2008 Ford Focus future vehicle
jedi787plus
Member Posts: 2
in Ford
What the #$%&? According to http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/FVDP/Preview/styleId=100728682, the 2008 Focus for US will be yet another stup!d facelift! What Ford really needs if it wants to boost sales is bring here instead the cool (up-to-date) Europe-market Focus. Sure, it's larger than our current Focus, but the competition Chevy Cobalt is also larger, isn't it? So even a larger Focus (like the Euro Focus) can still battle the Cobalt and the also-now-larger Civic, Corolla, and 2007 Sentra. If Ford really needs an econo-car to battle the Aveo, Fit, Versa, etc., then the Fiesta or a similar Brazil-built product is more logical than an ageing Focus facelift.
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~marc
:mad:
Bring the new Euro Forus to America. Don't tell us it's too big. Don't tell us it's too 'upscale'. Give us a car we are ASKING to buy.
Stick w/ the old platform & continue w/ the old-fashion hydraulic steering for better feel. The C-170 is a collecter's item. Have you driven a Focus SVT lately. Hello, it's been out for a while.
Only the 1.6 (not available here) version of the new C-1 (MkII) Focus & Mazda3 got the conventional hydraulic steering, but still not as feel-ful as the C-170 Focus SVT's meaty steering.
As a current Mazda Protege owner, I hate to see how the new electro-hydraulic power steering ruined the fun in the C-1:
http://www.evo.co.uk/u/r0a9f0811324f75a7t/carreviews/evocarreviews/204243/mazda_- - - - 3_mps.html
"Stability at very high speed is exemplary, too. As it is on fast country roads. The chassis has bags of grip, fine body control and, amazingly, hardly any torque-steer. Trouble is, travelling quickly in the 3 MPS just isn’t much fun. At least, not by the standards of a Golf GTI or (MkII)Focus ST. And especially not by the standards of the latest Renaultsport Mégane competing in this year’s eCoty.
The steering, while reasonably direct and well weighted, feels numb and is very short on detail feedback, the engine note is persistently dull and occasionally unpleasant, and although grip and body control are good, the chassis’ act as a whole is distinctly two dimensional, the mild understeering balance being only minutely adjustable with the throttle. Ride comfort is rather fidgety, too."
Check this out... with Mitsubishi's EVO, and Subaru's WRX, it would be ashame if we, in the home of FORD, did not get this: http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evospyshots/204479/ford_focus_rs.html
Also note that the current gen Focus could not accomodate all-wheel drive (therefore the front-wheel drive Focus RS).
In the late '90's, British car magazines dared to complain about how the E46 3-series, w/ or w/o sport package, lost the involving steering feel after the E36. So I waited for the new E90 3-series sedan, but still found its steering feel no match for the old E36. It was especially unsatisfying light at low speed. Having more feel than most other cars today, such as the Lexus IS, is still not good enough.
& watch out for the E90 coupe, which lost the sedan's hydraulic unit all together.
As if only Porsche's still got lots of steering feel today. The new redesigned Mini Cooper &, especially, the new MX-5 Miata also got complains from the British magazines when switching to pure electric steering.
So I ended up getting a mint-condition '99 E36 328is just recently. Boy, the steering was just a tad too heavy, so I had to use a thick steering-wheel cover to lighten the effort.
Now, I just want to figure out how to duplicate the C-170 Focus SVT's meaty steering effort on my '05 Focus ST. Possibly by cutting down the electric current to the power steering pump.
Nevertheless, it is quite foolish to get an AWD car from a FWD platform. 'cause the FWD platforms come w/ heavy front-overhang weight for FWD traction! If you want an AWD car, then start out from a RWD platform.
Go test drive a base 16"-wheel RX-8 auto w/ non-sport suspension, then you'll scratch your head wondering why this light-nose car handles like a race car & still rides almost limo soft!
Anyway, here's a British complain over the new C-1 Focus' steering:
creakid1, "Ford Focus 2005 release date" #67, 25 Dec 2004 11:39 am
& the styling/shape of the interior door panel, armrest, etc.... Please, give us a break. Is this a car for the new generation or grannys?
America has been very lucky that rest of the world has to end up w/ the low-tech (read no Control-blade multi-link rear suspension) Fiesta as the only narrow-width little Euro-design Ford sedan. While we still got the 169.5cm-wide high-tech C-170 Focus. & now it's turning ugly & dorky.
