My wife's car - actually our daily driver, grocery getter - is a 1996 Ford Contour. It was the Mondeo in Europe at that time. We love the car, handles and drives great, V6 has more than enough power. Too bad the Contour (and Mystique) did not 'take' well in north america.

A Ford executive told me the problem was pricing. The Contour was introduced just as the Tempo was phased-out so the general public saw it as a 'replacement' model and expected the same pricing range. If the general North American car buying public expects no-frills get from point A to point B transportation then that's that the car companies will give them.