Gas mileage, nice driving car, mostly dependable. Huge trunk and split seats are nice ( a pain to use when you have a car seat.)

The transmisson and brakes are junk. Cup holders are flimsy. Carpet pulls away from the walls.

We have the V6 Duratech engine. And the ABS. We have all the options available on this model including Leather, power seats, locks, and brakes. We LOVED this car until a few months ago. It rides like a tank. The engine is quite. Buy one with the V6 if possible. For the most part this car was very reliable. It always started and has never left us stranded. There have been numerous recalls. In the last 6 months we have had the car back to the dealer 3 times for a shifter linkage problem that they can''t seem to fix. The car will almost like put itself into neutral and if you give it gas nothing happens. You have to downshift and then shift up for it to work. The traction contol is useless. We always turn it off when driving in icy conditions. I have had new front brakes put in twice now. I won''t even bother to mention the cup holders and gas tank cover as I agree with all the other reviews about their usefulness. The back seat is a little cramped with a car seat you can only get one other adult in there then. I love the sporty look and the handling. This car is a blast to drive and I am a little depressed that they replaced the Contour with the Focus.

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2001 Ford Focus (You couldn''t GIVE me one of these.) 1999 Ford Taurus (May get this next time.) 1997 Buick LaSabre

Stealth and Speed Handles as well as many sports cars Great for long distance drives; compliant ride Decent gas mileage The Aftermarket....:)

Recalls for really stupid things that should have been engineered better in the first place Squeaks and rattles Glue to attach a dashboard?!?!? Have fun finding a new motor for the SVT model if yours seizes (they are NOT rebuildable!!)!

I had been salivating over getting my hands on this car when it was first introduced as a 98 model. It is a fun car that is extremely stealthy to the local constabulary, and can carry four people reasonably comfortably. The ride quality is very good, the handling very commendable and, with a few minor aftermarket "bolt-on''s", it gives that kid in the slammed Civic something to remember....a "hot rod" Contour. However, along with the plusses come some annoyances. There is a recall on all 99 and 00'' SVT and SE models because Ford, in it''s infinite wisdom, decided to stop using a metal rod to secure the dash to the car, and instead used adhesives which, of course, failed!! Now, the whole dash on my 2000 is not coming completely off, it just squeaks and is more of an annoyance at this point, but, some owners have said that it was pretty close to folding up towards the windshield. I belong to a Contour enthusiasts club, and MANY of our members with a 99 or 00'' model have had to bring their car in for repair (under recall) for this. But, be warned that if you DO have this problem, there are some criterion that must be met before the dash can be replaced, the main one being that the dash needs to be a certain distance removed from the rest of the console for total replacement. For a 23,000$ car, having the dash held on by glue is LUDICROUS, especially since Ford knew it had a problem when they went to this procedure (hence the recall)!!! Besides the dash problem, the car has been maintenance free (except for those Mobil 1 oil changes;), and was used for two trips over the summer that were 500 miles or more, and it just ate up the miles with little or no driver fatigue. The best part of this car is listening to the motor at full song with my aftermarket KKM intake installed (very unique sound!!).

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1995 Probe GT, 1993 5.0L Mustang "Notchback", 1993 Sentra SE-R, 1986 IROC Z-28, 1979 Z-28

Handles great, good takeoff after you get the revs up.

Great design if you like clunking noises.

Have had nothing but problems with this car. Spend more time fighting with Ford over whos turn it is to pay.Cant keep rotors on the car, had to have new wiring harness and altenator, sway bar bushings twice,Fuel filler hose calasped so you needed 45 minutes to fill tank, many recalls.Plus a few other problems but I dont have that much time.

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accord

Great acceleration and very fun to drive. Comfortable.

Scary rain/winter handling with OE tires. Of course, the cup-holders are worthless. Creaky rear end. Contour.org has some tips for those woes.

