2008 Focus coupe “under the light”

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That rear end looks pretty cheap…

Conversation 21 comments

  1. Is there any chance that this is just a one or two year holdover until we get a thoroughly redesigned one? Like they did with the last gen Escort? If this is expected to only last a couple years, it’ll do great. If it’s expected to last much longer than that, it’ll be the nail in Ford’s coffin.

  2. The day that POS is a “Honda Killer” is the day when Douchebag Jones gets a brain (he’s the guy who lives in Modesto and drives a Monte Carlo–you can’t get much closer to trailer trash than that).

    But yes, the redesigned Focus is an improvement over the current, dull one. The 2 door model looks like an old Chevy Vega in some respects and that’s not so good. The 4 door looks better IMO.

  3. Hey Vince, from the rear it looks like the old 2 door Toyota Tercel! It has the same rear quarter windows and almost the same tailights. Is this the best Ford of America can come up with, a 18 year old design of an entry level coupe from a Japanese manufacturer? No wonder they are in deep trouble, they are employing retired designers from another era!

  4. i read on car & driver that those are actually 17 inch wheels! whoever designed the wheel wells did a terrible job… they make the wheels look so tiny! and the entire car looks like its a few inches too tall….

    i wasnt expecting too much from ford, and so i cant really say i’m disappointed. i’m a former focus owner by the way. that car was a heart breaker! it drove so well, but the quality and reliability were sooooo bad. when ford proves itself to be a maker of fine cars once again, i’ll be back. until then, they can keep their warmed over focus’.

  5. About the third comment:

    All Ford cars are ”holdover” ones now. Ford has realized it’s about to die and has given up. No need for a new escape, explorer, expedition, focus, etc because Ford is good enough for it’s clientele that is…good enough.

    I can understand that ford is careful about updating its SUVs since the market is so volatile but Cars??? The market for cars will still be strong no matter where you look in the future…

    The new styling is nice in general but…

    I’m not too fond of the fake air vents on the side. They need to be real somehow. The interior is awful, especially with that blue light. (”It’s not new but hey, it’s god blue lights!”) The back looks cheap as if Ford didn’t have enough money to spend between the two back lights. The front doesn’t seem to work on the pictures and reminds me of the new XL7.

  6. Wow… Ford can’t catch a break on here! The car’s actually not all that bad, for the position they’re in and what they have to work with. Here’s a little reality check for everyone who bitches about getting the European Focus over here… they’re not bringing it because they would lose way too much money. No one in America is going to pay the kind of money they would need to get for a little entry-level car. It would come way to close to the price of the Fusion if they were to even break even on it over here. Europe is a totally different ballgame. A Focus is not an inexpensive or entry-level car over there. It would cost billions to develop a brand-new Focus for the US market, and right now, they don’t have it. So they did what they could… they took an already great car (it made it repeatedly onto Car & Driver’s 10 Best list) and freshened it up. Revolutionary? No. Going to blow Honda’s new Civic out of the water. No. Enough to freshen up a solid, but aging car so that they have something new to offer buyers who don’t rule Ford out entirely before they ever even drive one? Yes. I owned a Focus, and it was one of the most reliable, practical, and fun to drive vehicles I’ve ever owned. I put 60,000 miles on it in just 18 months, and never had one single thing go wrong with it. If coming out with cars that are reliable, durable, yet admittedly a little unoriginal and vanilla in styling was a crime, Toyota would have been out of business decades ago.

  7. Well, if the Mazda 3, which is based on the same platform as the Euro Focus, can be sold in the States for a profit, then the parent company should be capable of doing the same.

  8. No one in America is going to pay the kind of money they would need to get for a little entry-level car.

    Perhaps Ford and you would be smarter to stop keeping the Focus as entry-level, and let it mature with the Polo or Fiesta take over that role as they have in Europe. Honda has done this for the Civic letting the Fit assume its place, Toyota with Scions, and Nissan with its Versa. Seems to be working for them.

    Americans pay the “kind of money” for the Mazda3 and other premium compacts. They’re snatching up Civics at $20k and over. The new Sentra looks to be quite competitive and offers leather seats, push-button starting, Bluetooth, etc.

