89transam

Have any of you driven these? I have read reviews on them and they are nothing but great. I am thinking about selling my trans am and picking on up.

They look awesome too

DerBlitzkrieger

if thats what you want, you would be much better off with an older taurus SHO. just make sure you get the early-mid 90s body style one, as the yamaha V-6 in it is 10 times better than the current body styles V8. plus, you can get an SHO in manual.

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89transam

I dunno, I hear bad things about those cars.

Also they look like arss.




Yuck

DerBlitzkrieger

the only thing bad about them is that its a ford. the automatics are kind of prone to breakage, but the manuals are good.

and that body style taurus is plain looking, which is what makes them so cool. sleeper++

are you going for looks, or performance here? if its performance, you probably wont be happy with the SVT. its not all that stellar, and has more drivetrain problems than the SHO ever did.

__________________
300,000 Kilometers per second: It's not just a good idea. Its the law.

89transam

Im mainly selling my trans am to upgrade to something a little less hard on my wallet, gas economy wise. I also want to get a stick.

I realize that the SVT is not a super gas efficient car , but 20/28 is alot better than what I get now. Also its suposed 7 second 0-60 is pretty quick so I wouldent say its sluggish by any means

The SVT is one of the few cars I think of that

A. gets resonobly good gas mileage
b. Has at least some power to it. (15.7 in the quarter , not bad)
C. and looks pretty darn spiffy.

I guess a 4th gen f body could also do the trick, but if I sell my bird id hate to just get an uglier version of it.

wraithhibn

The Gen 2 SHO's (like the one pictured above) are great. Mines an auto, but it still has tons of power out of the 3.2 L V6(the manuals are 3.0L). Milage wise I get 23 or so average. Very comfortable car to ride in. It feels the same at 55 as it does at 110.

Those Contour SVT's look ok, but arent SHO level.

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autology

never been a fan of the looks, but you wont find many FF v6's that will outhandle a svt

focalevo

I test drove a black 5-speed SVT, is was really sweet. There have been a lot at the shows I've been to, and there is stuff available for them, different stages of tune and what not. The SVT lower bodywork is really cool looking, and the dual exhaust gives away the sleeper look once you have blown by someone, very nice indeed.

If you can find one that has not been thrashed on, then I'd say go for it!!

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Force 10

I've had two Contours. Recalls up the yang. One was a pile of shit, the other, from the same fleet, is still running strong and not had a single problem. for what it's worth.

thepakratjr

What are you smoking? I have an SVT with a few mods and it will hold with most SHO's out there. The handling on the SVT is also 10x better than the SHO's. I will agree that the drivetrain is the weak link on the Contours, trans is pretty weak in stock form, if you plan on racing it.

If you need more info, visit Contour.org . The main page has tons of great info, and the forums have lots of good guys to get info from.

DerBlitzkrieger

a bathtub with oddly mis-shapen wheels will outhandle a contour... SVT did nothing to the suspension, its the same as any stock contour/mystique/mondeo.

there are better cars out there for the money.

__________________
300,000 Kilometers per second: It's not just a good idea. Its the law.

89transam

I dunno , another reason I want one is now I have a 4 cylinder contour. This thing is a blast to drive, I can only imagine the svt with twice the horespower , bigger brakes , and a whole lot more features...

pezking4

I work at Ford, drive them all the time, and one of the service advisors there owns one. He has put a lot of money into upgrading it (full exhaust, clutch, flywheel, pullies, nitrous) and still only managed high 14's/low 15's at the track. For the money you can do a lot better. There's a reason Ford stopped making the contour (aka the Mercury Mistake). I'm just really not impressed, but maybe you should go try a test drive first.

oh yeah, we have four of us at work who drive maximas, and the guy with the contour said if he had to do it all over again he would have gotten a maxima instead.
THat's why I'm shopping for a new maxima for myself now.

Scorps

Your goint to drop your chevy for what a FORD?

Conclamo Ludus

A guy I work with drives an SVT and the thing has spent more time in the shop than on the road. He's had a spun bearing, electrical problems, starter problems, his transmission's been f'd. They look pretty cool, but based on his recommendations, its not for me.

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I wouldn't mistreat you baby, for my weight in gold.
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Scorps

Electraical problems......number 1 problem with fords.

89transam

Yea, I think Im going to look elcewhere. Mabye a maxima...kinda similar

Conclamo Ludus

I like the look of the brand new Maximas

__________________
Lord, have mercy on my wicked soul
I wouldn't mistreat you baby, for my weight in gold.
-Son House, Death Letter Blues

3x0

is it a american version of ford mondeo with some detailes changed ? Front is clearly ford mondeo but rear lights confuse me a bit Strange cars you have in america (and these automatic gearboxes everywhere... yukkkk ;])

MSD

Ford automatic transmissions are sub-par. Aside from the breakdowns, the ones I've driven get really rough around 40 mph, or when the transmission can't decided whether or not to downshift from 4th to 3rd. In both cases, the clutch packs start releasing and engaging rapidly, giving the feeling of driving a mechanical bull on wheels. Replacing the fluid with Mercon supposedly helps, but it didn't work for me. I'll have to try doing it myself instead of letting Expressway mechanics piss in my radiator while I sit there eating popcorn and reading year-old copies of Auto Week.

Discord

Yup, basically a mondeo st200 with cosmetic changes, or vice versa. I'm with you on the auto tranny...auto's are for lazy people in my book (not to mention they sap power away from the wheels).

They are good cars, despite what some people say...once you get to modding them though, they have a tendency to break spider gears once you bump the power levels up a bit (ie, install a SC) if your not careful.

morlock

get a newer focus svt hatchback, I hear those are pretty sporty, and there is enough stuff out there to mod the hell out of them. focus, the next stage in american rice

thepakratjr

I don't know where you get your information, but it is dead wrong. CSVT suspension is totally different then normal Contours. Springs are different, struts are different, sway bars are different. Please do research before you spat nonsense.

As for the guy who mentioned having many mods, including nitrous and still running high 14's, your friend needs to learn to drive. Other SVT's with the same mods are running in the high 13's.

DEI37

Either way, the SVT Contour wasn't anything to write home about. The car is small on the inside...the Escort was bigger! And yeah, for the money, you can get a whole list of other cars to outrun and outhandle it, while looking better.

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Discord

Hold that thought. Ford's rolling out the 2.3 pzev (duratec) engines in the focus (CA and NY for now, rest later). Adding an aftermarket air filter put this new engine at the just about the level of the current SVT offering (at the wheels), and the gearing is better. Wait for SVT to either use this new engine, or turbo the current 2.0, and that'll be one sweet ass car.

But even at that, I totally recommend the focus, it's handling is superb! Car mags have even gone as far as to put it up there with the likes of exotics in it's hadling capabilites. Aftermarket support has exploded for it also.

Am I biased? Yup...got two of 'em! It's only rice if you make it that way. Lack of taste knows no boundries.