Unreal

Hi fireman. I used Ian Riding at Sun State Ford. Details of my order/build can be found here.

Thank you very much cyberdman for your tracking help! I took delivery of the car on 24-Oct-2012. My build info for this ST can be found >here<.

Update request for my 2013 Focus ST, please. Hopefully it has been shipped already. VIN: 1FADP3L95DL167800 Thank you for your continued help.

Update request for my 2013 Focus ST, please. Hopefully it was built yesterday. VIN: 1FADP3L95DL167800 As always, thank you for your help.

Update request for my 2013 Focus ST, please. VIN: 1FADP3L95DL167800 Dealer code: F24213 (Sunstate Ford, Orlando) Order #: 1306 (202A package aka ST3) Thanks again for all of your help!

The dealer is not losing 5K by going with X-Plan, but they are losing about 30k if they do not accept X-Plan. There is no way I would ever pay one penny over MSRP, so that is an automatic lost sale if they pull that crap. Yeah, I know there is a sucker born every minute, but I think the internet helps bring knowledge and negotiating power to anyone willing to research so they do not fall for those dumb dealer tricks. I am very glad my dealer was happy to accept X-Plan...the process was smooth, fast, fair, and stress free, like it should be.

The Car & Driver article below makes a good point that many of the cars racing now may be obsolete after the Grand-Am and American Le Mans Series (ALMS) merger. The Focus ST run by Multimatic Motorsports competes under Grand-Am in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge as part of the "Street Tuner" (ST) class. I sure hope this ST class continues next season as I think they are so much more interesting to watch than the Daytona Prototypes or anything in ALMS except the GT class. http://blog.caranddriver.com/pitfalls-opportunities-aplenty-in-alms-and-grand-am-merger/ DVR Reminder: The Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Laguna Seca Raceway will be broadcast on Speed Channel this Sunday (16-Sep-2012) beginning at 1:30pm Eastern Time.

I'm pretty sure the ST3 delay is in some way related to the HIDs, though I am not sure what the issue actually is. There are many rumors, including vendor supplying the wrong color bezel (chrome vs black), vendor not delivering parts on time, and a design defect that caused overheating which required a modified design. Could be one of these, or something completely different. Any clarification of the real issue would be appreciated as I also have an ST3 on order. Thanks.

The first of the five "ST Sessions" videos is now online. However, it is really just another teaser and is less than 2 minutes. I did think the $$$$ when the M3 went by was kinda funny though. 1 of 5: "What makes an ST an ST?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgsS3zMrlEs

Tracking request for my 2013 Focus ST, please. Dealer code: F24213 (Sunstate Ford, Orlando) Order #: 1306 (202A package aka ST3) Thanks in advance for all of your help!

It looks like the famous track may remain open for 2012 (2013 is uncertain), but everything else may be closed and sold off. The full article can be found here.. http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2012/07/nurburgring-officially-bankrupt-says-state-governor.html

I doubt we will see retail delivery of a Fusion ST anytime in 2013...more likely sometime in 2014.

I wanted to start a rumor about an upcoming Fusion ST, but Motor Trend already did this 6-months ago... http://www.motortren...atch_and_wagon/ I would love to see a high performance V6 EB AWD Fusion ST! 2014 maybe? On the other hand, the rumored total restyle of the 2015 Mustang might fit the bill depending on its new style.

I don't think dealers are going to ever go away, but I do see some changes in the future. I believe eventually the laws will be changed to allow more direct manufacturer sales, and this will allow dealerships to operate with little to no inventory, but otherwise operate pretty much like they do now. This could actually help many dealerships if they don't have to deal with inventory and its associated costs. It may also lessen the haggle hassle over price. You could order online, but would take delivery at a dealership, and the dealership, not a salesperson, would get a commission on each sale (mainly to cover the cost of the "demo" staff).

When I pre-ordered my Focus ST, no deposit was required.