Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Message to all SVT owners

Sorry everyone I?m trying to keep up. If I miss a question I apologize.



We will definitely be there with a lot of support. I?m actually considering bringing my recently acquired SHO.

I see a lot of talk about equal treatment like the Cobra, Lightning, Focus, Etc. Can someone elaborate on this?

One major thing I want to add is nobody here at SVT thinks the SVT Contour was a flop. We are extremely proud of it. There are more Contours owned by people here than other SVT products. We did not want to see it go and it will me dearly missed.

Troy

Anything! T-shirt, hat, cup, pen, sweatshirt, etc., etc. You say you had stuff for the Contour for 2 years, and by that I'm assuming 98 and 99. Well as anyone knows it takes time for things to grow and the same goes with car clubs and enthusiasts. I do remember in 98 seeing a coffee cup and a sweatshirt and that was it. I tried to order both and was told that they no longer exist.

I have a feeling that the cobra and lightning stuff sold because those cars had a previous history with SVT and the contour was a new car to SVT. It was given 2 years to sell apparel and then yanked because of no sales.

All I'm saying is it would be nice to order a contour SVT T-shirt and not have to sit in front of the computer and make my own. I guess having 'stuff' for the contour is a part of supporting the contour and that is where I feel SVT is lacking.



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'98 T-Red Contour SVT
#2767 of 6535
DOB: 8/97

Don't worry Troy, I usually keep my posts very objective.



Besides the obligatory mugs, jackets, caps, and key chains?

The SVT Contour was designed and marketed (albeit for a short time) as a road car, and "corner carver" as many magazines put it. So what happens when owners start getting seized engines from oil starvation? They get the runaround from Ford and (in some instances) get shafted on their warranty claims. Something as simple as a baffled oil pan and windage tray could have prevented most of those failures. Our cars are made to run at 6k+ all day long and pull .86+, yet no attention was ever paid to this. The 4.6 Cobras get a windage tray over the standard GT, why couldn't we? That problem's been going on since the SVT's introduction, yet it still existed when it ended production.

People have to baby the glass diff's in these cars due to fear of gernading them. Not a month goes by without someone else on this board runs across this problem. I'm not suggesting SVT should have upgraded the diff. to a Quaife, there's no reason I would expect a $1000 differential to be put into a production car. But there are cheaper l/s diff's out there, as shown in the SVT Contour "Puff", and that would have been an extremely practical solution to a problem that is still plaguing us.

-edit-
Damnit, I forgot about the 50k waterpump and bumper sag!
-edit-

When the 99 Cobra entered production it was down on power and had various driveline problems. Ford and SVT stepped up and worked hard, both privately and publicly, to address these issues. When the second generation Lightning came out there were reports of intercooler failures. The 2001MY Lightning now sports an improved intercooler (some would say that it's only there for more power, but somehow that would be a little too convenient). The two examples I have for the SVT Contour are only the two most significant complaints, and they were never acknowledged nor addressed by SVT or Ford.

As for the Focus. For $18k the SVT Focus comes with heated seats and mirrors, some pimpy cosmetic interior enhancements, a 6-speed (I'll let the slide since Ford didn't own Getrag at the time of the contour's run), 17" rims, huge brakes all around, oil pressure and temp gauges, and the list goes on. The Contour went for $23.5k and we got cars that were stripped down more and more every year they were made. Although de-contenting is more of a Ford issue, the lack of certain necessities such as oil pressure/temp gauges is a sin that should never have taken place.

As for the magazine. I realize that it's a small magazine, and is limited to a certain number of features a month. But a word here or there would be nice. Or at least a retrospect on the Contour when it ended production. It's just nice to be remembered once in awhile!


