Originally posted by stodge:
I don't know if this helps, but I looked at a Contour that was advertised as a 98, when in fact it was built and registered in 97, so it was really a 97.



Ford manufactured the cars the summer/fall of the year before they sold them, and sold in the winter of that year. Many autos are done this way. Mine was built 10/97, and some of the '95 Contours are rapidly approaching their 10th anniversary this fall.

For example, take a look at how many '05 model vehicles you will see out this summer and fall.