2008 Focus an "out of the park" hit

[twintornados]

Ford To Boost Focus Output 30% As Demand Surges

Dow Jones

April 15, 2008: 12:16 AM EST

 

DETROIT -(Dow Jones)- Ford Motor Co. (F) will boost production of its Focus compact car by about 30% this year in response to surging demand.

 

Ford will use overtime and Saturday shifts at its Wayne, Mich., plant the rest of the year to increase production of the Focus to 245,000 vehicles from 191,000 last year, company officials said. A formal announcement is scheduled to be made by the Dearborn, Mich. company later Tuesday morning.

 

The move illustrates the changing dynamics in the U.S. auto industry, where sales of pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles - long the profit centers for auto makers - have plunged amid rising fuel prices and softening economic conditions. Consumers have increasingly turned to more fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Focus, forcing auto makers to concentrate on developing and marketing smaller cars.

 

"The small car market is the new battle ground for growth," said Ford sales analyst George Pipas. "We are looking for another solid month for the Focus even as auto sales are falling."

 

The Focus, which was revamped for the 2008 model year, has been a hit with consumers thanks not only to its fuel-saving attributes, but also for having higher-end options such as Sync, a system developed in conjunction with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) that connects consumer electronic devices with the vehicle. Sync is only available on Ford vehicles.

 

Ford sold 49,070 Focuses during the first quarter, up 23% from the like period last year. Retail sales, excluding less profitable sales to fleet customers such as rental firms, rose 35% in the same comparison.

 

The Focus has a 7.6% share of the U.S. small car market, up 1.2 percentage points from a year ago, Ford said.

 

This is the second major plant where Ford has boosted overtime to meet demand. At its Kansas City assembly plant in Clayton, Mo., which builds the Ford Escape, union workers agreed to increase the number of Saturdays employees are required to work from six to 21 rather than add a third shift.

 

The move saved the company money while allowing it to move quickly and avoid a public relations black eye if it was forced to later cut the shift due to slumping demand.

[rmc523]

I'm glad to see that the Focus is doing well, along with Ford's other new products.

[Sixt9coug]

"but customers wont buy it if its not a FoE C1 Lol Zomg!" blah blah

[twintornados]

oh...and don't forget, "It's gonna 'tank' since they don't make the hatch or wagon variants" yada yada yada

[rmc523]

"but customers wont buy it if its not a FoE C1 Lol Zomg!" blah blah

 

LOL, we're getting closer to the point where that statement will no longer be relevant.

[Roadrunner]

Good news! But how is the Fusion doing now?

[FordBuyer]

Good news! But how is the Fusion doing now?

 

 

Fusion sales are good. Ford has sold over 15,000/month over the last two months, and was just short of 16,000 last month. Fusion sales are up for 2008. I was just talking to Ford sales guy, and he said Fusion sales are better than Focus sales at dealer he works at. I noticed that there are not many I4 SEL's around at Ford Dealears around here...they go fast. The SEL's come standard with Sync, and customers snap them up quickly. My nearest Ford dealer has about 100 on lot, and just two I4 SEL's and only about 5 V6 SEL's. The rest are SE"s. They sell a lot of Fusions. Fusion is number one selling car in Metro Detroit. More car for the money than Focus IMO.

[Sixt9coug]

LOL, we're getting closer to the point where that statement will no longer be relevant.

 

 

"ZOmg! they watered down the FoE Focus! Stoopide FnA!!!1!2"

[focus05]

As good as this is, my only reply is: can you imagine what the response would have been like if Ford had kept the hatches and/or wagon and had just a slightly more cohesive product? The Focus is not a bad small car, but it is not that great either. Just imagine...

[RichardJensen]

A bird in the hand.......

[mustang84isu]

Focus

---------------

January

11,600 +44%

 

February

16,302 +10.2%

 

March

21,168 +24%

 

Corolla

-------------

January

20,713 -18.7%

 

February

21,202 -28.1%

 

March

25,109 -21.3%

[Michael Reynolds]

It still sucks. The C170 platform is old and outdated, I'd much rather have a much more attractive car such as the Civic.

[Sixt9coug]

It still sucks. The C170 platform is old and outdated, I'd much rather have a much more attractive car such as the Civic.

