When the 2008 Ford Focus was introduced to the press at Cobo Arena during the 2007 Detroit auto show, the reaction was all-encompassing silence, punctuated only by the whine of charging flashes and the staccato, mechanical ballet of cameras. From the upper echelons of the arena, a journalist hissed, "It's El Cid! I'm watching El Cid!", referring to the Spanish knight whose corpse was strapped to his horse and sent out to lead his men in a charge against the Moors.

Ford's press conference at Detroit lasted only 40 minutes, of which fewer than 10 were devoted to the new Focus. The majority of those were dedicated not to celebrating the car's outstanding provenance as one of the most revolutionary chassis designs to have been rendered in steel, but to Microsoft's Sync infotainment system and color-changing lights in the cupholders. It was then that the suspicion began to creep in that, even as the new Focus led Ford's product charge at that year's auto show, it was dead to us enthusiasts already...

FULL STORY...

I think Ford has enough of that (Ranger, Crown Vic), don't you?

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Tso's shell is mmm, so hell schism.

Vote for energy reform, not just discussions. Bill Richardson for President

The current Focus is just a terrible shame.

-Ryan

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body,
but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
"Wow! What a Ride!"

Perhaps it is not too surprising. The 2000-2007 Focus was not a great seller in the US, failing to outsell inferior GM competitors like the Cavalier and Cobalt.

For 2008, it looks like they improved crash protection (standard curtain airbags) and the perception of safety (as described in the Motive article) along with the comfort aspects that American buyers like, at the expense of handling, which most American buyers (particularly the cheap buyers and rental fleets) do not care about. And some cost cutting here and there.

Quote, originally posted by Corbic »

Your an idiot.

I was wondering if that was his car in the photo shoot.

I can't believe they won't bring it over.

Hrvatska

Oh, I guess I should note that, at one time, I owned a ZX5 (5-door) Focus hatchback and the wife had a ZTS Sedan. Great little cars in my opinion.

bingo. w/ a few exceptions (i.e. the cts + malibu), it's more about what detroit does next that will prove (or not) if they can be competitve again. i'm betting they will.

whats even more absurd is that even ford has admitted that this uber ****ty focus refresh had development overruns that matched the price of just bringing the much superior MKII car over here. so we could have got the MKII car at the same price of this POS.

No kidding...I always though the mk1 Focus felt uncomfortably high. I can't imagine they wanted to raise it more.

If slight compromises lead to more commercial success, and that leads to a better overall car in the future, I'm all for it. Just as long as they don't lose the fun-to-drive nature of the original.

WANTED Squat Rack • $150 neg • LI/NYC area. I'll p/u. PM me

He stood the furious Foe, the timid Friend/The damning Critic, half approving Wit/
The Coxcomb hit, or fearing to be hit;/Laugh’d at the Loss of Friends he never had,/The dull, the proud, the wicked, and the mad.

Hindsight though...

Besides, from what I have read on this thread the MKII Focus is not what Americans want anyway. Its what Car Loungers want, but they tried that with the MK1; it sold but not in big numbers. A MKII Focus (even when Ford applies the mandatory price slash of 30-40% all manufacturers make when selling the same car they sell in Europe in the US...grrrr) would still be seen as a 'premium' option as people won't pay the extra for better materials, handling and build.

The previous gen Chevy Cavalier totally sums it up for me - nasty interior, floaty to drive, out dated by a long way but it smells new, feels new, and I can lease one for 37 cents a month - or whatever. It gets me where I want to go...I don't go for spirited drives, I drive to work and the store. Thats the customers Ford want, and the new Focus looks like that kind of car to me.

Right... coupled with the fact that they never actually "admitted" it. It was a little blurb in Autoweek where they quoted an "insider".

The fact is, people simply aren't going to pay the price of the MKII over here. The Focus is Ford's entry-level car right now and the MKII can't hit that price point. Mikedav hit it right on the head.

That is true. And, you can't blame the average American for being pragmatic about basic transportation. However, that often leaves people like me out in the cold. I can afford the more upscale version, and prefer to spend my cash on a smaller, rather than larger, car. For example, the Fusion is obscenely large IMHO. For my tastes the MK II is perfect.

Sometimes it sucks to be in the minority.

Modified by sjpassat at 7:51 AM 2-19-2008

Quote, originally posted by Juniper Monkeys »

This is the internet, it's not like we're here for self-improvement

i was just about to post something very similar
i remember seeing the 'concept' of the coupe at last years Toronto Autoshow and as an enthusiast i was really let down. a year later i am starting to see them on the streets (along with the sedan) and honestly they seem to serve the market that they are aimed at. its not an enthusiast market, but its probably going to help ford push more units and reach a wider audience.

in a CL its not how fast you drive to get to Point A but how many shortcuts you know

I agree with you... but enthusiasts like you and me are certainly in the minority. Take the Focus RS, for example: the market for that car is pretty small. The last time Ford offered a performance version of the Focus and sold it for $3K-4K more than a pretty-well equipped mainstream model (the SVT Focus), they didn't sell well at all. Management is going to be very apprehensive about getting back into that market. They don't care that the car's HP numbers, at 170, were a little low (and probably a big reason why the sales numbers weren't higher)... all they care about is, Did they sell? Was the vehicle profitable? Same thing that happened with the Contour over here... too expensive to pull buyers from the Escort... and small enough to allow dealers to upsell into a Taurus. 95% of the buying public didn't care that it was fun as hell to drive or about the European heritage.

It's a different market over here, guys... hopefully the next few years will see some changes.

I gotta' call you out, man -- this has never been proven and is just an internet rumor.

