One problem related to fuel pump has been reported for the 1997 Ford Contour. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Car will crank over, but will not start. It has occurred 5 times. Four times it required to be towed to the service dept at Ford for repairs. Only once did the vehicle shut down while driving approx 40 miles an hour. The fuel pump has been replaced twice since I have owned the car, however when the car gets towed into the dealers, they are not able to really determine what is the defect with the car.