ranchero

I've got a '15 FTC shorty that I like very much but . . . . . The stock engine does not have enough guts and I now know the 1.5 ecoboost would have been the better choice. The 6 speed auto transmission is horrible with the stock engine. So for 2017 Ford has eliminated the option to pay for a better engine and the vehicle is still stuck with that transmission that can not handle mountains? The FTC would be a more fun, more useful vehicle with the 1.5 ecoboost and a six speed manual but Ford now offers the vehicle with only the worst possible engine and the worst possible transmission. I'd order a new FTC with a proper engine/transmission but now the Mercedes Metris has gotten me interested. - ranchero -

Ford seems to think you can drive one in the winter. If a new Mustang is sold in my state (Wyoming) or others with winter climates like mine (Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc.), it will be built and delivered with an engine block heater. So Ford expects you will drive the car in extreme cold. And I will. A manual transmission helps a lot from zero to five mph and the flexibility using a manual provides makes even a RWD car controllable. As has been said in more words: "pay attention". I've survived many winters in Colorado and Wyoming with RWD manual transmission cars and am quite confident my winter problems will not be because I can not drive a RWD Mustang but rather because some ditz can not stop or steer a 4WD / AWD SUV that is way too big and powerful for her. - ranchero -

MKII - lots of Fords in Europe that would be the car for me. A Mondeo/Fusion wagon would be ideal; the Focus wagon or ST wagon would be much preferable to what I have. I like very much the upcoming in USA Golf wagon diesel but I am scared of reliability/durability issues with VW and the lack of dealerships for service in mountain time zone. I prefer a Ford. - ranchero -

No, I have not driven 1.0. Not interested. Here's what I want: nothing smaller than Focus hatch; an engine with no fewer than four cylinders; a six speed manual; leather; a Ford; the ability to carry a bicycle inside the car; a car comfortable and quiet enough for 1,000 + mile trips on interstates in the mountain west. I like my current 2012 Focus SE five speed well enough but want much quicker 0 to 10 mph acceleration and much quieter, lazier engine work at 80mph between Flagstaff and Albuquerque, Laramie and Salt Lake, Casper and Billings - and everywhere else I go in the mountain west. I do not care about fuel mileage. A 1.0 three would be fine to commute within Antwerp or Boston or Honolulu, but please understand, it clearly can not work in the American mountain west. - ranchero -

thank you.

Thank you. If true, this is a big disappointment and a sign that Ford needs to wake up! USA market competition all have six speed manual on their everyday four cylinder engines: Chevrolet Cruze, Dodge Dart, Volkswagen Golf. How could Ford not know that an extra gear was needed for manuals? The 2.0/5M is slow to accelerate from a stop and, at high freeway speeds in the west, the car runs out of needed gear ratios. The car has been on the market for 3+ years; the issue of a less than satisfying drivetrain in the car could have been easily understood and addressed along with the fascia makeover and interior improvements. - ranchero -

I do know that the three cylinder 2015 Focus will have a six speed manual (in addition to the ST which already has one). I have not been able to find out if the four cylinder 2015 Focus SE with the current and continuing 2.0 litre will be available with a six speed manual. The current cars, including one I own, offer only a five speed manual or a six speed automatic. I have the manual, don't think it has enough gears, want something better but absolutely do not want the automatic. I do not want the three; the 2.0 litre four is good enough - just barely. I do not want the ST. Is there any clear information on transmission availability for the 2015 Focus with the 2.0 litre four? Again, I want a six speed manual. I will have waited three years for something better since I bought my five speed manual 2012 Focus in the fall of 2011. It is time for something better. Volkswagen? They've got it across the Golf line. Please advise me if anyone here knows more than I have been able to glean. Thank you. - ranchero -

Request info VIN: 1FM5K7D80EGC61745 Thank you.

I want a proper German touring car - not a Mercedes, not a BMW, not an Audi, not a Volkswagen but a Ford Mondeo Touring (wagon). Make mine a V-6 six speed,but if I must I will buy a turbo 4. - ranchero -

Easy for Ford! Fusion (Mondeo) wagon. I need a Ford station wagon. I can buy a proper and excellent wagon from Mercedes, BMW, Audi or Volkswagen but I want a Ford. C'mon, how difficult or expensive would it be to do this? For a company with the guts to do a GT, Thunderbird or IRS new Mustang why not a proper German touring wagon out of the already done Mondeo? - ranchero -

"Looks like the rear axl of my 2011 Mustang." Your Mustang has an axle; axl is a guy in a rock band but not a car part. - ranchero -

I am satisfied with the shifter on the five speed and the spacing of the five ratios. I don't dislike the 5 speed for what it is and it works as it should. However I am disappointed that the car does not have a sixth, taller gear; it is the one and only major shortcoming of my particular car. In my driving I am quite aware of the need for the tall sixth gear. Luckily I do not have MFT/Sync so no complaints about that. But I think that the car's engine feels the need for another ratio available. - ranchero -

