2008 Focus Sedan Shots

[JLaudioF150]

Well, it looks like they MIGHT do away with that ant-eater nose of a front-end the Focus has always had...

[bolita]

Here's my take on what happened with the Focus:

 

Ford had a choice in 2005, whether to continue on with the same design, or retool the factories to build an American-ized C1 European Focus. Given how much money they were spending on the Five Hundred, F-150, and Mustang launches, they figured if they restyled the front and rear to LOOK like the new C1 Focus, as well as give it a more conventional interior, and new engines, that would be sufficient change on top of an already highly-rated platform. By time all of this was set in stone, Ford THEN decided to go with the 427-styling for its signature design, leaving the Focus, Five Hundred, and Freestyle as orphans of this new direction. Fortunately, the Futura/Fusion was still in the early development stages, so they could change it. From what I've heard, it was supposed to look like a giant Focus/Mondeo, but they changed it after the excellent reaction to the 427.

 

It then sold decently for a bit, but then as new cars like the Civic and Cobalt hit the market, consumers started to drift towards these newer designs, and Ford realized it HAD to do something about it. Ford designers were talking about moving away from the European nature of the Focus, and looking at the next design being distinctly American. By time Focus sales started to slide, it was pointless to start plans to simply bring the C1 Focus over here, because the C2 is so far along in development.

 

The 2008 Focus will be a cheap, easy fix to make the car fresh for what will probably be an extra-long model year. Wayne will probably work overtime for a few months to build enough 2008 Focuses to last until the plant can retool for the completely redesigned, all-new 2009 Focus. Design-wise, I expect it to be similar to what the 2000 Cadillac Deville was to that brand. A bridge between the older-style European Focus, and the all-new American Focus.

 

I truly believe that Mark Fields and his team knows what the American consumer expects from a premium small car, and recognizes that the market is polarizing, so that Ford will follow Toyota and Chevrolet in offering both a B-car and a C-car. He also recognizes that Ford can't turn the Focus into a Corolla, since that simply isn't what it is. A Focus is not the boring econobox that they tried to turn it into with the 2005 model. It's an edgy, fun small car with distinctive design and a sporty character to back it up. If they can embrace what a Focus truly is, and sell to Focus customers, they will see sales take off.

 

Burger King sales are skyrocketing right now, because Burger King refuses to follow Wendy's and McDonalds in expanding their customer base. They're selling to their core customers, who will eat there every day, and want the biggest and most badass burgers out there, health be damned.

 

This means they need to forget about selling to the cheapo customers who want the most car for the least amount of money. That market will be taken care of by the B-car. They need to concentrate on Focus transaction prices from $15,000 all the way up to $21,000 for the well-equipped models. They need three distinct types of Focus models, all available in sedan, hatch, and wagon forms.

 

They need a well-equipped standard Focus model that most people will buy. They need a fuel-miser model, equipped with either a hybrid or diesel engine. They also need a range-topping sporty model in the tradition of the Subaru Impreza, that will compete directly with that car, as well as the Cobalt SS, Dodge SRT-4, and Civic Si.

 

Ford should also think about contracting out Roush or another performance shop to build an extremely limited edition Focus RS. Take all the stock internals of the hottest Focus that Europe has, and put it all underneath the American model. Build maybe 1,000 per year, and have all the parts for it available under warranty through the Ford Racing catalog, so buyers can build their own versions of it off the ranger-topping sporty Focus model. This thing needs Recaro seats, big rims, xenon lights, an optional killer stereo, and enough power to run with or beat an Evo outright. Yes, it will cost about $30,000, and yes, it will overlap with the Mustang, and provide GT500-beating performance for $15,000 less. GT500 buyers will NOT care about this car, and Focus RS buyers do not care about the GT500.

 

This will make Focus buyers happy, because they now have a car to drool over. It will make dealers happy because now they have a whole catalog of bolt-ons they can throw on lesser Focus models and up transaction prices. And it will make Ford happy, because they now have a hyped and hot small car brand. Yes, it will overlap the Mustang and Fusion brands, and may cannibalize some sales, but it will bring in far many more customers than a half-assed refresh would entail. Plus, all the costs would be spread throughout Volvo and Mazda, so they can can their own versions of basically the same car, drive showroom traffic, and since I doubt those brands are cross-shopped much, not worry about cannibalizing sales.

 

I agree with your take. I just hope that happens and I am reluctant to expect Ford to follow through with what to me is a straight forward obvious route to get the Focus back on track. My only doubt is if they need to keep the wagon. If the B-Car from Mexico does really occur, they should use the pseudo SUV (aka EcoSport for NA) as a wagon IMHO.

[DCK]

Age aside, what's so wrong with the greenhouse?

