Well, took those ****ing retards long enough.

dimestic Focus is good enuff, but the euro model is even better.

Is this the global car that Ford has been talking about for 30 years?

It’s about time that ford has finally got with the program!! I just might consider getting a ford now.

duh

This is indeed good news, but I still recall LLN’s last Focus article stating that the new US Focus will still use cheaper interior materials than the Euro spec purely because of cost…way to go Ford :thumbs down: They think we’re all so stupid and wouldn’t appreciate a better interior. Until Ford and the rest of the domestics wises up, I’ll be buying foreign brands.

yea it always takes a import designed and developed car. that has been known all along

tell you what, if they bring the Ford Focus RS over here, I may just consider buying a Ford.

It’s kind of a chicken and egg problem though. Get the more expensive interior, and you might convince people to pay $25k for a Focus… But at that price, who’s going to look at a Focus? But if they cheap out on the interior, they’ll never raise the brand image…

^ If 25k was what it cost for the top of line performance model possibly a U.S spec RS or re-badged as a SVT, I can see people going for it. Heck I’d go for it…. But I agree. if you look at the $22,995 base price Cobalt SS/TC, that after all options can cost almost 25k, those sales only make up like 2% of total Cobalt sales… When majority of ones selling are probably the lesser (15-17k) LS & LT models

Which is scary because I could see a major back lash from consumers if Ford does bring the Euro Spec Focus over, and no matter how much better it is than the Focus that we have if it does base north of 20g’s I don’t know if the consumers will go for it…

Just make the ‘top of the line’ model of the new Focus identical to the Euro-version. Everyone already expects the best version to be more expensive, so when it actually is, there isn’t the ’shock’.

But it also acts as the flagship for the model, drawing people into the dealerships to look at the model.

In this class of car the price leader manual transmission models are important only for bragging rights when compared to the competition’s offerings. Trying to actually find one on a dealer’s lot can, unfortunately, be next to impossible. Consumers will never go for a 20k base Focus, but since most of them built will probably be in that price range anyway Ford ony has to keep up the illusion that they can be had on the cheap.

Praise the Lord! Ford has finally listened to its customers who’ve been asking for a unified Focus for years.

WTF DIDNT THEY DO IT EARLIER FOR THEN

yay european fords. contour, anyone??

Tell you what, Ford. Bring the Mondeo, build it in on US soil, and I’ll consider buying a Ford. You have nothing else right now that I would even consider purchasing.

And other thing, I want the Estate version of the Mondeo, not the 4 door.

as of today, the base model euro focus costs $18,635, but take into account that our dollar is super weak right now. I bet the euro model will cost the same as the USA model once manufactured on our side of the pond.

There are a ton of options for the euro focus.. i hope we retain those. Over there they can get a 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0, 2.5, both gas and diesel variants too.. 6-speed manuals, and automatics. Freakin’ awesome.

I bet we’ll probably just get the 2.0 and mazda 2.3 though. :/

Either ways i hope they are customizable like they are. Anyone remember when you could get a honda civic with a 1.5, 1.6, 1.6l DOHC, 1.5 high fuel model, in a coupe, hatch, 4 door, and 2-seater targa top version? I miss those days. I hope we get such cool options with the focus. Europe has a ton of cool economy car options and i think it’s time they brought that flexibility over too.

Like I said before I went to trade shows, and even wrote 3 letters, numerous emails asking Ford to do this, glad all of us who wrote, email’d and complained, just asking why Ford?

Yeah, you ever notice when you watch a car commercial they’ll advertise a vehicle and they’ll say something like “The …. …. starting at xx,xxx” Yet the vehicle they are actually showing you is the top of the line model, and on the bottom of your TV screen they say in the fine print “Actual model shown priced at xx,xxx” … Again all marketing gimmicks.

So if Ford shows their top of the line model of the Euro spec Focus on all of their commercials and if it does cost like 25K or more, do you think that’s going to attract more customers then?

Because what I always notice it’s the base models, or whatever model is at the lowest price that they usually falsely advertise with the above method I mentioned…

Just like You never really see GM, Dodge, Mazda advertise their top of the line models like the Cobalt SS Turbocharged, Caliber SRT-4, Mazdaspeed 3. Even though these are the sport compacts, and usually only appeal to a very small market…

If anything the single most model that Chevy is pushing with the Cobalt is not the new SS Turbocharged but the “XFE” because it costs the least out of all the models, and gets the best fuel economy. Those are the models that sell the most.

About damn time. Now start figuring out how to bring the European Mondeo to the US. Call it a Taurus for all I care…

Look for marketing similiar to the Mazda 3, since the new Focus will be based on the Mazda 3. Expect 2.0l manuals and 2.5l 6-speed automatics, as well as direct-injected turbos. Or you can get a Toyota with a 4-speed automatic that was designed 30 years ago…..

This stuff can’t be rocket science, people.

Seriously, when they speak about cheapening interiors and the like, how much do they save per vehicle … maybe $100 for higher quality, nicer feeling plastics? Bump up the price by $125 to offset it, and I doubt you’ll lose any customers, but you’ll probably win more sales simply by the impression people will get.

No one is asking for Audi A8 quality plastics here, just stuff that looks nice, feels nice, fits well, and matches. And it shouldn’t make people feel like they settled for the worst (like the Dodge Caliber does). It’s not a difficult concept to grasp, I think.

The Mazda 3 is not available with a six-speed automatic, it is a 5-speed auto or 6-speed manual (only on the MazdaSpeed 3). You are also not going to get engine options. “Direct injection” is meaningless considering the way that engines are designed now; you’re talking a difference of 2mm in the injector placement at best. The important carryovers from the Euro Focus are the steering rack, suspension and (hopefully) weight — THAT is going to make this Focus interesting, not the engine or transmission. In a car under $25k, you’re never going to see a lot of innovation in those areas (like a dual-clutch auto/manual, for instance.)

true that mayer_ray,
the reason i did not purchase a focus 2.0l manual hatch despite it’s sweet powertrain was the quality of the interior, and some things on the exterior, such as the door handles and interior controls seemed to have a lot of play in them.. it was like a first generation hyundai accent or something. I would happily pay the extra $125 to not have my door handles break off or have my interior controls continue to work for longer than a year.

That’s kind of why i am excited about the euro focus coming here.
ford, don’t f this one up!#$~@$

PLEASE BRING FOCUS RS HERE

Oh, and I’d be happy to pay 30k for a Focus RS as long as I can spank the STI and Evo all the way back to japan…

took ‘em long enough