In fact, many countries kept the old Mazda Protege badged as Ford in production for consumers who find the new C-1 Focus too wide!
creakid1, "Ford Focus Sedan" #1848, 6 May 2006 12:30 am
You will all regret waiting for the Detroit-style '08. :P
Wow, Detroit, you're making a lot of progress. At least it doesn't have Toyota's long-arm short-leg driving position.
& check out the rebirth of these tail lights from the old Dodge Stratus.
"On SE models, the dashboard center finish panels are a contrasting dark stone non-metallic color." This looks much better, IMO.
Fuel economy wise, Focus' Mazda-developed engines already failed to match the similar ones fit into Mazda vehicles. Besides, 2.3 consumes way more fuel than 2.0 by using the inevitable energy-wasting balance shafts.
By the way, rest of the world never had a chance to use smooth & reliable Mazda-developed motors in the nimble-size C-170 Focus. & they've never heard of anyone lucky enough to own any Focus w/ a factory-installed 2.3 naturally aspirated engine. :P
& I told them, "Duh, every 2004 Focus sedan sold in California had a 2.3!"
Can you say EDGE? I think Ford doesn't want to steal any sales from the new EDGE CUV, though it's in a different class, IMO.
Ford needs to cut costs across the line and dumping the wagon is one way to do that.
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.
I think it's just you because I see very little resemblance.
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.
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. :P
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.
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' [non-permissible content removed]. & 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. :P
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.
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.
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? :mad:
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.
The new 2008 has much more surface detail going on, maybe too much as the front end looks fussy to me. The '08's higher beltline does look longer, but the tires and wheels still look small. Perhaps it too will look better in person than in photographs, but it doesn't appear to have been a winner on the Detroit exhibit floor where people did see it in the flesh.
I understand the business case for simplifying the model line, but the 2008 refresh may be too little and the 2010 total redo may be too late for Ford. The interior appears to be a big step up from the 2005 refresh. I just don't know if the outside styling will get enough people to sample that new interior.
The real Ford news may be that a new B-class (next size smaller than the Focus) is slated for the US market no later than 2009. The B-class may be where Ford's limited money and resources are focused. I've got my fingers crossed, Ford is running out of time for a hit.
No matter how good the 2008 Focus is, the new Saturn Astra is going to get more attention and is likely to seize the space that could have belonged to a truly new Focus. Ford lacks momentum. GM for all its troubles has more mo and more hope. A Saturn Corsa may not be far behind the Astra. Ford has to be better than the new Corsa and Yaris. Equal or also ran will not be enough.
2008 Ford Focus
The grass is always greener on the other side, but is it really?
Our '08 Focus may be embarrassingly ugly. But Europe's bulky expensive alternative isn't as mighty as you think, especially when the nose is heavier than 4 cylinders:
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/61251/ford_focus_st.html
"However, the ST can't disguise its turbocharger as effectively as the Golf. There's small but noticeable lag when you first get hard on the power, and between full-bore shifts the engine takes a moment or two to catch its breath and resume the accelerative fireworks. Through a sequence of corners where you're often switching between strong throttle applications and then calling on some useful engine braking, the delivery can get a little jerky, too.
The ST's ESP system has to work hard to contain the power despite the broad 225/40 R18 Continental rubber. And although it's certainly very efficient at trimming any excesses, you soon feel that it's perhaps a little too eager. Switch it out and the front tyres can easily be overwhelmed once you've clipped an apex and gunned the engine. Eke out the power more gently and the ST stays nice and neutral, and only when the corner has really opened out and you hit full power do you feel the front wheels tugging from left to right.
Torque-steer in a front-drive car of this potency is almost unavoidable, and the Focus is certainly no more prone to it than, say, the Mégane Trophy. Even so, you sense that Ford has tried to soften the effect before it reaches the steering wheel. The result is that much of the textural feedback that you'd experience in a cooking Focus has been lost.
Push harder, give the engine a free rein, and that five-cylinder unit really begins to dominate. In terms of raw speed it's very impressive, effortless when you're stroking it along and relentless when you're asking for all it's got to give. Unfortunately, for all the power it generates on the straights, it seriously hampers the ST through the corners.
The nose-heavy balance and fairly marked body-roll means that understeer arrives earlier than expected, and it's pretty tricky to neutralise completely. Get out of the throttle and the weight shifts, unloading the rears and progressively restoring grip to the front tyres. It all feels great, until you realise that the Focus's inherent adjustability isn't enough to fully overcome the weight up front. By mid-corner the rear tyres are gripping again and the fronts are pushing-on, away from your chosen line and bleeding away the bulk of the forward thrust through rampant wheelspin.
