.
I do, however, like the styling of all Mystiques - no matter what the year.
Just goes to show, "To each, his own.". You may like the look of the new Mercedes cars, but I think its a bit pedestrian considering the modern style trends. I prefer the classic sweeping lines of a Jag.
I LOVE my 2nd gen Contour styling. I think its slick, and smooth, and "on the edge" in its time, perhaps even ahead of its time.
The SVT ... There was an article about SVTs posted here last week that talked about the ground effects being a take-off of the M3. I have heard very few critics of the M3 styling & its ground effects, as was the determination of the columns author.
Love it, hate it. It was an awsome car when introduced & I love my SE still.
I saw that article a few years ago. My reaction was the same as yours.
Who knows? Maybe the writer was driving a BMW and just couldn't stand the thought of the 1998 CSVT actually coming out ahead of every 3-series Beemer BUT the M3 in so many important performance criteria. Or maybe he and the BMW PR guy had just come back from an all-expenses-paid trip to Vegas. Let's face it -- if car mag writers were subject to even minimal conflict-of-interest guidelines, many of them wouldn't have taken the gig in the first place.