Generally, I am well satisfied with my Contour. It appears I was wise to wait until after the first couple of years. Did not like the styling until the 97.5 redesign. That made me buy the car, along with the performance, that is. Biggest complaint is the crappy factory tires that result in downright dangerous handling in heavy rain or any snow, especially as they wear. Tires can be changed, but it took a spin-out accident ($8k in repairs) and 3 years of frustration in snow, plus finally looking for other people''s comments on-line, that convinced me to change to different tires. We shall see if that does the trick. If you ignore the check engine light long enough, it will go away.

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1991 Mazda Protege LX 5 sp - absolutely TERRIFIC car (loads of power and room for its size)

Reliability, power Handling

Noisy front wheel wells (Like a 4 Cyl accord)

Excellent Handling, power and interior, This Car is sharp looking with the 15in Mags and Rear spoiler. Handles far better than an Accord. You definitely tell that this is not a north american design (Ford Of germany is responsible) I love watching VW try to keep up in turns :-)An I''m an Import lover !!!Can''rt beleive ford replaced this (and Escort)with the Focus. You''d pay $1000s more for an older honda with out the V-6. This is an outstanding engine.

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2000 Focus(Blah)7 recalls in 2 years!

nada

all of the above--additionally, the dealers have been super rude and the seats are terrible.

This car has been a lemon from the get-go. I bought this car new and have tried everything possible to make it work well. It goes to the shop almost monthly for recalls--close to ten essential. Currently the fan only works on high, the AC is totally shot, the dome light doesn''t work and there''s some type of computer problem shorting everything in the dash out.

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Subaru outback

Pick-up and handling. Mechanically sound.

The seats have a roller on the side to lay the seats back. Horrible. The gas cover sticks and I have to open the trunk to open my gas cover; should have a key lock as well. Window ledge trim comes off easily. Oil filter very hard to get to.

Ford Contour GL Very good car all around. Drives wonderfully, no mechanical problems in the two years I have driven it. Very strong pick-up for a 4 cyl. Quiet interior. Only minor things like switches were recalled. Ford dealership broke my air vents repairing them. Engine a little noisy. Unfortunatly, I was broadsided a week ago. I would buy the Ford Contour again.

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1971 Ford Mustang Mach I

nice pick up, nice engine, good handling

everything... the car depreciates so fast, everything goes wrong, it is one thing after another.

DON''T EVER BUY THIS CAR! (of course unless i am trying to sell you mine!)The car does drive nice and has some great pick up! I bought the 96 V-6 and loved the motor, but there are so many problems with this car. The check engine light has been on for the past 2years, and they can never find what is wrong with it. I have replaced the brake system 2 times already, the power windows broke, it is so loud and has crappy noise rejection. At 108K the entire transmission went out and now the car is worthless. The most I can get for it is 1000$...

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None

Performance, looks, price, you can haul the family around and still kick ass at the stop light.

Warped dash, weak low beams.

What can I say about the svt that hasnt been said? Its a great car. Its quick, handles great, brakes even better. With the exception of having the dash replaced(ford recall), it has not given me any problems to date. The ground effects and rims give it a very unique and appealing look.

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85 mustang gt 5 spd, 95 taurus sho 5 spd

Looks good, drives good.

Poor product quality - wiring harness. Bad design - using engine hoist to remove a power steering pump.

I needed a second car to drive to the office. Payed this reduced price because of oil leak. Oil leak was from Power steering hose and pump. Had to remove half of upper motor mount to replace pump. There seems to be some kind of wiring harness defect. Anywhere the wires are not wrapped or bundled within a wire conduit, the individual wiring insulation has cracked off exposing the wires. This is occuring on ALL exposed wires within the harness. I have used a liquid rubber product to dip these sections of the wiring harness in to protect the wires - seems to work well. Car does drive nice. Ended up replacing valve cover gaskets, upper and lower intake manifold gaskets and oil separator gasket. Have been doing the work myself....if I would have taken this to the dealer it would cost me a small fortune. So far I''m happy with the purchase.

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1998 Chevy Lumina