it might seem like its the worst car ever built but try having 3 tranny replacements within less than 6 months time. the car was actually just sold and when we sold it, it was on its 5th tranny (4 replacements from original). it was a 98 Kia Sephia with only 41k miles.
good luck with w/e your doing with the car but realize a Contour is not the worst car built, theres alot worse out there.