It is too expensive to build for the US small car market that expects $10,995 loss leaders. And the Ford brand does not have the prestige that would allow it to sell a more premium small car like Mazda, Volvo, Honda, Mini, or BMW. The failure of the Focus to outsell inferior GM competition like the Cavalier and Cobalt shows that it is not worth it for Ford to put a good small car under the Ford brand.

They may have been referring to development costs.

However, the C1 Focus would have been more expensive to build. The 2008 US Focus was decontented for cheaper manufacturing, such as no more separate stalk for the wipers, less sporty seats (without height adjustment in lower trims). And still no rear head restraints. Dumping the hatchbacks and wagon was probably a manufacturing cost cutting measure also.

In 2004, the Focus and Cavalier were priced about the same after rebates.

The Cavalier outsold the Focus.

As if the "CarLounge.Net" sticker wasn't enough of a tipoff.

Motive, thanks for the 15 seconds of fame. And Wes, fantastic job on the story - as usual.

Speed:Sport:Life

True, but the Focus also had a better fleet mix, ensuring retail sales with higher margins. IIRC, the average transaction price on Foci was more profitable as well.

With that said, there is a definite chicken-and-egg dilemma at hand here. Ford can't justify producing a premium compact if the brand can't support it, but the brand needs the product to create the image.

Ideally, Mazda and Mercury could support the 3 and a restyled/rebadged C1 Focus, especially if Volvo may be separating. That would leave Ford to produce a Focus for the fleets and budget-conscious market segments. I doubt it will happen, though.

I bought the car in the summer of '05 in desperation, as my truck had gone Tango Uniform, and I was looking for the least expensive transportation appliance that I wouldn't get bored with. Wes and I both agreed that narrowed things down to the Focus, and this particular example was the only black 5 speed hatchback with a moonroof. Anywhere.

And most unlike any vehicle I have ever owned, this car has asked for almost nothing aside from oil changes and tires. Repairs have been few, and extremely reasonable. When I bought the car I had to replace the seatbelt extractor, as it was slow to retract. The car also had bad rear wheel bearings (common) and a bad ignition switch (also common).

I have gone 2 years without needing to repair the car since then. Some of you will remember about a month ago my clutch master cylinder required replacement, which I had done for a very reasonable price. Other than that, the car has been as reliable as the sunrise.

And fun, too. As Wes alluded to in the story, the car is an absolute joy to drive. I do wish the interior wasn't as plasticky, however, the side benefit to that is the interior is aging VERY well. As the miles pour on, its brutally obvious that this car could use another 50 horsepower to be "all of a package" but even with 130, the car is not at all slow. Row the gearchange and its downright peppy. My only other complaint is now that I am running dedicated performance tires, the fuel economy is not good - around 25mpg or so.

ALl in all, I love the Focus. The 2000 - 2004 models have to be, without a doubt, the used car enthusiast bargain of a lifetime. Its cheap to buy, cheap to run, cheap to insure, cheap to fix, cheap to modify (and with all those Euro parts, theres plenty to modify), features are cheap to add if your car (like mine) was born without certain comfort and convenience features, RIDICULOUSLY fun to drive, and relatively good on gas.

Its a fantastic car, and I firmly believe that the 2000 - 2004 models will be highly sought after later in the car's life.

Modified by Download_Complete at 9:33 AM 2-19-2008

Speed:Sport:Life

Not saying Focus is a bad car....

EDIT: It has that extra 50 hp and gets 31 mpg too.

Quote, originally posted by Download_Complete »

This might be as good of a time as any to provide an update on how my car is doing. Wes was being kind, my car has closer to 80K miles on it. I bought the car in the summer of '05 in desperation, as my truck had gone Tango Uniform, and I was looking for the least expensive transportation appliance that I wouldn't get bored with. Wes and I both agreed that narrowed things down to the Focus, and this particular example was the only black 5 speed hatchback with a moonroof. Anywhere. And most unlike any vehicle I have ever owned, this car has asked for almost nothing aside from oil changes and tires. Repairs have been few, and extremely reasonable. When I bought the car I had to replace the seatbelt extractor, as it was slow to retract. The car also had bad rear wheel bearings (common) and a bad ignition switch (also common). I have gone 2 years without needing to repair the car since then. Some of you will remember about a month ago my clutch master cylinder required replacement, which I had done for a very reasonable price. Other than that, the car has been as reliable as the sunrise. And fun, too. As Wes alluded to in the story, the car is an absolute joy to drive. I do wish the interior wasn't as plasticky, however, the side benefit to that is the interior is aging VERY well. As the miles pour on, its brutally obvious that this car could use another 50 horsepower to be "all of a package" but even with 130, the car is not at all slow. Row the gearchange and its downright peppy. My only other complaint is now that I am running dedicated performance tires, the fuel economy is not good - around 25mpg or so. ALl in all, I love the Focus. The 2000 - 2004 models have to be, without a doubt, the used car enthusiast bargain of a lifetime. Its cheap to buy, cheap to run, cheap to insure, cheap to fix, cheap to modify (and with all those Euro parts, theres plenty to modify), features are cheap to add if your car (like mine) was born without certain comfort and convenience features, RIDICULOUSLY fun to drive, and relatively good on gas. Its a fantastic car, and I firmly believe that the 2000 - 2004 models will be highly sought after later in the car's life. Modified by Download_Complete at 9:33 AM 2-19-2008

Modified by alleghenyman at 1:00 PM 2-19-2008

Let's have a conversation on values:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4539948

......you are.

Now be gone with you back to the VWvortex, mmkay pumpkin?

Speed:Sport:Life