[This message has been edited by Steve Bassen (edited March 29, 2001).]

i have always been a ford fan,at least until
recently.i needed a car to get me to work and back and to replace my '90 five liter
lx mustang.i wanted to stay true to ford and
buy a ford product,so i figured i would purchase a svt contour.i liked the way it looked and it seemed to get good performance
reviews from some major auto mags.i bought my mustang used and i love it,i've done some major performance upgrades to it and it was just not practical as a daily driver.i was looking at some imported cars but the svt
was being sold at a good price at a dealer and i ended up purchasing a 2000 svt contour.
i believe for the amount of equipment it has it was a good deal.i make my living as a certified tech for mercedes-benz,so in a way since i drive these cars all day long i am a bit spoiled.however the more i drive my contour the more i notice how ill minded this car is put together.the quality is just not there.the materials are cheap,and it just feels like it put together by people who just don't care.my mustang,with 130,000
miles is holding up well,i dont think my contour will ever hold up the way its going.
i will always love fords,at least classic fords,and of course my lx.this will be however my last new ford.i will be buying and import next time around.sorry ford and svt,but even if it has a svt logo on it does
not mean that the car was built any better.

I wouldn't say the issue is with SVT in particular with many of these things, but Ford in general. I don't know how much influence your group has on Ford's general product development, but I'll make my statement anyway.

I frankly am not concerned with magazines or clothes or "stuff", though they are nice.

The issue is that Ford has completely decided to ignore a core automotive class in discontinuing and not replacing the Contour... the entry mid-size class. Then they have the audacity to think that the Focus fills the gap. Not to knock the Focus, but its a small car, lacking the size, V6 power and stature to wear the Contour's shoes. Interior room is only a small part of the deal.

That is the main cause of anger for many of us, we want V6 power and a larger package than the Focus (interior room not the issue), but don't want the familymobile Taurus.

SVT then seems to ignore us that like/need the stature and practicality of a 4-door sedan and only advertise a hot version of the hatchback.

Basically, we're suffering from neglect. Ford first discontinues our vehicle with nothing to adequately replace it. Then us remaining owners are treated as it would be preferable that we didn't exist.

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I don't have a personality. I have an attitude

Ross 1998 E0 SVT T-Red

My biggest concern is my tranny. Can you explain to me why my car goes through a tranmission every 15-18k? Then after the second one was put in the dealer voids my warranty.. The reason? They say the car was raced! It has NEVER seen a track! Please email me for more details, I would like a resolution to this.
Thanks for taking the time for us.

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-Steve
'99 T-Red SVT #102
http://65.3.243.95
sholland991@home.com
Moderator
www.svtperformance.com

Transmission Sucks Transmission Sucks, Talked with DAVE at SVT and he doesnt know why they put that trans in the car. Bad choice on SVT Part
Troy e-mail me

Chris9098@aol.com

Troy,

First of all, I would like to say thank you for dropping by the CEG.

Also, I would like to say that I'm absolutely thrilled with my car. I have put on 33K absolutely trouble-free miles over the past two years. This car has far exceeded my expectations and any other new car within 5K of my purchase price.

As for the goodies, I can't say that I'm too concerned. I do have a nice SVT windbreaker, but I'm more interested in driving than picking what to wear.

My gripe lies in the fact that Ford/SVT has done nothing to cure the 3 achilles (sp?)heals of this vehicle. They would be the 50K water pump, the non-baffled oil pan, and the weak diff.

I'm not saying that Ford should recall all of these vehicles and replace them. I think that a genuine compromise could be reached here.

Our only choices in correcting these potential problems are with very expensive, difficult to acquire aftermarket parts (well, the lsd and baffled oil pan anyways). Couldn't Ford offer these parts through the SVT dealerships at a discounted price? I'd gladly pony up some extra cash to make my car into the rock solid performer that it could/should have been.

Finally, and I would like to stress this the most... BRING THE MONDEO TO THE US!!!!!!!!

I don't care if you call it a Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury. Make this car into what the Contour should have been, a rightful competitor to the Bimmer's and Audi's.

Grab the AWD drive-train you developed for the X-Type, solve the aforementioned problems with the SVT's weak points, build a QUALITY car not a volume car, and start the pricing in the mid to upper twenties.

If you build it, I think you'd have people lined up to buy it. My name would be on the list.