Edmunds does not "suck". It is useful. The only disappointment I have with my five speed manual 2012 Focus is the lack of a sixth gear. I do cruise at high speeds on western interstates; the car really needs a sixth on these trips. I want a six speed manual, diesel "estate". -ranchero-

The car looks nice but . . . Who wants a hybrid or an electric? Certainly not me. Where is a diesel, manual transmission wagon? Europe? Where is a V-6 manual coupe? Does Ford feel need to make only eco-weenie, boring cars for political reasons? Can we not have variety, fun, power, torque? - ranchero -

I've owned and driven a 2012 Focus SE hatch for two weeks. My overall rating is that it is an excellent, well designed, well assembled quality car. The car is very German. The interior and especially the controls give away the German design heritage. The message center system is very similar to two recent Mercedes I have owned. The car is put together surprisingly well and also feels very German in precision of manufacture. My car has a five speed manual so I have none of the various complaints that owners of the six speed auto seem to repeatedly have. The shifter travel is a bit too far for my tastes; I would prefer shorter throws like in a Miata. Shifter is easy to use and smooth.The gearing ranges are fine. The engine has enough guts - barely. Acceleration in first from zero to five or ten mph is weak - especially for a driver like me used to V-8 pop in a Mustang or Mercedes. I think the gearing and clutch serve fuel economy - not acceleration (or fun). Once the car is moving, acceleration in second through fifth is adequate. Interior is very comfortable for driver and one passenger. Rear seat is as useless as it is in a Mustang. Leather quality is good and patterns used are attractive. Steering column is easily adjustable for comfort of a particular driver - as is the driver seat. Load area with rear seat down is big and I appreciate that the floor lies flat. Controls are at first different and complicated but easy to learn and also very well designed for easy use by a familiar owner. My car does not have "sync" or "mft" so I have none of the complaints that drivers of cars with these gadgets have. I ordered a simpler car without these sophisticated systems that seem to only bring grief; I think keeping it simple makes the car easier to live with. Fuel mileage - all city driving around town - is running at 30 indicated on the message system. This is excellent. I am quite pleased with the car - especially the German quality and design. To improve the car I would make it a station wagon and sacrifice mpg for more low end power. - ranchero -

weekly follow up; track this VIN please: 1FAHP3K2XCL239191

Wagons. Somehow Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volvo and Volkswagen have been able to figure out how to sell a quality wagon (not necessarily a performance wagon) in the USA. Preceding Focus or older Escort wagon was not a quality product; rather it was a cheap car that was maybe no better than a Chevrolet Cavalier. New Focus, including wagon, is a quality vehicle that can and does compete with Volkswagen Jetta wagon in Europe. It can do so here too. My first choice was the VW Jetta wagon but I did not buy one because there are so very, very few VW dealers to service the car out here in the mountain west. There are Ford dealers everywhere. So I bought the Focus hatchback and it will be fine but I would much, much prefer the utility of the body style of the Jetta or Focus wagon. The quality of the current Focus wagon makes it a different product than previous small Ford wagons. It costs more; it is better and it can be properly marketed to what is a different buyer than the one who bought one of those older, cheaper and inferior small Ford wagons. Ford lacks the guts or skill to try to sell the Focus wagon. - ranchero -

Available in 40 countries - but not the home of Ford, the USA. Available with a six speed manual - but not in the USA. If Ford would make and market a decent wagon for the USA the company might be pleasantly surprised. How hard could it be to make one for USA, Canada and Mexico? - ranchero -

Thank you for your research; the car is getting pretty close and I guess could be on a truck soon. - ranchero -

weekly follow up; track this VIN please: 1FAHP3K2XCL239191

I have a Focus on order too. I am OK with waiting for the car; don't need a replacement and whenever is fine with me. But Ford could do customers who order cars a favor by providing some kind of path on a the home site to allow people who have shown enough loyalty and trust to order a car a better tracking system than what is available now. In 2003 I ordered a new German car - produced in Bremen, Germany. During the whole process I was able to track the production, plus ocean and rail shipping of the car to my dealer - on line and easily. Ford should have the sophisticated programs to allow a customer to easily find out where an ordered car is at any time. C'mon, Ford. Catch up with Mercedes from a decade ago. - ranchero -

Thank you - ranchero -

track this VIN please: 1FAHP3K2XCL239191 - ranchero -

This is silly. Here is a warning for anyone worrying about Ford's insufficient one: Monitor the fuel level. Think. This warning is fail proof. ranchero

I read today in an AP story from 28 July in the Boston Herald of a newly reported problem delaying production of the 2012 Focus. A machine at a supplier in Saline, Michigan that makes the dashboard skin is not working properly so Ford is not being supplied with enough of the part and production of the car is delayed. Ford is flying in to Michigan the part from Europe but this is only a temporary, inadequate and expensive solution to a problem that needs a permanent fix at the supplier. Ford has not yet acknowledged the problem and resulting delays to the automotive press; the story cites undisclosed but "inside" sources. So I ordered and put a deposit on a car on 30 July and I am resolved to a four or so month wait. We will see. This may be yet another reason that customers are facing what seem to be long wait times for ordered cars. - ranchero -