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Future Vehicles 2008 Ford Focus future vehicle
79 messages, Last post on Dec 03, 2007 at 1:44 PM
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Ha! Ha! This is called "Detroit-izing" guys. Only the platform is really from an import (German, actually), just like the Mazda6-platform Fusion. The styling of the 98-03 Escort series was just a baby-sized Taurus (read jelly bean) done in America. It wasn't bad looking though, just a little unmatching at the side-window area.  The only thing cool about our '05 Focus facelift was the front end (European Mondeo), but ugly else where. The 91-97 (U.S.) Escort was not called Escort around the world. It was really a Japanese-engineered Mazda 323 (Protege) w/ sharper styling & called "Ford Laser" in places like Japan/Australia/Taiwan. I even saw one badged as "Mazda 323" in Taiwan. The U.S. version (Escort) never shared their front-grill shape though. In Europe, they had a completely unrelated Escort back then. In '91, some European car magazine said that our Japanese-version might just be a better car than theirs. |
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Replying to: cor (Jan 09, 2007 7:27 pm) I think it's just you because I see very little resemblance. |
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Replying to: ehaase (Jan 10, 2007 4:56 pm)
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Replying to: cor (Jan 10, 2007 7:34 pm) Gosh, good point. As of today, my early-production '05 Focus ST is still suffering from a nauseating rubber smell coming out of the dashboard vent, which the dealer denied as a problem & called it "normal new-car smell". I asked another '05 Focus driver if he's having the same problem. & he said, "Yes, that's why I have the windows rolled down. It's a rental car anyway." The brand-new '07 models I test drove did not have any of it, as if the dealer was full of it. The merged-company Volvo insisted that all interior material must be allergenic free. & Ford did the same claim just a few years ago, as if they listened to Volvo. So do give the Focus a break. The '07 Focus is still a beautiful piece of German-engineered classic built in the U.S. |
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Replying to: ehaase (Jan 10, 2007 4:56 pm) I think it's just you because I see very little resemblance." Saying the 're-designed' Focus looking like the 98-03 Escort series is still a compliment. No, it doesn't look like it! Your memory was wrong. You should remember now -- it closely resembles the disgusting Temple/Topaz so gross looking only arrogant American car makers dare to present to the world. When China, the highest-potential auto market in the world, originally requested the western world to help them building their "people's car", Mercedes presented a stripped-down A-class, Porsche designed a 4-dr compact from ground up, & Chrysler simply shoved the Neon at them w/o a bit of shame. 
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Replying to: ehaase (Dec 29, 2006 10:54 am) such a better car, yes i know the business case differs but if in europe the mazda3 and the focus can be sold side by side the same should hold for the U.S. market. also on engine sizes, it's disgusting that there's such a power mongering mentality-yes i love power and performance- in the north american market(not including canada). 1.6 litre focus handles just as well and is remarkable with gas milege. anyway, hope this redesign signles FomCo will renew its commitment to the focus and other such cars.
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Replying to: cor (Jan 10, 2007 7:34 pm) So most American car buyers are tasteless? You know, initially, I didn't understand. But the more I thought about it...I really think they picked the clumsy styling only to look domestic, as these people are traditional buyers who don't want imports. Besides, even Hollywood movies don't use Japanese cars to play the main role. & guess which car won in the Tokyo Drift? The more I looked at the next Focus sedan, the more I see Impala's little bro. So, yo, it's cool to look like a Chevy. It's also cool not to look cute. That's why there's the Dodge, who has a Caliber, which sounds just perfect for "drive by shooting" & will kick the imports' ass. & there's the Ram that will ram you over. Plus the Raider (em, sounds like the macho American sport) that foreigners' foot ball (soccer) just seem sissy by comparison. Yep, American SUVs rule. They rule the road so these little imports better install head-curtain airbags or, better, simply get out of the way. In my final word, The United States just lost the original German-styling C-170 Focus. But if you really want the new super-sized C-1 Focus & live close to the Mexican border, then pick one up just miles away & drive across. |
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| what's up with that vast area of flat blank plastic above the glove box? You think they would put an additional smaller storage area in that location, and put some additional cubbies and open storage areas in the dash instead of being so cheap and providing no place to put anything. | |
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Replying to: iwantvtec (Jan 12, 2007 9:34 am) I could not agree more. I drove a European Focus with a 1.4l engine from Vienna, through Germany, Switzerland, Italy, back and forth through the Alps, no problem with lack of power ever. Handled beautifully. I don't understand the mentality in Detroit either. Oh, and BTW, I don't like the Focus C-MAX. It's way too big compared to the original. If Detroit just brought the original German Focus with 1.4 or 1.6 engine, instead of "Detroitizing" it and making it feel as cheap as a Korean VCR, perhaps its ultimate fate would have been different.
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Replying to: hwyhobo (Jan 12, 2007 6:24 pm) Most American drivers don't got the skill to drive stick, therefore will need somthing larger than 1.4/1.6. So even if the C-1 comes here w/ 2.0, its electro-hydraulic pwr steering is not something to be excited about. By the way, Detroitizing is no Korean VCR. Here's Ford's explanation: "We've taken cues from fashion and home design and translated them into a more upscale Focus interior," says Zaback. "We've given it some sophistication and flair by adding touches of silver metallic finishing like you see in today's home appliances, and used materials that provide a higher-quality feel to surfaces and touch points throughout the car. The overall package is simply more inviting." More inviting to where? Your kitchen & look at a Whirlpool dishwasher? American Ford designers are not car enthusiasts; they're sissy kitchen enthusiasts. Why would you want your car to look like a kitchen? 
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