Most European cars use reverse-terminal batteries, where the position of the positive and negative terminals are reversed compared to what most US cars use.
Is there some reason why? It sure made finding a replacement for the battery in my 1995 Ford Contour a lot more difficult--I think I ended up sticking a group 58R in there because it's all Montgomery Wards had that would fit and had reverse terminals.
These days it seems a lot easier to find reverse-terminal batteries, and in fact Ford is now using them in the new Mustang and the Fusion/Mazda 6 (same oddball Group 40R battery that only Ford cars use, but can be replaced with a Group 47 or 48 battery that Ford probably should've used in the first place instead of inventing a new battery size)
Is there some reason why? It sure made finding a replacement for the battery in my 1995 Ford Contour a lot more difficult--I think I ended up sticking a group 58R in there because it's all Montgomery Wards had that would fit and had reverse terminals.
These days it seems a lot easier to find reverse-terminal batteries, and in fact Ford is now using them in the new Mustang and the Fusion/Mazda 6 (same oddball Group 40R battery that only Ford cars use, but can be replaced with a Group 47 or 48 battery that Ford probably should've used in the first place instead of inventing a new battery size)