Thanks,
-Colin

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'99 SVT
Silver Frost/Midnight Blue

About as stock as they come these days.

"Drop a gear and disappear..."

Mark: my point was that there would be some VERBAL exchanges with SVT people... the body armour remark was ment to be a metaphor ..slings and arrows .. Shakespeare .. you know. Sorry if I wasn't clear. I was not and am not trying to incite ANYONE to do ANYTHING unpleasant. Just seems if SVT shows up they should know they are going to come across a few unhappy campers...... k ? jj



[This message has been edited by jjost (edited March 29, 2001).]

First off, big props to Troy for coming on the Forum and reading up, let alone posting to a bunch of cranky SVT owners

I think that the other members have articulated a lot of my concerns. I am not so concerned with hats, shirts, etc. but I can see where people who take pride in their ride would like such items.

You know the biggest problem that I have with owning my SVT is that I feel like I have zero support from Ford.

I have had horrible dealer experiences, including having some guy wearing more chains than Mr. T taking my keys, only to leave my car unfixed (needed a sensor, that will take 3 weeks) and helped himself to a few dollars of change that was in my car.

When I bought my first SVT Contour, the dealer asked me "you aren't going to tinker with this car, are you?" It's like "hell yeah buddy!" The dealer should be saying to me "Here's a copy of our SVO catalog. Inside you'll find some performance/custom parts to make your car just the way you want it."

I understand that the SVT Contour is dead because the Contour as a whole was nixed. That is a whole other discussion on failed marketing, decontenting, etc.

What I don't understand is how a bunch of performance tuners can pride themselves on having the highest HP/liter of any North American automobile and how the intake is extrude-honed, then when everyone's transmission blows up, its like "huh?"

Ford can make good with a great deal many SVT owners, and turn a lot of last time buyers (possibly me included) into repeat buyers by doing the following:

1) Create a Ford-approved upgrade kit for the transmission. It should include a locking diff, heavy duty gears and synchros, as well as any needed improvements with the bearings, etc.

2) Offer this upgrade kit at a reduced cost to all SVT Contour owners. Perhaps for people who have had to go through a few trannys (I am on my 2nd) offer it to them for a greater discount

3) Admit there is a problem with bumper sag. Come up with a fix, and issue a TSB so we all have straight rear bumper covers.

quote:
---------------------------------------------Because we mainly deal with the development of the vehicle itself, we don?t usually get involved with aftermarket parts. But we have been trying to improve that. Our first efforts were with the ShoShop and I think they have done well with supporting the SVT Contour.

Maybe Ford needs to start thinking like a car company and not like a bunch of departments. If Ford is going to build a tuner-performance car, then the SVT guys need to pow-pow with the "we make aftermarket parts for Ford" guys, and they need to offer a comprehensive package. Has Ford EVER offered an SVT without offering SVO parts that will work on it? No.

I don't care that the production number is low or not. Don't sell cars that beg to be tweaked, then not sell parts to tweak them. If you do this again, you will find a lot of people going to other companies who go the full distance when offering a specialty vehicle.

The ShoShop involvment is a nice gesture, but that is about all it is. You see, the problem is, when I pull into a Ford dealer with a ShoShop Y pipe on my car, or a ShoShop 3L conversion motor, the dealer is going to tell me to take a hike, because I've tinkered with my car like some meddling youngster. When someone takes a Toyota Solara with a TRD blower on it and a TRD suspension kit in, the dealer welcomes them.

When you combine all of the issues discussed in this thread, and factor in the general consensus that Domestic manufacturers pale in comparison for customer service, product quality and resale value, it becomes readliy apparent to me that a German or Japaneese car will do me more right than another Ford.

If I buy another Ford it's likely to be an old 5.0 that will never drive near a dealer lot (except to buy parts...maybe!)

If more people like yourself took genuine interest, you really could turn this whole thing around. I'd like to see your big man come on this forum and put his money where his mouth is. He seems to do it well when he's on Motor Trend TV pulling a holeshot in a Lightning.

Thanks again for your concern & see you at SZ!

Andrew
99 SVT