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.

I live about two miles from the cast member (employee) entrance to Magic Kingdom. I have probably been to the Disney parks and hotels well over a thousand times, as my daughter worked there and I have several friends who still work there. I don't go much anymore, except for concerts and other special events. Speaking of which, if you are going in October, you should find a sitter for the kids one night and go to the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. There is not much information available this early, but if you bookmark this URL, they will fill it in as the start date gets closer... http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/special-events/epcot-international-food-and-wine-festival/ My favorite Disney hotels are the Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Grand Floridian. Of course, they can be expensive. If you are going to be spending a few days at the Magic Kingdom, you should consider the Polynesian which is on the monorail. The Contemporary is also on the monorail, but is close enough to walk if the monorail lines are long. The Contemporary also has a nice restaurant (California Grill) at the top...I often take out-of-towners up there just to have drinks and watch the fireworks from the balcony/roof/skywalk where the music is also piped in. I would not be much help planning activities for the kids, but I know plenty about the bars at Disney if you want more info.

The Edmunds review of the 2013 Focus (S, SE, Titanium, and Electric) was just put up. I was expecting something short with some kind of statement like very little has changed from the 2012 model, but they did a pretty favorable write-up. Here are a couple of quotes... "Add in a wide range of trim levels that include all-electric and high-performance variants and it's easy to see why this is one of our favorite small cars." and "Yet even in this solid grouping, the Ford Focus impresses by being a sophisticated, highly refined and fun-to-drive small car that earns one of the highest compliments we can pay a car -- it looks and feels as if it should be priced higher.". Here is a link to the review: http://www.edmunds.com/ford/focus/2013/ Although I have an ST on order, I was glad to see the 2013 Focus Titanium has the option for a manual transmission. I seem to be in the minority, but I PREFER a manual over an automatic, even if they are priced the same. However, it is still only a 5-speed. Seems like there would be better adoption of the manual transmission if the 6-speed was offered instead of the 5-speed.

There is a teaser available now for a new ST promotion. It's a series of videos involving professional drivers, and the Focus ST. Drivers include Ken Block, Vaughn Gittin Jr, Tanner Foust, Brian Deegan, and others. The sessions will feature cameos from many competitors like the VW GTI, Subaru Impreza WRX, Honda Civic SI, Mazda Speed3, and BMW M3. Looks very interesting... promo: "Welcome to Focus ST Sessions" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQVhcBeklLQ

I laughed when I read that reply, but sadly it may be true.

I am fully aware that dealers can choose to participate in X-Plan or not. That is not the issue. The issue are the dealers telling customers the Focus ST does not qualify for X-Plan, when it actually does. The dealer I used gladly accepted X-Plan when I placed my ST order, and I know many others that have used X-Plan for the ST too. Some dealers just don't seem to keep up with anything that does not involve moving the cars they already have off the lot.

Why no power folding mirrors for the ST in the U.S.? Like so many things, some accountant probably thought they could not sell enough to make a profit. I would think many people would like this feature, but maybe it is just me because I might have the smallest single car garage ever made. The Powerfold Mirrors are part of the City Pack on the UK build site (click on Price List)... http://www.ford.co.uk/Cars/Focus/Focus-ST

This might be old news for some of you, but the ST is finally on the FordPartner.com site... https://www.fordpartner.com/partnerweb/vehicles/pricing.do We have known for a while now that the ST would be on X Plan, but for a long time it did not show up on the partner site. In fact, it was briefly on the exception list in the early days. You can now find it on fordpartner.com, and it shows up as "ST 5-door". Apparently there are still dealers telling people the ST does not qualify for X-Plan, so if this happens to you, you can direct them to fordparter.com where they can see for themselves the ST is there as a selection.

The 2013 V40 Polestar will not compete on price, but everywhere else the 280 horsepower V40 Polestar will be very strong competition against the Focus ST. This article even mentions that the V40 shares hardware with the ST. Not sure what hardware it is sharing, but you can see obvious similarities. I think the V40 Polestar looks pretty good, and seems like it will have higher performance. It will also be all-wheel drive. Here is a link to the Auto Blog article which includes a gallery... Volvo planning V40 Polestar with all-wheel drive, 280 hp Here is teaser pic...

Hello everyone, I am originally from New Orleans but have been living in Orlando for almost 20 years. I live right next to Disney, so close I could walk, but only go for special events (concerts, food & wine fest, etc.). I currently own a 2001 Focus that is still going strong, but ordered a 2013 Focus ST in performance blue with the 202A (ST3) package. I love music of all genres, but I probably listen to symphonic metal, like the band Epica, more than other styles. If you want to chat about music (in the appropriate forum of course), just let me know. - Unreal