Ford Contour SVT

Ever since its release for the 1998 model year, the Ford Contour SVT has garnered a reputation for being a "sleeper sedan", with the unassuming impression of a standard sedan, like the contour, with a 195 2.5 L Duratec V6 for the initial model year while power went up by 5 for 1999 and 2000. It received praise for its European-style handling despite being a FWD sedan, and is a popular car for modifications to its performance. 11,445 were produced during its entire run, and is scarce nowadays, before the company went all-in pickup trucks, vans, and SUVs, especially crossovers for North America, which is an extremely risky move for the company, especially since the U.S. is its home market, so this will hurt its sedan sales over in other markets too. Since Lincoln plans to continue making sedans, that company is too in the crosshairs when gas prices spike again, because converting all their SUVs into hybrid or electric configuration's an expensive process compared to foreign rivals, and the Ford Focus is gone in the American Market, too, further adding to its financial tension.

Image date: July 2007