 

I'd rather Ford spend money on the interior and powertrains, in addition to fixing the front and rear designs vs. pissing money away on a greenhouse. FWIW, the new Camry has a very similiar greenhouse to that of the one it replaced.

I'd rather have ford not do a half ass job, the focus greenhouse looks soo dated it is ridiculous, why would anyone defend it? The design of the greenhouse is just plain blocky and dated, looks old. Not to defend the camry but the greenhouse on the camry doesn't look dated and old nor did it come out ten years ago. If ford wants to be competitive they shouldn't be cheaping out with half ass redesigns leaving their cars looking dated. They already changed the front and rear ends, the refreshed it. It is now time for a completely new model instead of throwing out more crap they should focus on getting the "world" focus out asap, that we here so much about but see no action towards it.

 

Thats becasue they didnt redesign it. all they did on the "all new" camry was front, rear, and interior. everyhting else carried over

Clearly you have have no idea what your talking about.

[92merc]

Clearly you have have no idea what your talking about.

 

Umm, what are you talking about? I've seen pictures of those two cars side by side. They clearly didn't change the greenhouse. Shoot, outside of some front/rear minor changes, nothing changed on the outside. Ok, ok, they changed the rims. Big hairy deal.

 

If American cars can get lambasted for not updating, it's hypocrisy if it doesn't happen the other direction.

[DCK]

crap suspension design, crap steering gear, crap body stiffness. crap crap crap. Buy an Accord if you want a well designed up to date Japanese sedan. Camry's underpinnings haven't been substantially revised since '92. Toyota's refusal to substantially upgrade the design of the Camry chassis means they still have to get that smooth Buick ride though soft springs and squishy bushings. Just like the old Buicks. They don't track well either.

Oh just, i am not a fan of the camry but it is a great car and very well worth the money, and a ford fanatic really can't say squat about another company using dated technology and underpinnings because ford is the king at keeping things on the market to rot. Hopefully they have woken up, but after seeing the half ass jobs on the suv;s and not the focus they clearly haven't. Fields should fix it though.

 

Corolla is going to be a 6 year car, so the whole car magazine dogma of "cars are dated at 3 years old" is itself 'dated'. Bet on Civic going to 6 years?

 

Were people actaully thinking a C1 was coming? If Ford did, 99% would say "I'll wait for the rebates". This ain't Europe, where only the upper classes [so much for Europe being so enlightened] can afford new cars.

 

And no, we don't need to see 'BicycleSixteen' post a long winded "Ford should force an expensive compact on America"

Toyota follows a stringent 5 year model cycle and many times refreshes after 3 years. Yes the corolla is being delayed, but ford has a 10 year old vehicle competing with it, not to mention it was the most recalled vehicle in history and people buy toyota's for their gas mileage and quality(reputation or reality it really doesn't matter because the perception is their) Ford doesn't have the perception of neither of that to sell the focus, so i don't get while after 10 years still no new focus? I mean honestly stop trying to side step the issue by bringing in the competition.

 

A non-restyled greenhouse constitutes a half-ass restyle? That's news.

To the buying public it does, as you can see focus's sales have dwindles from their former glory, yeah they had a small increase the last 2 months but nothing close to how it sold when it was considered fresh. I will be a million dollars the expedition will continue to slide down the sales ladder because of a hlf ass redesign while the tahoe continues to gain market share because gm invested the resources and effort.

 

Look at where ford's half ass restyles got them? Selling a million less units in five years and dropping one quarter of their market share in the same time period. If you care for ford you wouldn't play blind and defend their half ass redesigns of uncompetiive products.

 

Umm, what are you talking about? I've seen pictures of those two cars side by side. They clearly didn't change the greenhouse. Shoot, outside of some front/rear minor changes, nothing changed on the outside. Ok, ok, they changed the rims. Big hairy deal.

 

If American cars can get lambasted for not updating, it's hypocrisy if it doesn't happen the other direction.

 

I'll just copy what biker 16 wrote.

 

"really an all-new engine, transaxle, longer wheelbase, wider, all-new hybrid model."

 

The problem is the camry looks modern sleek and fresh, the greenhouse doesn't look dated, Ford's greenhouses do, if ford had fresh looking greenhouses it wouldn't be a problem, it is very important from a design point in the market place to have a product look modern, and it something mark fields knows while working at mazda and hopefully the morons who let ford dwindle with the focus, and their suv;s get told to leave the company.

 

And just bvy you saying the camry only had minor changes to the front and rear shows your just being biased and won't listen to reason.

 

 

From this

 

 

is a big change.

Edited July 20, 2006 by DCK

[DCK]

Greenhouse looks the same to me. Looks like they re-skinned the doors, changed the way the front and rear fenders look, and added a small piece of plastic where the rockers are.

