Okay, after getting the 1995 Contour back from the shop after pouring money into it like a drunken sailor, I reflected on the thing I hate most about this car:

It's the crappy cupholder. It NEVER springs out enough, it's too small, and often just tips over, tending to spill drinks into passenger's laps. I have a manual and it's hard to pull the E-brake with anything besides an 8 oz can of tomato paste in the cupholder.

Is there anything else I can put in there? Perhaps a better-designed cupholder? Some other useful device? A CD holder? I dunno.

I'll check back after I've perused the boards a little more, looking for something to do with this cup holder...

You can do as some have thought about doing, I have not seen it done, but you can go grab a cup holder out of either a jetta, or a taurus/sable, they go where the radio is, and the radio goes where the little open box is. I am going to do it, just haven't figured out when.

Hm. Okay, I can do that, I'll go check out Jetta and Taurus consoles to see what they look like.

But, I would like to do something else with the space the existing cupholder kit used to take up. I may make a mold of the current cupholder and fabricate an iPod holder or cellphone holder or something like that. It's so narrow, not much room for anything. Perhaps a pen holder or flower vase like in the new VW beetle. Ha!

I wonder, does the stock Contour stereo have an auxillary port in the back? I'll go check...

nope.

The original style cupholder is no longer available. It has been replaced with a better designed unit that is larger and is more robust. It is only abailable as a singe cup cupholder, as your manual trans car was built. The dual cupholder available before on the automatic trans cars is no longer available. When the cupholder is replaced, the bezel must be replaced as well. The new design is very similar to the one used on the Cougar.

It may not be exactly what you want, but it is a big improvement over what you have.

if youre looking for something else to put there, besides a cup holder, theres a guy on here named "big c" i think, that made a brushed aluminum and/or painted mounting plate for toggle switches, that fits right in that spot...give him a PM and im sure you can buy one from him

there is an upgraded part, @25 dollars, money well spent. It might be in FAQs or search for it.

Originally posted by Nate S:

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if youre looking for something else to put there, besides a cup holder, theres a guy on here named "big c" i think, that made a brushed aluminum and/or painted mounting plate for toggle switches, that fits right in that spot...give him a PM and im sure you can buy one from him

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yep, loved mine while i had the 'tour

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~Andrew