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Ford Focus sells like crazy in US

rybo submitted on 04/15/2008 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 11:38 PM
from: www.motorauthority.com

[28] user comments | category: Misc News

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Ford Focus sells like crazy in US

Strong demand for the Ford Focus in the U.S. has led management to boost production numbers of the car by 30% for the remainder of the year.

The latest announcement reaffirms the growing shift in consumer demand towards smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles and is a trend most carmakers in the U.S. are experiencing.

In the first three months of the year, Ford sold 49,070 Focus models – an increase of 23% from the same time period last year. Read Article

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lexusrox123 - 4/16/2008 9:09:20 AM

+2 Boost

looks nice in THAT pic, not in real life.....i dont see very many of them actually

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Shredmo - 4/16/2008 9:57:52 AM

+5 Boost

My biggest gripe is that huge chrome vent on the front fender. What is the point? On a Buick, there is some tradition involved, but on a Focus, it is merely "me too" styling.

LACMAN - 4/16/2008 3:25:10 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

Its strange that you say you dont see many around because I see the little MF's around EVERYWHERE.

BigShow50 - 4/16/2008 9:09:21 AM

-9 Boost

Good to hear Ford is making progress. One step at a time. I can see Ford becoming a sucessor out for the 3 domestics. GM and Chrysler will soon have to pack their bags and jump off a cliff if they continue to work & think half ass like Bobby boy Lutz. GM is all talk with marketing and no show, while Chrysler runs in circles chasing their own tail.

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91z4me - 4/16/2008 9:48:14 AM

+4 Boost

Why insult Bob Lutz? The dude is an auto genius. That is why he has worked for lots of major auto companies and has good things said about him all over the place.

Spectator - 4/16/2008 11:16:48 AM

+3 Boost

Too true. It's easy to blame him for all the ill's GM had in the past just because of his title. However why not congratulate him for ressurecting the US auto industry which until about 2 years ago looked like it was about to go the way of the dodo.

DROOPYSAKK - 4/16/2008 9:11:00 AM

+4 Boost

good for ford,

personally i wouldn't buy a new ford yet unless it was a f series truck, but i dont want ford to keep sucking at everything.

hopfully they will get smart and bring over some euro and auzzie models, or at least use them as the basis for new design.

im rooting for ford. (from my R32)

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PlanB - 4/16/2008 9:34:50 AM

+1 Boost

Its design isn't all that bad. Its the underpinnings and performance(especially compared to the euro Focus) that sucks. Ford says the Focus will be global for its next model in 2011 so we only have to deal with this for 4 more years.

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BigShow50 - 4/16/2008 10:41:34 AM

-1 Boost

Why insult Bobby "No Clue" Lutz? Well for starters he is part of the equation of GM loosing billions of dollars...no excuse should be heard from him. He had enough time prior to knowing what is better for GM, instead he played the ignorant role, and got bit in the ass like all other domeestic execs. Remember as smart as a person can be...they can also be just as dumb.

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91z4me - 4/16/2008 10:44:53 AM

+2 Boost

Maximum Bob's cars are just starting to come out. The Malibu is the 1st Lutz car. And by all accounts it is doing awesome. Also he spearheaded the Solstice project to bring it to showrooms as fast as possible. He is also aligning GM so that it uses world platforms, which will help by eliminating redundancies in engineering and aligning costs better. A side effect of the reduced cost is that the US will finally be able to get a world class car from GM, no more dumbed down platforms because Americans won't know the difference.

BigShow50 - 4/16/2008 10:43:11 AM

-5 Boost

and btw...Ford will prevail over the other 2 domestic yahooos'.

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Spectator - 4/16/2008 11:43:09 AM

+2 Boost

Wow. I see someone is a dyed in the wool blue oval fan.

How bout that Mustang II was that a good car? I understand brand loyalty however a bad car is a bad car. When Ford produces a good car in the US I'd be more than happy to sing its praises...however it has yet to do so in quite some time(save for the original focus...and I don't count mazda in fords car numbers either)

It sounds as if this new platform they are creating will be good, however this focus above still falls far short in comparison to what our cousins accross the pond are recieving.

And as for your statment that Ford will previal over the other 2 domestics...well you are only half correct. Ford will prevail over Chrysler (which really needs to get its act together) however to prevail over GM would be near impossible.
This is due to one huge factor...

GMAC

That is why GM is the giant it is and why Ford is a distant second.

(BTW I'm not a die hard bowtie fan either, I just calls it as I sees it)

carguy68 - 4/16/2008 11:27:23 AM

-3 Boost

toyota quality will keep dropping and the big three will be just fine

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silver1 - 4/16/2008 12:13:25 PM

+1 Boost

Toyota still has more recommened vehicles on the consumer reports list than any other automaker, so if Toyota is dropping and their still #1, then what are the others auto-makers during, super dropping?

mini22 - 4/16/2008 11:59:59 AM

+4 Boost

Ford has turned the Focus into a small "Buick". Frankly that's what many people want. Quietness,a smooth ride good fuel economy and an affordable price.The fact that it does not compare to the Euro
Focus is meaningless to the average "non auto enthusiast buyer".