 

 

YEAH!! they dont get it!!! the Civic RULEZ! The Corolla Still outsells the Focus too!! Fleet Sales are still sales!! Unless its a Ford, then i LAUGH that they have to dump them in fleets! ja ja ja!! Stupedd Ferd!!!

[waymondospiff]

I hope every one of the "extra" vehicles they produce comes with Sync. That's a hot product for Ford.

 

The Focus...well - it's selling. I'd like to say that Ford is lucky, but there is definitely an interesting link between car companies and the compacts they sell. Everyone knows the Corolla is a decent vehicle, but it's hardly class-leading - yet its sales are phenomenal. The Cavalier was a MISERABLE car - yet it sold incredibly well.

 

I wonder if the compact cars offered by a car company sells more based on the reputation of the company offering it than based on the product itself. i.e. "Toyota's are reliable, therefore the Corolla is reliable." or, "Ford's are safe, therefore the Focus is safe."

 

But absent the psychological aspects of it all - the fact remains, Ford is selling more Focuses than predicted and that is ALWAYS a good thing!

 

Scott

[jpd80]

Not pouring cold water on the C170-2's efforts but,

Corolla is struggling now, how is it ever going to keep pace with the C1?

 

No doubt, Ford could shift a few of these:

 

Or this one,

Yeah, I know it's a photoshop:

Edited April 15, 2008 by jpd80

[Blueblood]

So if it looked good, not like a steamy turd, had more body options available, and was on a better chassis, that wouldn't have helped sales???

 

Please no responses from the juvenile trolls..

Edited April 15, 2008 by Blueblood

[RichardJensen]

So if it looked good, not like a steamy turd, had more body options available, and was on a better chassis, that wouldn't have helped sales???

 

Please no responses from the juvenile trolls..

Well, 'good' is a matter of opinion, given the space-ship Civic is also selling well. I doubt that a C1 looking Focus would register with the market.

 

As far as 'better chassis' goes, that's, at this point, 6 of one, half a dozen of another. It's not as though C1 was a radical departure from C170. Odds are 99 out of 100 drivers couldn't tell the difference in ride/handling, and for that 1%, well, there's your 1% boost in sales, if the thing were on C1.

 

Concerning bodystyle options... You might have something there, but given the fact THIS Focus is a huge hit, compared to the outgoing model in the same way that the new Escape has been a standout, one is led to the conclusion that Ford's market research on these models was close to spot-on.

 

Meaning the same research that said this look would sell determined that a 3-door and a wagon wouldn't pay for themselves. So yeah, you might get a more than trivial boost in volume, but it might raise havoc with the program's budget.

 

Bottom line, as much as I dislike the looks of this thing, Ford apparently got it about as close to spot-on as they could get. I don't think C1 looks would HELP, I don't think C1 chassis would make anything more than a trivial difference in sales (real benefit is in cost savings, IMO), and I don't think 3-door + station wagon would boost sales enough to pay for the special tooling required to stamp them (not to mention all the different welds, engineering challenges for radically different body styles, etc.).

[Blueblood]

Well, 'good' is a matter of opinion, given the space-ship Civic is also selling well. I doubt that a C1 looking Focus would register with the market.

 

 

As much as I don't like the new Civic, it does look cohesive and new, where the Focus looks dated, and like ten different people designed 10 different parts of the car and never communicated with eachother. I would not buy an 08 Focus, I would buy it if it looked exactly like the C1, and I could get a hatch.

 

As far as 'better chassis' goes, that's, at this point, 6 of one, half a dozen of another. It's not as though C1 was a radical departure from C170. Odds are 99 out of 100 drivers couldn't tell the difference in ride/handling, and for that 1%, well, there's your 1% boost in sales, if the thing were on C1.

 

It's more about improvements than anything else as the C170 is an amazing chassis (I recently humbled a guy driving an STi on a freeway onramp), but that doesn't mean it can't be improved. I think Biker knows the details, but I believe they made it handle even better, and ride better at the same time, ever see the vid of Clarkson up on 3 wheels in the ST in the rain??? Thank you control blade IRS!!!

 

I think most of the improvements to C1 were safety related though, not 100% sure on that one. And that's always a good thing.

 

Concerning bodystyle options... You might have something there, but given the fact THIS Focus is a huge hit, compared to the outgoing model in the same way that the new Escape has been a standout, one is led to the conclusion that Ford's market research on these models was close to spot-on.