    Yes. I owned a Focus, and it was one of the most reliable, practical, and fun to drive vehicles I’ve ever owned.

    You’ve had great service. That is a good thing.

    I put 60,000 miles on it in just 18 months, and never had one single thing go wrong with it.

    I’m glad to hear that, truly, but 60k isn’t really very many miles on a car only a year and a half old compared to the reliability of Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans, and some Mazdas with 150k+. That said, a neighbor had a 2000 Focus’ air conditioning go out at 12k miles. Water pump and power locks came next at under 15k miles. The radio quitting at around 16k was the last straw. She only got $8000 trade-in on a car she spent $14k to buy one year earlier.

    If coming out with cars that are reliable, durable, yet admittedly a little unoriginal and vanilla in styling was a crime, Toyota would have been out of business decades ago.

    You have a very good point with the vanilla portion of that comment. Granted, the Focus has had an enviable ride/drive characteristics, but the were plagued with quality control issues and recalls up until last year. We won’t even get started on resale values.

    But if you’ve been happy with yours, by all means love that fact. The rest of us want more.

  9. If the Mazda 3, which is based on the same platform as the Euro Focus, can be sold in the States for a profit, then the parent company should be capable of doing the same. I guess Ford thinks its small car buyers will settle for leftovers.

  10. OMG it looks horrible, like a blue turd.. i considered buying a focus for my first car they drive good, but i ended up getting a 03 accord, and boy am i glad.

  11. Just a reminder.
    The “Euro” Focus will be sold in Mexico this year.

    Also, to the person who’s had 60 000 trouble free miles.
    I think it’s great.
    60 000 miles without trouble is very good for any car.
    Again, I know VW owners who have had repairs done within 5000 miles.

  12. Just a reminder.
    The “Euro” Focus will be sold in Mexico this year.

    Also, to the person who’s had 60 000 trouble free miles.
    I think it’s great.
    60 000 miles without trouble is very good for any car.
    Again, I know VW owners who have had repairs done within 5000 miles.
    I would pick a Ford over any VW.
    They might not drive as good, not “feel” as good, but these monthly trips to tne dealer would kill me….

  13. WagonsHo said…

    If the Mazda 3, which is based on the same platform as the Euro Focus, can be sold in the States for a profit, then the parent company should be capable of doing the same.

    Amen. But, alas, they aren’t capable.

    Vince Burlapp said…

    The “Euro” Focus will be sold in Mexico this year.

    But not in the States. I guess our Mexican neighbors make so much more money as to afford a premium “entry level” car. Must be nice.

    I would pick a Ford over any VW.

    For reliability alone, I agree with that. At least the Ford will be cheaper to have repaired, and likely less frequently as the VW.

  14. Me again… defending the Focus and Ford a little further

    60,000+ miles in just 18 months is a hefty workout for any car. Ford, to their discredit, had a bad product launch with the Focus back in 2000. Shame on them. But that was 2000. This is 2007. Get over it. Consumer Reports did:

    “ The most significant is the Ford Focus, which has scored high in our tests of small sedans, sporty cars, and hatchbacks but had a disastrous first few years where reliability is concerned. However, the 2003 Focus is the most reliable Ford model.”

    Or check out MSN Autos. Look up the 2006 Ford Focus and click “Reviews”. Forget the fact that the “experts” rate it pretty high (higher than they do the 2006 Toyota Corolla – go ahead, click “Compare”, select the Corolla and check it out), what matters more is what MSN users have rated it on there. These are more often than not people who actually own the car. They rated it even higher than the experts, and apparently are happier customers than Corolla owners, who didn’t rate their car as high.

    The Ford Focus today – the one that serves as the basis for this new 2008 Focus – is a reliable car that people who own, really like. Building on that equation is a smart thing to do, especially at a time like this.

  15. This is really about Ford/ American cars versus their Japanese competition, not just the Focus. Ford’s new Fusion was one of Ford’s most successful new product launches in its entire history. The TGW (an industry standard quality measure) for the Fusion outdoes both the Camry and Accord. There were two cars that beat it though: The Chevrolet Malibu and the Dodge Stratus. Go figure. The Fusion won the JD Power APEAL award for design, was named “Best Value” in its class by both Smart Money and Consumers Digest magazines, and was awarded the Strategic Vision Total Quality Award (a big honor) for best quality in the medium-size car category. The Fusion and Milan together sold 178,355 cars in 2006, which is not bad at all for their first year on the market. And with available AWD for 2007, the car totally outclasses its competition.

