burlapp car

Available in June

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That’s right, both of these cars are available this June. Both from Ford.
The 2008 Ford Kuga (Bottom) and the 2009 Escape.

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Conversation 26 comments

  1. Slow news day, huh Vince?

    You already know the Kuga is coming, how about waiting for it to get here instead of beating a dead horse again about the Escape’s interior.

    You want more readership? Give us more actual news.

  2. There looks to be some improvement in the Escape…good. I’m actually pretty interested in the Hybrid…supposedly better interior, 1.7 seconds faster in 0-60 time and better fuel economy.

    However, the Kuga still looks better.

    Scott

  3. It’s like Ford’s left hand doesn’t talk to the right hand. Ford’s American cars and European cars are not even comparable any more. Shame. I can’t wait for us to get the Euro Focus and Kuga over here.

  4. Vince, I actually don’t like the center stack of European Fords (the squashed hexagon shape) that also was used in the 2005 Focus.

    I think a better picture to illustrate the differences in design would be the door panels and the seats. Because I actually like the dash and controls of the new Escape/Mariner but in gray. But if you look at the color and texture of the seats in the Kuga compared to the monochrome Escape seats, the Kuga wins hands down. The door panels in the Kuga also look more high-end with the silver grab handle and more artful sculpting.

    I say keep the Escape as a lower-cost crossover (but adding better brakes) for Ford and bring the Kuga in as a Mercury. I mean, Ford already prices Mercurys slightly higher anyway!

  5. Wow if true. Source?

    I still think it should be a Mercury. There would something very funny and ironic about a ‘Mercury Kuga’. 🙂

  7. See no information about June 2008 arrival of Kuga. Everything I’ve read says introducrion for 2010 model year. Although if this is true it’s a great move. Wonder what pricing will look like…European’s are willing to pay more for higher quality.

  9. I never said both these cars were available in the US.
    I’m trying to point out the difference between what we get in the US and what Europeans get.
    Both in June, both from the same company…

  10. For pits sake stop complaining people, the Kuga WILL BE SOLD IN THE US so in the end the US market will actually have bigger choice than Europe.

    Besides, Vince, lets all get realistic here mate. Americans get cheaper product because they are not willing to pay more, you guys pay the same money for a full blown large V6 sedan than we in Europe pay for a car the size of the Focus, and thats the base model i speak of.

    If buyers where willing to pay more then Ford NA would make their cars look and feel more special. Even Ford Australia cars which are slightly more expensive than US Fords still manage to look much better than your cars because they pay that little bit extra. But Americans want to have the best for much less and that just doesn’t work out, its simple mathematics

  12. Nope..sorry fella. I think folks in NA DO like value – however they’re willing to pay more for quality….Honda, Toyota are both more expensive then the respective US / domestic cars for “comparable” (on paper at least) performance. The accord outsells the Malibu, the Camary outsells the Fusion / Sebring combined (likely)…

    If Ford brought the Mondeo here vs the Fusion (which from what I see is a fantastic car) – it would have sold that much better based upon style alone. Place the interior quality in the equation – sales would be through the roof.

    Yes, the Focus and Kuga WILL come to North America – but two years late to the game…what will Honda / Mazda / Toyota have out at that time? Will the products still hold up?

  13. America has a very competitive market where small cars are not worth the money…That is why car makers strip them down..For lower price…Little cars sell on price only.

  14. I think Ford lacks confidence. They don’t think the customer will pay a similar price for a Ford as they do for a Toyota, so they cheapen the cars to make the price point lower – and then tack on the rebates to make them even cheaper.

  15. The Escape interior looks like something built by a joint Fisher-Price/Tupperware effort.

    The Kuga’s is more refined and adult.

  16. I agree with Kevin – the US Escape dash is (at least!) equal to the Kuga’s…

    and maybe cuz I really like the Escape & LOVE the Mariner – think there’s a chance Ford will do both the Kuga and Escape with the Escape going to the new global T6 small(est) truck platform

  17. Unfortunately, if the sales of the ’08 Focus and Saturn Astra are any indication, it would appear that the automakers are correct in their assumptions – as least as it pertains to the masses.

    The laughable US Focus is selling at an astonishing rate of 25,000 cars a month.