If you've got the room and the right corner ahead of you, the ST can be made to steer from the rear rather than the front, but it takes a fairly extreme lift-and-lob or heavy braking into the heart of the corner to unsettle the car enough to need opposite lock. In the real world this is not such a huge problem, but the fact that when you're driving quickly and smoothly the ST predominantly understeers and feels just a fraction stodgy is disappointing.
I'm loath to criticise the ST because it really is an excellent package. There's ample performance, it looks great and the ride and general feel of the car at anything up to eight-tenths is spot-on. As a car to own, I think it would be a pleasure. However, just when you want it to throw off its sensible shoes and goad you into really going for it, the ST gets a little sulky, a little detached. The Golf GTI remains the benchmark.
evo RATING:
+: Value, performance, integrity
-: Big engine compromises handling"
No wonder the Mazdaspeed3 didn't follow the big bros -- Volvo/Ford -- & used 4-cyl turbo instead.
Perhaps that's why Ford didn't even bother to import the C-1 Focus here, where buyers are too cheap to pay higher than Fusion's price unless it's got a Mazda/Volvo badge.
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/61251/ford_focus_st.html
Wonder how many stars the [non-permissible content removed] US focus would received?? hmmmm... maybe 1 out 5 would be kind.
I, too, wish Ford would "get the message" and bring the Euro Focus, and other Ford products like the current Mondeo, over to the USA. I know I would buy one, but I won't buy the new Focus. It's really unfortunate that Ford's management is really out of touch with consumers' desires and wishes. I would gladly pay over $20K for a Euro Focus. I think the basic problem is that all domestic manufacturers still equate small to cheap - Big Mistake on their part.
So, where's the Euro-Focus!?! What makes the Europeans so special that they deserve the premium model while we have to dance with its ugly cousin? And how much money is wasted designing, engineering, manufacturing, and supporting two models rather than one world-car? That has never made sense to me.
The idea of a single platform for each market level seems to have caught on (Mazda3, Volvo S40, EuroFocus plus some GM models), but Ford continues to drag its feet when it comes to the US Focus. Why? Import it from Europe if you have to, but please offer a car worth buying! Or give up. Either way is okay with me.
There you have it. Why whine about not getting the new C-1? 'cause the old one's more fun!
Lately, a new feature for the C-1 Focus is a 3-setting pwr-steering adjustment, but... Skidding the high-tech rear predictably is what the original Focus was about. & the C-1 Focus had it "engineered" out.
While the C-1 Mazda3 has the oversteer dialed in, it does more than what you ask for. So don't switch its optional DSC off too often.
The Focus SVT (mechanically identical to the Euro-spec Focus ST170) was so good it beated the Mini Cooper in both ride and handling, plus better steering, room, price & reliability (per Consumer Reports comparison test a few years back).
Lately, the Focus & the Mini are no longer very unreliable. Mini sells well at high price b/c girls find it about the only cute & innocent looking car around. & Ford forgot about the cuteness when copying the old Prius this time on the new '08 Focus coupe -- oops!
Farther along in the development process and therefore closer to market is the 2009 B-Class car for the US referenced at the Detroit show, but as yet unnamed and of unknown styling or configuration. Could this be the car aimed at Ford FWD enthusiasts?
It's too late to change the 2007-08 plan given development cycles. If there's time to influence Ford choices it is on these '09 and '10 models still in the pipeline.
What should Ford be trying to achieve with each?
The B-Class will not have the high-tech multilink rear suspension for good ride/handling compromise. That includes the VW Polo, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, etc. Eventhough the Mini Cooper & BMW 1-series do have rear multilink, the set up is too firm for comfort.
The new C-1 Focus, like the new Lexus IS "compact" sport sedan, has an extremely wide body, therefore not for me. So the current C-170 Focus is the best "B-Class". Grab'em while you can!
I even collected a 2000 Civic hatch, which has an all-around Double Wishbone suspension system packaged w/in a smallish exterior. Since the turn of the century, the smallest Honda w/ such high-tech suspension is a heavy-weight TSX!
I asked that very same question to a Ford cutomer rep. She mentioned the 2008 Focus hitting showrooms at the very end of summer, towards late September...probably early October.
Peace!