What) The Ford Contour, and its rebadged variant, the Mercury Mystique, were compact 4-door sedans marketed from model years 1995-2000 by the Ford Motor Company in North America. The Contour and Mystique, which replaced the Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz, were based on Ford's CDW27 platform and were manufactured at Ford's Kansas City Assembly. The Contour and Mystique ceased production without a direct replacement in Ford's lineup in USA and Canada, while in Mexico, Ford replaced the Contour and Mystique with a locally manufactured variant of the European Ford Mondeo. In addition, Ford stopped selling Mercury vehicles in Mexico from 2000-2003. The larger Ford Fusion was introduced in 2005 to replace the Contour in the United States and Canada, and the Ford Mondeo in Mexico. (1)

    Why) Larry and I needed a way to get to Penticton and, for the first time in years, I found myself in possession of an automobile.  It seemed like a natural fit but it turned out that my 1995 Ford Contour started to develop strange transmission noises the higher up in the mountains we drove.  I was happy just to make it to our hotel in Penticton without needing the help of a tow truck.