    The much better Saturn Astra, a small car built in the European way (a well appointed hatchback selling for “slightly” more then the Focus to cover it’s higher quality construction), struggled to move 1,000 units in May.

    We car enthusiasts obviously think differently, but it’s pretty clear that the stereotype is true: we Americans like our stuff cheap, useless and dumbed-down, and we want it for as little as humanly possible.

    Sad. Just sad.

  18. Vince, The REAL SAD story here is that Ford in North America continues to make small changes to their platforms every couple of years and then they boast ‘ALL NEW’. The Escape is a perfect example. The vehicle remains the same only this time around it will have a long overdue update to its engine and transmission. A few more interior tweaks here and there and that’s about it. This hardly justifies as a all new model.

  19. Yes it seems your american models seem to be dated. Flogging a dead horse with the Ford Focus compared with the rest of the world.

  20. i don’t think that’s it at all!! How about the fact that the focus has a higher epa gas mileage figure than the Astra.
    And how about that the focus is LOWER PRICED than the astra!
    If you haven’t noticed we’re IN A RECESSION! duh! And yet you want to blame this on “dumb americans”. So why pay more for a car, when you could pay less, and get more gas mileage? When you’re struggling to pay bills, I doubt you’re thinking of “maximum slalom mph”! You’re the dumb one if you can’t figure out people are struggling to pay for stuff!

  21. Ford has big problems in the U.S.

    From Carscoop…

    Honda Civic Dethrones Ford F-Series from U.S. Sales Chart

    For the first time in 22 years Ford’s F-Series pick up truck has lost the first place in the U.S. sales chart, not by one, but by four Japanese cars. The last time any car managed to outsell Ford’s pick up truck (according to Autodata) was GM’s Oldsmobile Cutlass back in May 1986.

    According to preliminary sales figures released by manufacturers, America’s most favorite models in May were the Honda Civic with 53,299 units, followed by Toyota’s Corolla and Camry with 52,826 and 51,291 sales respectively while in fourth position, we find yet another Honda, the Accord with 43,778 units. Ford’s F-Series was placed in fifth place with 42,973 units -a 30.6% drop compared to last May and its sixth straight monthly decline.

    Ouch!

  22. Anonymous Coward wrote:

    “And how about that the focus is LOWER PRICED than the astra! “

    Thank you so much for proving my point perfectly – that cheapness rules all here in the good ‘ol US of A. 🙂

    As you can see in the post above that tries to refute what I wrote, no thought was given to the quality of the materials, or the fact that the Astra is better built and will likely last YEARS longer then the Focus, making the Astra the CHEAPER purchase in the long run for us recession conscious Americans!

    Instead of refuting my argument as you intended to do, you merely solidified it.

    Care to try again? 🙂

  23. To the anonymous who say Americans struggle to pay for a car hence why they opt for cheap: GET REAL! What do you think the rest of the world is doing you dumb ass? In America everything is MUCH cheaper, even the petrol. We in Europe pay MUCH more for petrol and even diesel and out cars are also more expensive, what do you think, money grow on trees here? Before you call people stupid try not to act like one yourself. We only pointed out that Americans are usually not willing to pay much for a car and you just re-confirmed that so what’s your point? And oh, its not as if they just started to buy cheaper because cars in the US have always been cheap.

  24. Guess the current model Ford Focus will end up being a 12 year old design while the rest of the world has the new ones.

  25. yeah to all those who are trying to make fun of me. Here’s a NEWS UPDATE! The U.S. IS IN A RECESSION. I surely don’t see you paying everyone else’s bills. But go ahead and complain that somehow your twisted reality means we’ll pay more for a car when we don’t even have jobs! So yes, please make us go into more debt, just because you think a car is “cheap quality”. Oh that’s right I’m only here to impress a loser like yourself. How funny indeed. Who really cares what YOU think? You’re not the majority, so really you don’t matter. Those people who bought a new car, at least they could afford one. But you’re just someone who lives in their mother’s bastement. You know everything! hahaha

    WE’RE IN A RECESSION! GET A CLUE!

  26. Oh,sorry about that.
    America must only be the only country in the world in a recession and the rest of the world economy is booming.

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