igor

the MPV look will not entice all, but I liked it - a lot - when I sat in it in New York ( I was actually in the car when the guy started fooling around it .. trying out things, etc before they began shooting. Igor

http://goontheroad.com/wp-content/uploads/...cape-hyb020.jpg See ther green gauge up top, it will tell you - also the tachometer will drop below 0 when ICE is off .. finally - you will hear it - the 2.3l was quite noisy in the 08's - I do not expect the 2.5l in the 09's to be any different Igor

yes theoretically, but if they are talking about it as Aveo replacement - they are making it a B-car - not an A-car. With Fiat 500 being assembled here .. I am very VERY hopeful Ford pushes the right buttons and 1) gets Fiat to lease one of Ford's plant for that and 2) assembles a few Ka's alongside the 500 .. for US sales Igor

it was being considered under the GRWD program .. and was doing well in the review .. not firmly approved yet, though. I heard this from Wescoent - so bug him. igor

truer words were never spoken Igor

expected, but we will not hear about it for a while. even if you asked Ford today, they would say no comment. I assume we will find out a LOT more in about 8 motnhs or so ... especially as the concepts of these future small cars start trickling into the AutoShows ... Fusion and EcoSport are both due for replacement - so the questions will have to be answered soon. BTW do not expect the two to look alike anymore - Fusion will likely become a "B-Max" and have a traditional MPV Look, while EcoSport keeps its SUV pretense. The times just got better for the Ford fan there will be a lot of good stuff at the shows and then in the showroom. Igor

to my understanding, the C-Max was to begin production even before Focus - so in very early 2010. However I did hear once that they will lump the C-Max and Kuga production together in Claymoco, so they will wait for the Global Kuga in 2011 to intro the C-Max into US .... At this point I do not know, but the C-Max would be a good segway car to start the US C1 lines at slow speed, to break in the tools and what not before htey have to go full tilt with the Focus. We shall see. Igor

I have heard of Thunderbird, but not Cougar - sorry. That said, there is a lot we have not heard yet. Igor

there is one more thing he needs to do: SEE THE EU FOCUS IN PERSON as some people here know already - I am currently in EU ... and if there ever was a car to epitomize the "4x4 looking car" the Focus is that - tiny wheels, giant wheel wells, GIANT wheel gap. It sits high, it is bland as Corolla and completely disappears among the better looking Astras, Meganes, Civics (EU specific), C4 's and other small cars available here. The Wagons and 5 door hatches make up lion's chare of the small car market here, and those are the two trims where the Focus looks the worst. The facelift helped some, but it can only do so much with a bland jelly bean look. That said, it has an interior way above the US Focus - it also is much larger than the US Focus (wider) and is available with some banging engines, as well as the hot ST, RS, and CC forms. The EU Focus is great in its well rounded lineup. If you are in EU there is very little it does not offer. IT has the "black mirrors and handles" stripper model with puny gas I4, it has the super duper econetic diesel, it had the navigation, HID headlamps and what not available, it has a 3 door hartch, sedan, 5 door hatch, and a wagon, and the ST, RS and CC versions on top of it, etc etc etc ... but if you just take a mainstram 2.0l I4 (or 1.8l I4) Focus sedan from EU (or Mexico) and compare it to the run of the mill Focus from US with the 2.0l etc ... the differences are WAY smaller than people think. This will not be shiny car professionally photographed to look good. This will be the same car as in US with 16" wheels (maybe wheel covers, Europeans do not seem to care much for hte wheels) reflector headlamps, single or six CD inside, etc etc. I once said it - the C1 is a much more grown up car - it is more comfortable and quieterr and better executed. However it is not "better" - if you like crisp handling, the lighter, smaller original chassis we use here handles better. But it does not have soft touch inside, it does not have the quietness of the C1, and it does not have the polished (bland) look of the C1 Of course, all this is a moot point - as of April 2010 there will only be one Focus around thwe world - an all new 3rd generation Focus - and it will be built and sold in USA as well. Igor

no he is just a a typical Porsche-file ... did you see the piece "Porche Panamera - an instant classic"? ROFL among doom and gloom from all angles - THAT !! yeah right objective "hard hitting" my ass Igor

that was a joke - no he did not come from Scion. Igor

they need one thing: stay the course outlined last week. and execute it well/right. Igor

I love the quote you picked - the article is spot on - Ford is striving to be leaner, more flexible, and more streamlined - just like Toyota .. there is no metion of tyhe negative connotations you have - no sports cars, boring designs etc ... that is a risk, but we will not know until we see the 2011 Focus, the 2011 Explorer, etc ... what the NEW Fords will look like. Igor

per Autonews, there is no overtime or closure sheduled for Oakville - Ford has built 11k Flexes since 7/1/08 no Autonews is not infallible, but I will take their word over Farago's "data" again - if Ford backs Farago on Friday, I will retract. Igor

