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2008 Ford Focus future vehicle - READ ONLY

79 messages,  Last post on Dec 03, 2007 at 2:44 PM

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What is this discussion about? Ford Focus, Future Vehicle, Hatchback, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 4 of 8

#30 of 79 Re: focus = escort? [cor] by creakid1

Jan 11, 2007 (12:17 am)

Replying to: cor (Jan 10, 2007 8:34 pm)
"...a car that I wouldn't even want to RENT!"
 
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.

#31 of 79 Re: focus = escort? [ehaase] by creakid1

Jan 11, 2007 (9:27 pm)

Replying to: ehaase (Jan 10, 2007 5:56 pm)
"Is it me or does the 're-designed' Focus look like the 98-03 Escort series?
  
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.

#32 of 79 Re: . [ehaase] by iwantvtec

Jan 12, 2007 (10:34 am)

Replying to: ehaase (Dec 29, 2006 11:54 am)
my gripe is that we don't have the european focus period.
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.

#33 of 79 Re: focus = escort? [cor] by creakid1

Jan 12, 2007 (3:26 pm)

Replying to: cor (Jan 10, 2007 8:34 pm)
"...they build cars for the tasteless masses."
 
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.

#34 of 79 area above glove box? by bobw3

Jan 12, 2007 (7:17 pm)

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.

#35 of 79 Re: . [iwantvtec] by hwyhobo

Jan 12, 2007 (7:24 pm)

Replying to: iwantvtec (Jan 12, 2007 10:34 am)
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.
 
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.

#36 of 79 1.4 & 1.6 gas engines by creakid1

Jan 13, 2007 (1:28 am)

Replying to: hwyhobo (Jan 12, 2007 7:24 pm)
are the only Euro-market Mazda3 & C-1 Focus w/ conventional hydraulic pwr steering. No wonder it felt all right to you, but still not quite the good stuff you'd find in the old C-170 SVT/ST170.
 
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?

#37 of 79 Re: 1.4 & 1.6 gas engines [creakid1] by gypsy_tech

Jan 13, 2007 (9:16 am)

Replying to: creakid1 (Jan 13, 2007 1:28 am)
don't got the skill -- Some of us American drivers are able to drive manual cars and care about the environment. My wife and I both drive five speeds and vowed to never buy a car that gets less than 34 highway MPG. The two biggest reasons are we don't like to fund terrorist or contribute to Global Warming. I do not like the Fusion front but overall the new Focus makes me wish I had waited before purchasing one. I bought an 06' and might have to trade it in.

#38 of 79 Re: Here you go...no worse than a Civic. I like both. [readerreader] by bruuklin

Jan 13, 2007 (3:42 pm)

Replying to: readerreader (Jan 07, 2007 5:08 pm)
My problem with the car is illustrated very well in your pictures--it's the rear fenders. I mean, I'm not a fan of the front fascia either, but the rear fenders are painful. They make the rear tires look so tiny.
 
I understand the business reasons to use the existing platform for another three or four years, but there are significant business reasons to NOT continue to turn out one refresh after another on the same tired car. We are in the middle of a small car resurgence. All the major imports are redefining the low ends of their portfolios. And you have a lot of people coming to showrooms looking at the new Fusion who may decide they don't need that much car, so you need to have something there that will catch their eye. And more than anything for Ford, you need a car to generate some positive buzz--the benefits of which for that company right now can't be calculated in mere sales numbers.
 
And while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I'm wagering that most buyers aren't going to look at this design and see a lot of beauty. They are going to see a car that is every bit as plain and modest as what they have come to expect from Ford, and so they are not going to attract the young, trendsetting people they need to try to get in the Ford stable right now.

#39 of 79 Re: 1.4 & 1.6 gas engines [gypsy_tech] by explorerx4

Jan 13, 2007 (7:48 pm)

Replying to: gypsy_tech (Jan 13, 2007 9:16 am)
please explain your post some more, do you mean 34 mpg epa or real world average mpgs? is your car pzev rated?

Messages Page 4 of 8

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