    Let go of your negative opinions of American car quality. They’re outdated and uninformed.

  16. “How come they can afford to make the Mazda3 on that platform and sell it over here?” Are you serious? The Mazda3 is assembled in Japan. The Ford Focus in the USA. Much lower labor costs in Japan and an absence of the healthcare and legacy (retirement) cost structure that American auto makers have means they can make cars much cheaper – thousands of dollars per unit cheaper – which is especially important when it comes to small cars with thin profit margins. Tag onto that the fact that the Japanese government is constantly under scrutiny for keeping the value of the yen artificially low, providing their export manufacturers with a huge cost advantage and hopefully you can begin to get the picture why the Mazda can use the platform, and the Ford can’t. And in case you’re wondering, the cost of shipping them over here in bulk does not even come close to eating up the advantage they get by making them over there.

    Well just build it someplace else, you say, right? How very American of you! Unfortunately they lack the production capacity at their existing non-US plants to do so (Focus sold well over 175,000 cars in the US in 2006), and plants take time and money to build. Neither of which Ford has on its side right now. Mexican sales volume for Focus is a small fraction of its US sales volume, and for that reason they can absorb it into existing capacity (making it cost-effective to sell there).

  17. Anonymous said…

    Me again… defending the Focus and Ford a little further

    60,000+ miles in just 18 months is a hefty workout for any car.

    Yes, but you missed the point.

    An older Civic with fewer miles is worth much more than a Ford Fuckus.

    As is an older Civic with more miles.

    As is a newer Civic with equal miles.

    Ah, but to quote you trying to salvage your feeble point, “disastrous first few years where reliability is concerned.” Find where Consumer Reports said that about a Civic and find where they rate a Focus over a Civic in any review.

    You also said, “However, the 2003 Focus is the most reliable Ford model.” You realize that’s not saying much compared to Honda’s reputation for reliability for decades with Ford’s lousy record. Or don’t you?

    But your happiness is worth whatever you paid for it. And that’s a good thing, isn’t it?

    Being happy with your car does not equate one with being right about quality, resale value, or reliability.

  18. OK, It’s amazing how people can compare apples and oranges on here. Admittedly the 200-2002 focus’s were rushed into production and had flaws. Whoopie! Since that time they have been ranked in the 10 ten cars for the money consistently. it’s amazing how people with beer budgets can critique like they have champagne tastes. Simply amazing, this is what the focus is: 1. the most fuel efficient domestic car on the market,2. the best bang for the buck. Ford actually is offering an entry level car with a little bit of flash with oput breaking your wallet. If you dont like the car for what is is, then fine, put your money where your mouth is and step up to the plate and spend some more. But for a car that will be debuting ford/microsofts SYNC technology (peoples voice winner @ the 2007 CES show). The ambient lighting is an option, you complain about bells and whistles then talk about a push button ignition in the sentra. Seriously, this improves a sentra how? Outside of enabling the blog junkies whose carpotunnel syndrom has gotten so bad that they can not physically turn a key. I’m actually quite astounded for some of you who think you are on the “in” of the new technology with cars are completely out of touch, wake up guys, fFord is going to a world platform so the people with beer budgets and champagne tastes might be able to get a hold of some of the toys Ford has overseas. Yes, Ford has some financial issues, but by that token name one company that has been in business for 100 years that didnt have issues at one point. (hmm, Coca-Cola in the 80’s, and they havent been around nearly as long.)And as far as the Focus designed to be a Civic eater, well not particularly, a feasable alternative yes, but for those of you who like your supertuners there will be an SVT in the works soon (i.e. your european queues will be in the USA). And lastly, for the ones who like to knock on the quality, check your reports, Ford is tied with Toyota and Nissan for vehicle quality, with Honda just inching all three out. Take it for what it is, not what you wish it could be.

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