Meta One dead
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I was confused after seeing quite a few spy shots of an upcoming Mercury version of the Freestyle. (I even saw a few prototypes myself)
I though they had canceled it.
It turns out they put it back into the mix. Built some prototypes, and then, canceled it again!
So for 2008 we’ll get the revised Freestyle with the new 3.5 Liter engine.
Does Ford really need to spend that much money in developing cars they won’t produce?
Meanwhile, I’m happy to report, Mexico is getting the “new” Euro Focus next year!
But not us!
If Ford was a TV show, it would have been canceled a while ago….
“Meanwhile, I’m happy to report, Mexico is getting the “new” Euro Focus next year!”
LOL you have to be kidding! Ford’s incompetence is beyond stupid. They sell the Fusion and Mondeo side by side in Mexico at the same price point. They also import the KA and Fiesta from europe. Meanwhile we get the 8 year old Focus next year? LOL Too funny.
You know, Ford US should just ditch this car and bring in the Australian Ford Territory (change the name obviously). Its a better car, better design, better engineering and doesn’t look much different anyway.
The Euro Focus is being sold in Mexico because it is too expensive to be sold in the US. Those rich Mexican’s can afford a much nicer car than we can.
/sarcasm
I always thought the Freestyle was a nice looking vehicle, if maybe a bit too conservative. The real drawback has always been the engine. Hopefully this upgrade will make it more competitive.
Mercury hasn’t made a worthwhile car since the 1968 Cougar. Ford could save heaps of money and effort by dumping this dual brand – does anybody really care about Mercury? Why have 2 of essentially the same car in your line up. Maybe Ford should concentrate on building good cars instead of throwing as much product as possible out on the market.
It is kind of funny that Ford can afford to buy and finance Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Volvo at the same time; yet its traditional luxury brands, mercury and lincholn, are on the chopping board or the graveyard. Now, they are talking about selling aston martin and Jaguar. As far as i can recall my memory, volvo had never achieved the status as geuine luxury brand, but lincholn did. Why settle for Mcdonald when you already have Gordon Ramsey?
Ford does sell the Euro Focus in Ammerica, they are the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan. They wanted the Focus to stay at a lower price point in america.
Re: MKK
The problem is that Ford could once afford to carry Jaguar and Aston five years ago when they were fat and happy from the sales of trucks. Jaguar can’t seem to make any money and Ford doesn’t have the luxury of supporting any more dead weight today. Volvo is doing very well and is intended as a “premium” brand rather than a “luxury” brand like Lexus, BMW or Mercedes. Because Volvo has a successful strategy and are making money, they should be kept.
Lincoln needs to completely rethink its strategy. Option A would be to go way upscale, and make room for Mercury to take the premium domestic spot. Option B would be that Lincoln just continues to sell unimpressive rebadged Fords, and Mercury would go away to eliminate redundancy. I would like the first option. A real commitment from Lincoln to building amazing designs and becoming an authoritative luxury brand again would be fantastic. It would be more impressive than lowering their aspirations to simply building thinly veiled Crown Vics and Fusions.
Ford does sell the Euro Focus in Ammerica, they are the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan. They wanted the Focus to stay at a lower price point in america.
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huh what ? if you are gonna post get your’e fact’s straight and learn how to spell !!! the mazda 6 and the euro focus have not 1 thing in common…..
Vince:
I concur with your comment about how they build cars they never(mass) produce(waste money on these concepts).
Like the Ford Refl3x…. Great idea(although, they could build it w/o the hybrid version, to save $$$)A small 3 door sporty car( Rabbit sized? make it Yaris sedan sized) and maybe drop in some type of Mazda engine. Give it maybe 34 MPG range(much like the tC can get, after break in of a few thousand miles), o-60 in 7.5-8 seconds, and the great design the concept had.
A Winner!
But, Noooooooooooo , they waste good money on a concept, then never proceed with the idea.
Maybe they should collaborate with Hyundai/Kia!
They know how to gain sales, market share, and build decent engouh vehicles at a good price!(not on par of Toyota, but, gooe enough).
My Mazda3 is basically the Euro Ford Focus, and it’s a GREAT car.
I’m getting a headache just WATCHING the stupidity coming out of Ford these days. The car company I was born and raised on has abandoned me.
I test drove a loaded Freestyle and found it a resonable
alternative to a SUV. The only drawbacks were the underpowered engine and noisy CVT. With the 250 HP engine and a good 5 or 6 speed automatic transmission, it should make a decent family hauler.
Re: Anonymous…
“Ford does sell the Euro Focus in Ammerica, they are the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan. They wanted the Focus to stay at a lower price point in america.”
Actually, no. The closest vehicle to the Euro Focus currently in America is the co-developed Mazda 3. While the C1 “platform” was co developed with the Mazda and Volvo S40 and the new Freelander, there are essentially no similarities with the Focus, S40 or Freelander and only a few with the 3. Ford’s corporate CD3 platform, shared with the Mazda 6, Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ and has nothing to do with the Euro Focus.
huh what ? if you are gonna post get your’e fact’s straight and learn how to spell !!! the mazda 6 and the euro focus have not 1 thing in common…..
LOL! You have to learn how to spell, and even how to use grammar. I’ll correct you in brackets:
h(H)uh(?) w(W)hat ? i(I)f you are gonna(I’ll except it) post(,) get your’e(you’re) fact’s(facts) straight and learn how to spell !!!(spell!!!) t(T)he mazda 6 and the e(E)uro f(F)ocus have not 1 thing in common…..(“…”, not “…..”, and you should probably only use “.” in this case anyway)
Ford Territory still looks better.
About my last post, I was laughing so hard that I made a little mistake. It’s “your”, not “you’re”. I guess you guys don’t exactly care, but I don’t want Anonymous 11:50 to get me back. Sorry!
More on topic, I don’t think that the Meta One was a necessary addition to the Mercury lineup. Of course, Ford shouldn’t have decided to put it in the lineup in the first place, but I’m glad that they cancelled it.