 

A hit in what way? I drive a lot around southern California and I have only seen about 4 of them on the road, I've seen about 150 Lambo's in that same time, and the usual tidal wave of appliances/imports. If it can't crack the import loving places like Ca, then how is it a hit? SUV and truck sales are way down, how many people are buying small cars now because 4 dollar a gallon gas is forcing them? And what about these sales gains? What are they being compared to? Last year? Weren't Focus sales horrible last year? In 2000 Ford sold 286k of them when gas was only a buck a gallon and you couldn't get things like Sync (which I believe helps sell em). I believe people are "settling" due to the current economy, they aren't aspiring to own them.

 

However, in the late 90's when we got word we were getting the Euro Focus here I was elated, because we got a C car like no other. It had unique styling, came with features only found on expensive luxury cars back then (telescoping wheel), handled like a go-cart, had a high quality interior packed with features and ergonomics never before seen on American econo-boxes, had the interior room of a large car, etc. I could go on for days what an incredible car it was for it's time, notice how all the other companies started copying Ford with the higher rooflines to get more headroom? In a 2000 corolla my head hits the rear window/headliner, in the back of a Focus I have about 5 inches of clearance, and I'm 6'1". The 08 is nothing like the original, they even de-contented things like the telescoping wheel, and even the remote trunk release button on the dash!

 

I'm sorry, but the only redeeming things about the 08 is Sync and the gas mileage, that's it, and sure that's all most people need, but I'm supposed to downgrade to a de-contented ugly sedan or coupe that I can't get large objects into the trunk like I can with my hatch? I can carry around my welder and my air compressor with my rear seats down, they wouldn't fit through the trunk opening on the 08. So for me, small cars have to have a hatch option, as small sedans look goofy and have little utility.

 

Meaning the same research that said this look would sell determined that a 3-door and a wagon wouldn't pay for themselves. So yeah, you might get a more than trivial boost in volume, but it might raise havoc with the program's budget.

 

Well that was all because of their mistake they made, the consumer shouldn't suffer because of the beancounters. And if they had just used the car they alreadty had what would have cost more this time? How would a hatch and wagon which were alreay in production cost more to keep making then making an all new design with the 2 door? Looks like they spent more to get less to me.

 

Bottom line, as much as I dislike the looks of this thing, Ford apparently got it about as close to spot-on as they could get. I don't think C1 looks would HELP, I don't think C1 chassis would make anything more than a trivial difference in sales (real benefit is in cost savings, IMO), and I don't think 3-door + station wagon would boost sales enough to pay for the special tooling required to stamp them (not to mention all the different welds, engineering challenges for radically different body styles, etc.).

 

 

Good looks are certainly a sales booster, it's the first thing people see, and again, how was re-designing the car to be made into a coupe cheaper than using the existing hatch and wagon?

 

I think i'll just wait for the 3 door to return in 2011, or just buy a Mustang next year if gas prices aren't doubled by then, as my car is paid off and I'd love to have something with more power and things like ABS and side airbags.. :shades:

Edited April 15, 2008 by Blueblood

[jpd80]

The golden rule is build the volume sellers locally and import all your specials.

 

In AUST, Focus Coupe Cabriolet sells for $43K and Turbo Focus ST sells for $36K

allowing for the big jump in AUS-USA prices, I'd say:

Focus CC in the USA - $30K!!!

Turbo Focus ST in the USA - $25K!

 

True the specials don't add much to volume but the really add to profit!

 

Not waking up the C170-2 Vs C1 thing but here's the difference,

The C1 has a tiny bit more shoulder and hip room - That's all!

Apart from that - it looks great!!

 

......ST170-2 Focus (C1 Focus)

Length: 175 (176.7)

Width: 67.9 (72.3)

Height: 58.6 (56.8)

Wheelbase: 102.9 (103.9)

Track Front: 58.6 (60.4)

Track Rear: 58.1 (60.3)

Leg Room Front: 41.7 (41.6)

Leg Room Rear: 36.1 (35.7)

Shoulder Room Front: 53.5 (55.5)

Shoulder Room Rear: 53.7 (54.4)

Head Room Front: 39.2 (39.2)

Head Room Rear: 38.3

Hip Room Front: 50.4 (52.4)

Hip Room Rear: 50.9 (51.9)

Edited April 15, 2008 by jpd80

[twintornados]

We always get the....."bu bu bu bu, Ford needs to bring the C1 chassis to the NA market place to replace the C170 blah blah blah" I say since the Mazda3, Mazda5 and Volvo S40 are here in NA....we have the best of both worlds.

