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Totally get it. I have thought about posting links to the forums for any Facebook posts. But other than that, it's hard to get people to come back. I personally prefer the forums over FB. In terms of ownership, I still have 2 of these and hope to keep them for a very long time.

Over the past year or so I've noticed the Facebook group well outpacing the website in actual usage. I mean like 100-1 in most cases, and since the spammers are out in the wild taking advantage of any quiet forums I've decided that since the bulk majority are using the Facebook group instead of the actual forums that this is going to spell the eventual wind down of these forums. Let's face it folks, the cars are almost 20+ years old and they aren't considered collectible. People drove most of these into the ground and they really don't even show up in scrap yards anymore because they are just dwindling in numbers. The fact that the car was only made 5 model years doesn't help.... But aside from that, the actual participation of the members has been non-existant in years meaning that probably over 3/4 of the actual members don't even own these cars anymore. And that's over 7,000 members we have. Everything has a cost, and sometimes you have to know when to let a failing investment go. That time is coming... I will deliberate on this further but for the time being all registrations have been closed (Due to our Russian/Chinese spam artists unwelcome signups and sales/ad posts...). Any current member that sees this can reply and I will read it. But I believe that this year is that this site gets relegated to history. -Dominic

To all the new and existing members I want to extend a warm holiday greeting. We are in that season of holidays and even though the Facebook group gets more use than this forum I still support it and pay for it out of my own pocket. Next year marks 23 years this site has been up and helping owners. We've seen cars and members come and go, and lost some people along the way. At the end of the day, this community used to be like a family - Well before MySpace and Facebook really took over and changed the game. As much as commercial sites that aggregate people are popular - The grassroots sites like this are where the actual dedicated and passionate people visit. Free of the ads, marketing and algorithms. Unfortunately these sites are no longer popular... And I get it. There's no distractions with TikTok videos or Instagram posts from celebrities and other "influencers". The fakeness of a lot of these so called "influencers" is unreal. They only believe in fame and attention... not helping people - Just remaining popular. I'm not an "influencer" or a YouTube star... Don't want or need it. At the end of the day, looking at all the statistics and traffic... This site is really showing it's age. Traffic alone doesn't allow me to judge how worthwhile keeping this site alive really is.. But "Nothing lasts forever" is a real thing. I'm opening up the floor to all members to give me feedback. Post a reply and let me know what you think. I'll leave this open till the end of the year and I'll read all the responses. Good, bad.. it's all feedback. -Dominic

Scrap yard is your friend these days.

Hey all. I have a 1998 E with 241k on the clock for sale. Its been a fun car but theres a short in the hvac system and its gonna need a new clutch. Its silver frost. I have a box of spare parts including door moldings and jack point covers. Im just ready for something different is all. Im in Titusville Fl.

I hope you find the trunklid and quarter to match as that's about twice the size of the existing lamp. Again, not an easy task as the USDM Contour/Mystique was purpose built for our regulations. You'd be better off selling the car and buying a Mondeo that is already equipped for that market and has the same features. -Dominic

Thank you for your reply. I can deal with the bulbs in Spain, all I need is the tail lamps in red and white/orange. I found one, attached, but no idea about where to find the second one.

Nothing in the United States unfortunately as all the Contour lights were single bulb (just like the Mystique). Unfortunately overseas vehicles have a different rear clip with drastically different rear tail lamps that are bigger and multi-function. Sorry, no easy suggestions on this one. -Dominic

Good morning, I have a 1998 2.0L Mercury Mystique LS Sport, with build date before 12/17/97, bought from Canada and I would like to register it in Spain, see attached. The car has the original rear lights, all red. I need to change them to European lights, with two lightbulbs. I think they are like this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/274156810024 To comply with European lighting regulations and convert my 1998 Mercury Mystique LS Sport's rear lights to the European-style configuration, I will need to replace the existing all-red tail lights with units that have separate sections for red and orange (or clear) lights. Since the Mercury Mystique is essentially the same car as the Ford Contour with minor differences for different markets, there might be compatible parts from the Ford Contour. Can you please help? Dan

Thanks...at least it's a lead. Knowing that might help my mechanic know where to look. Mike

I've used Chrysler bushings before , don't have the part number off the top of my head (it's been years!)

Contour's don't have a distributor. They have a coil pack. They have a ground wire that goes to the bracket where the DPFE is mounted on the side of the head.

I'm looking for the wiring harness under the hood coming from the firewall on the passenger side going towards the driver's side there is a big red wire going from the passenger side under the throttle body towards the starter and under the throttle body there is a copper or brass T and the hot wire is bolted to both sides of the top of the T and it looks like it had a plastic piece that slid on a bracket on the bottom of the T

I've had a lot of work done on my '98 SVT Contour. About the only thing still needed are shifter bushings. I have searched, but I can't find any. Does anyone have a source for them? Thanks, Mike

2000

Check online for a cougar reservior. Ive seen those in the aftermarket and they look like they might fit.