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silver1 - 4/16/2008 12:14:11 PM

+6 Boost

This could possibly be a re-born Good ol days selling Ford Escort. I miss that car.

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M35MT - 4/16/2008 12:14:57 PMView My AgentSpace

+5 Boost

cheap, full of features, not an ugly car. makes sense.

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Whelan - 4/16/2008 12:48:37 PM

+1 Boost

VERY ugly car, very cheaply made, underpowered, cannot compare to the attributes of Civic, Corolla, Sentra, Cobalt, etc.

It is the old focus with new sheet metal and interior.

And I'm not sure how they are selling them, but I can gurantee that nobody has noticed where the sales are. Most likely my speculation is they are being turned into fleet vehicles for companies and rental car operations. They are cheaper than the competitors and so they can be replaced easier.

I would bet that is where most of the sales are and why we are not seeing a ton of them on the road.

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Obliv - 4/16/2008 12:58:49 PM

+2 Boost

You remind me of the recent C/D test I read of 8 small sedans with 30+ mpg. It was funny, because the Focus had tied best in class mpg on highway, was midpack in acceleration (toyota was quickest, but also the worst handler and worst steering feel) handled and felt fine, but was ranked 8th because they thought it looked weird and didnt have head handles.

And yeah, its right up there with the competition, and the next focus will blow them out of the water.

09CTSVforMe - 4/16/2008 1:39:12 PM

0 Boost

We actually like ours (for what it is and what it cost). We shopped it against all the imports (from Fit to Civic to Mazda3)...and some of those cars are better in some ways, but when you are looking at a mid-optioned Mazda3 for $22,000 and a fully loaded Focus for $16,500...well...those other cars aren't THAT much better. They are economy cars after all.

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aeyjay - 4/16/2008 1:41:52 PM

+1 Boost

I saw the new Focus coupe going through an intersecting a few days ago and honestly, it looks like the rebirth of the old Escort. While it's not the most attractive car, it's not ugly. I agree with silver1 when he says: "This could possibly be a re-born Good ol days selling Ford Escort. I miss that car."

So many of my friends and family drove Escorts "back in the day" and if the quality (which should be "Job 1 " for Ford, right?) holds up, maybe it will become the best seller again.

Go Ford! Do your thing!

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aeyjay - 4/17/2008 4:43:51 AM

+1 Boost

intersection* LOL

Whelan - 4/16/2008 2:55:25 PM

+4 Boost

And they goofed on the Escort in the US too. Remember Europe got a bad@$$ Cosworth powered Escort for a few years that was never offered in the US in any way shape or form. Then the Focus came out with an SVT and 170hp, but never modified into anything special cause it came out right when the others started bumping at the 200hp mark.

Just blows my mind that Ford doesn't think anything of themselves in the US as compared to the European market. In terms of style we lose everytime. And the point of a redesign is to upgrade and enhance, not take the thousands of old Focus underpinnings and slap them into a new car?? That just makes no sense. Your paying more for a new car that is identical mechanically and drivewise to the old Focus. So why not go by a year old Focus for half as much fully loaded. At least it looked better. Oh that's right they have Sync. For people who have a hard time pushing buttons and paying attention at the same time. It's a girl with a cell phone on her ears dream. Not to mention I highly doubt the Sync is that easy. "Play artist the strokes." OK, what if you have like 5 strokes albums, then you gotta tell it the song and all that. I don't know tons about music, I know what I like, I may not even know the bands or the songs, but I have them in my ipod, so using Sync would not be very helpful for me.

I just feel they should have done a little more to make it appealing instead of slapping on big bulgy rubber, huge wheel gaps, and poor aesthetics. As I said, I don't see a lot of them driving around, so these huge sales must be from companies and rental car fleets.

And I would totally take a Mazda 3 GT over a fully loaded Focus anyday. Yes they are econoboxes but even us with little cash who like mpgs can have fun in our cars and not drive slushboxes everywhere.

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Carboy - 4/16/2008 3:23:35 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

If only they brought all the Ford vehicles from Austrialia and the UK, they'd do a lot better.

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BigShow50 - 4/16/2008 5:02:57 PM

0 Boost

C'mon ladies....Ford will prevail. I'm not much of a domestic fan more so a Japanese and German fanatic. Just my personal opinion as to who I think will be on top in the future between the Big 3. And for my thoughts about Bobby boy remains entact, he is still a fool. Yes he may have made changes, here and there. And of coarse sales are better than last year. But for GM comparing previuous sales figures, anything is better at this point. And they are still not in the clear...they keep up the same song & dance of cannibalizing their own models within. GM could be heading for the worst to come...and as of Chrylser....well they're still chasing their tail.

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jt716 - 4/16/2008 7:54:41 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

What Ford is doing right now is just keeping sales up to generate some extra cash. The next version will blow everyone up. The same with the Escape otherwise they would have redesigned it from the bottom up! The focus is the middle of the pack and average never seen the car in person so I cant judge the build quality. What Mullaly is doing is trying to work with the mistakes that were released (five hundred) and what was being developed (focus).

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