Ford Contour

Introduced in 1995, the Contour was an Americanized version of Ford of Europe's Mondeo, a car that bowed to rave reviews. But while European families considered the Mondeo to be the ideal size, American buyers found the Contour to be too cramped, particularly in the back seat; they preferred larger mid-size cars like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. An upscale Mercury version called the Mystique also failed to catch on. Contour production ended in 2000; Ford did not re-enter the mid-size market until 2006, when they introduced the Fusion -- a car that is not based on the current Mondeo, but rather shares a platform with the Mazda 6.