 

C170_2 is a great revamp of an already good design.....C1 Global is already here...enjoy them both.

 

Maybe with the huge success of Focus....Ford will expand the (C170_2) line to include a wagon/CUV variant.

 

All I know is that Ford needed this "shot in the arm", lets just hope they don't repeat past mistakes and walk away from it.

[silvrsvt]

Well that was all because of their mistake they made, the consumer shouldn't suffer because of the beancounters. And if they had just used the car they alreadty had what would have cost more this time? How would a hatch and wagon which were alreay in production cost more to keep making then making an all new design with the 2 door? Looks like they spent more to get less to me.

 

There are two problems, First off the Hatchback has "defect" (for a lack of a better term) where it loses structural strength in-between the rear shock towers, due to the hatchback design...if you don't believe me, I had a friend who made braces for the SVT Focus to weld into place after speaking to an SVT engineer at an SVTOA meeting in MI who told him about it

 

The other problem with redesigning the wagon and hatchback, is they would have to spend 2x the amount to make the car look different then the older car...would you still want a carryover rearend from the Hatchback with the current front on the car? That would defeat the whole purpose of the restyle. So it was far easier just to change the shape of the roof on the hatchback and make it into a coupe and also take care of the structural problem.

[jobu37]

I don't have any marketing data to support this, but I would bet that the new Focus is experiencing a very high take rate not unlike the Taurus which has been praised time and time again by Ford by the high take rate of those who have actually driven it.

 

Those of you expressing your opinions by the way the Focus looks really do need to drive one. You will be amazed by the solid feel that this car gives you. I have never driven a small car that handles potholes as non-chalantly as this one. The quietness of the interior goes a very long way in giving the perception of top notch quality. And fortunately, for once, reality and perception are the same for the Focus. And once you spend time around it the looks really do grow on you.

 

Imagine a potential customer pulling up in a 3-yr old Corolla, Civic, Elantra, or even "Old Taurus" and hopping into the new Focus with the much improved NVH. It is an easy sale, especially considering the Corolla and Civic were probably purchased for the same price 3 years ago as the Focus is selling for now.

 

Now Ford is perfectly positioned to move the Focus up a notch in pricing when the "even better" Euro Focus arrives in a few years which will nicely postion the the Fiesta in the current price point of the Focus which should allow for both to be profitable. However, if demand continues to grow this year combined with the shoestring budget that this Focus was supposedly designed on, and the fact that the plant can produce more units per shift due to only one engine choice and only two very similar bodies this car may very well be profitable this year if not already. How many of the 3000 workers at Wayne are on the new lower payscale? That too is something that will benefit the profitibility of the Focus.

 

I just hope the "all-out" production rate doesn't damage the quality.

[LSFan00]

Hell basically everyone is growing small car sales right now. The new Focus actually does look ok on the road, and I've noticed quite a few, but it's "out of the park" success is directly attributable to both it's predecessor's failure (low bar is set) in conjunction with the market's move to small cars (GAS prices). Any other reading of this sales data is just irrational enthusiasm.

[NickF1011]

Focus

---------------

January

11,600 +44%

 

February

16,302 +10.2%

 

March

21,168 +24%

 

Corolla

-------------

January

20,713 -18.7%

 

February

21,202 -28.1%

 

March

25,109 -21.3%

 

Wow. I didn't realize how close the Focus was getting to the Corolla's sales! :happy feet:

[NickF1011]

Hell basically everyone is growing small car sales right now. The new Focus actually does look ok on the road, and I've noticed quite a few, but it's "out of the park" success is directly attributable to both it's predecessor's failure (low bar is set) in conjunction with the market's move to small cars (GAS prices). Any other reading of this sales data is just irrational enthusiasm.

 

DIRECTLY attributable? What data do you have to support that claim? All conjecture. We'll never know the ACTUAL reasons the sales are up. But sales are up regardless. Let's just roll with it!