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Hatchbacks Ford Focus 2008 Ford Focus
93 messages, Last post on May 25, 2009 at 6:09 AM
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A reporter seeks to interview buyers of models equipped with Ford Sync. Please respond to jfallon edmunds.com no later than Friday, February 1 with your daytime contact information and a sentence or two about why you purchased Sync.
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Replying to: greenpony (Nov 21, 2007 11:17 am) Nine years for any car really isn't bad at all, especially if the platform was way ahead of its time to begin with. But wait a minute here. How dare you comparing this stone-age fossil -- the Mustang platform -- to the highly advanced C-170 Focus platform engineered in Germany?  In fact, it was so advanced that BMW was drooling & almost bought the platform! & I can't believe how arrogant Americans are when comes to their own automobile technological advancement. How the hell did this old Mustang, when using the same Nissan engine, kick-ass a Nissan Z-car w/ a modern Japanese platform on twisty roads doing drifts in this Hollywood movie Tokyo Drift!  Since the '70's, the Mustang rides on an enlarged Pinto platform. Today's new Mustang rides on the Jaguar S-type platform but still using the solid rear axle, which is good for nothing except drag racing & other brawn-but-no-brain behaviors. So the ignorant Americans should not perceive the German-engineered Focus as a modern-day Pinto, as it has nothing to do with it. The Mustang does. Now if you don't care about the sophisticated Control Blade rear suspension in the German-engineered Focus, then a solid-axle V8 Focus may suit the taste of those who are still proud of the Mustang platform: http://www.kugelkomponents.com/focus/focus.html When was the last time you saw James Bond driving a Mustang? Today, James Bond drives the new Mondeo, which rides on an enlarged Focus platform:  http://bp2.blogger.com/_FoXyvaPSnVk/RdJOBzwDY0I/AAAAAAAACv0/cUafR5XFwiE/s1600-h/- - - cARSCOOP_Ford_Mondeo_307.jpg |
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"Today's new Mustang rides on the Jaguar S-type platform but still using the solid rear axle" This statement is not quite correct. The Jag S/LincolnLS platform known as DEW proved way to expensive for the Mustang. After struggling to engineer the cost down to make it viable to use in the Mustang, Ford decided to adopt components from other Ford platforms, especially in the suspension department. So where did Ford find the suspension components that eventually went into the 2005 Mustang?...Why from the European C1 Focus platform. Mark. The Mustang platform is...You guessed it, based on the |
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How about the enlarged Focus -- the new Mondeo -- sold else where, where our Focus ST's 2.3 4-cyl Duratec (Porsche-designed block, finished by Mazda) lives on. Note: not to be confused w/ the 2.3 in the Pinto  http://www.caradvice.com.au/7274/2008-ford-mondeo-details/ Scroll down to see the light-grey sedan available w/ Volvo's 5-cyl turbo (Nice wheels, eh?). Actually we can still get this super-sized Focus platform in the form of the new Volvo S80, Ford Edge & Mazda CX-9
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our Focus still feels like a German-design car riding on a German platform. The Mazda3 feels like a Japanese-design car riding on a German platform. The S40/V50 feels like a Swedish-design car riding on a German platform. I just had a chance sitting in the '08 American Focus sedan when I went to p/u my '07 Focus ST after some warranty work. The exterior & interior styling issues of the '08 didn't bother me much, but the difference in the quality of the interior is quite dramatic... Front seating: The interior door handle, located ahead of the pwr window switches, is too far away. The center armrest is too low. Combining w/ the lack of telescopic steering column, the driving position doesn't even fit me! The inside rearview mirror shows a more restrictive rear vision. The looks & tactile feel of the crudely designed & styled plastic buttons feel very low rent & "un-German". & "Ouch!" as I exited the driver seat, my left knee cap was hit by the plastic protrusion from the lower left part of the dash. Rear seating: The outer parts of the headliner force the outer 2 passengers to tilt the head toward the center of the car. The foot space underneath the front chair was restrictively narrow. & the front seat back's extra knee clearance extended so far above the real knee level that it looked stupid. The whole interior engineering is as unsophisticated as the original Dodge Neon. Starting '08, our Focus feels like a American-design car riding on a German platform. |
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Replying to: wenhead (Sep 17, 2007 6:46 pm) Im hoping I will have just as good luck with a new one. |
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With all due respect to the Focus detractors on this forum.... You can bash the car all you like. HOWEVER, I offer this fact: I see FAR more Focuses (Foci?) on the road than any other small car. This is especially true of the redesigned version. And don't tell me it's just Ford discounting the car. Every other manufacturer is unloading their small cars at fire-sale prices. |
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My 2 cents is that many people who have problems with their Focus failed to follow the complete scheduled maintenance routine. Ford Focus has some of the lowest maintenance requirements in its class including a lifetime air filter. Still, it takes more than just oil changes to keep a car functioning properly. Mark
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