ROFL - the Flex sold 3,000 pieces in JUNE!!! I will be shocked if July number is in three figures ... SHOCKED!! As usual (and it is obvious from all Farago's pieces on Ford - he does not give single piece of damn about Ford - he hates its guts and will his best to denegrate it ... I am willing to retract this comment if I see any confirmation of this .. (I will check AutoNews and wait for Friday's numbers. Igor

well I did not realize I was replying to theoldwizzard, but afaik, there has never been any plans for D37 EB -even the MKS/MKT engine was always mentioned as 3.5l V6 EB ... I might be wrong here - after all I am just an observer, but that is what has been communicated. Igor

IF this is true and my info tells me it is - it is great news - of course no chmpagne should be popping before EPA releases the official number - why would you assume we are NOTwaiting for EPA with the final say - we just are takinf Kuzak's word for it - for now .. Igor

it will test at or above 34mpg in EPA's cycle - do you need it spelled out any clearer? I can try The one caveat - it might be with Manual - but the new 2.5l will have 6speed auto, not 5speed, so the Auto might not get any mileage handicap. Igor

there is no 3.7l V6 EcoBoost planned - all the V6 EB engines planned use the smaller 3.5l version of the enigne. The MKS and Taurus will share the EB engine. Igor

yup

After Flex, I fully expect HID's standard on Ford's Limited models. If a model is high up enough the chain to have a Limited trim - it should have HID's standard. SEL in most models should have it optional. Igor

The 1.0l is an INLINE THREE CYLNDER, FLEX FUEL engine. it is to make 100hp and replace .15-1.6l engines. It has been rumored since a while back - I wrote about it about a year ago. Igor

the torue is one thing and there was a big difference (and progress) in the bottom end design from the PFI (SOHC 8v) Focus engine and the DOHC Zetec, or DOHC Duratec, (incl the 150hp VVT version) The current RoCam in Brazil is rated at 105 hp. That is less than the 110-115hp other 1.6l are rated at, but it is not substantial. The Torque is 118 (IIRC) so that is a little more than the 105-110 from the DOHC engines. However the RoCam has its peak torque some 700-1,000 rpms lower than the DOHC engines (I collected data on the major B-car 1.5 to 1.6l engines about a year ago, but I cannot find it now .. so I am just pulling it from my memory here) (of course the RoCam ratings are not SAE/US certified - so they may not be the same when the come here) Igor

People need to lighten up on the RoCam - it is not a bad engine - I have driven one ... it is actially pretty good - it is not buttery smooth, but neither is competiiton - and when in 2022 the Fits and Yarises are dead on the side of the road, the "shitty" RoCams will still huff around as if they we just being broken in. The engine is low tech, but with a prupose - to make is reliable, and durable. It is also E85 compatible which will be a great point of interest to many at the time it is released in US ... Not everyone wants a TIVCT DOHC 16V engine driven by a 2001 Space Oddyssey computer - all of which will require maintenance and will become fail prone later in life - many people long for the days when they drove engines for 200 - 300k miles with nothing but oil changes, when they had engines that did not minbd too much if someone forgot an oil change, and other worry free solutions. The RoCam delivers this fail proof bulletproof solution with a SINGLE downside - chain drive and the resulting slightly higher NVH - the FE, power, power deliver, etc are on par- and actuyally TORQUE is above par to competition. Thanks to the patented RoCam camshaft the engine feels very unusually torquey for its size and its competition - and delivers pretty surprising acceleration. There reeally is very little wrong with the RoCam - and the biggest one will be a illusion brought about by paper comparisons and magazine arm chair quarterbacking comparing paper specs. The Engine is quite impressive for such a cheap to build, cheap to sell, and extremely cheap to run engine. Igor

1) the Fiesta is to meet or beat the Fit on MPG 2) should I remind you the Fit uses an SOHC engine - sure it is Vtec, but it is SOHC, and 8V IIRC 3) the RoCam has lower power than the Fit or Taris, but we are talking 105 v 110hp or similarly meaningless difference 4) The Fiesta is to be lighter than the Fit, and on par with the Yaris (or close ot it). We are not talking of an 80hp engine that sounds like Geo Metro and gets 34mpg HWY - we are talking about minor differences - and yes - chain drive will increase NVH, but not to a Geo Metro level - and there are MANY ways of insulating it out of the cabin. Igor