The point the greenhouse looks modern, it is not overly done with dividers so it doesn't look dated and can move onto the current design without alienating it from a design point. The focus doesn't have that option as its greenhouse is much more dated with its design lines and geometric figures.

 

To counter your argument with the camry is that is looks sleek and modern, it went much further with the exterior than the explorer,

 

 

 

And what is with people being blind to the fact ford has no reputation to ride on? They need to be better than the competition, i don't get this whole let's defend ford's miscues by comparing them to other manufacturers. Ford is still doing what they have been doing, you people can defend it all you want........all the way to bankruptcy, if only you would realize ford needs to change, they already tried the "let's do minimal exterior changes" to redesigns and it got them heading towards bankruptcy so why defend it. You can point out toyota all you want but ford can't immitate toyota, they have to be original and better, hell the people defending this half ass redesign would run ford into the ground if they trully believe what they defend. It is pretty damn simple, ford would be better off if they had modern designs like the fusion across their line-up and not let them dwindle and die on the lots. Simple, that is it, people can defend the descisions all they want but unfortunately it will only hurt ford. Toyota has repuation ford doesn't, they need to leap frog the compitetion, half ass redesigns 4 years late don't do that.

Edited July 20, 2006 by DCK

[Michael Reynolds]

The point the greenhouse looks modern, it is not overly done with dividers so it doesn't look dated and can move onto the current design without alienating it from a design point. The focus doesn't have that option as its greenhouse is much more dated with its design lines and geometric figures.

 

And what is with people being blind to the fact ford has no reputation to ride on? They need to be better than the competition, i don't get this whole let's defend ford's miscues by comparing them to other manufacturers. Ford is still doing what they have been doing, you people can defend it all you want........all the way to bankruptcy, if only you would realize ford needs to change, they already tried the "let's do minimal exterior changes" to redesigns and it got them heading towards bankruptcy so why defend it. You can point out toyota all you want but ford can't immitate toyota, they have to be original and better, hell the people defending this half ass redesign would run ford into the ground if they trully believe what they defend. It is pretty damn simple, ford would be better off if they had modern designs like the fusion across their line-up and not let them dwindle and die on the lots. Simple, that is it, people can defend the descisions all they want but unfortunately it will only hurt ford. Toyota has repuation ford doesn't, they need to leap frog the compitetion, half ass redesigns 4 years late don't do that.

 

First and foremost, I doubt a single person has a clue as to what the Focus is going to look like in 2008. With that said, how can I, you, or anyone else around here speculate on how that 'dated' greenhouse won't fit in with the overall design.

 

There was never an issue with the side profile of the Focus (or the greenhouse), most people were turned off with the generic refresh it received and the even more chintzy interior it received.

 

Furthermore, Toyota isn't the only one doing it. The friggin A6 is running around with a greenhouse it received back in the late 90's. You still have yet to clarify how a greenhouse constitutes a 'half-ass' redesign, other than using styling (which is subjective) as an excuse.

[BORG]

The Focus update is similar to the Escape update...and all of Ford's recent updates. There is total makeover excluding the greenhouse. The Focus and Fusion are very similar designs so it won't be too hard to make the Focus look like a Fusion. The unfortunate thing about this update is that it indicates Ford is comited to a longer run with the current Focus chasis instead of the C2 chasis. They have to get at least 3 years out of a substantial mid-cycle update before they invest in a replacement. So add 3 years to 2008 and that is a good indication of when we MIGHT see a world class Focus again. This will still look a lot like the Focus we've known for a very long time and that may not be a constructive thing for Ford if they want to get people to look at the Focus again. Who knows how the Focus plays into Ford's plans with the small car segment. The Escape and Focus are receiving similar underwhelming updates, but are about to be accompanied by alternative products. The Edge and Escape are awfully similar products...as I'm sure the Focus and its small car cousins will be. Ford seems to be investing accordingly, realizing they are about to canablize certain nameplates in order to diversify their market reach.

Edited July 21, 2006 by BORG

[DCK]

First and foremost, I doubt a single person has a clue as to what the Focus is going to look like in 2008. With that said, how can I, you, or anyone else around here speculate on how that 'dated' greenhouse won't fit in with the overall design.

 

There was never an issue with the side profile of the Focus (or the greenhouse), most people were turned off with the generic refresh it received and the even more chintzy interior it received.

 

Furthermore, Toyota isn't the only one doing it. The friggin A6 is running around with a greenhouse it received back in the late 90's. You still have yet to clarify how a greenhouse constitutes a 'half-ass' redesign, other than using styling (which is subjective) as an excuse.

It is half ass because it makes the product look dated before it launches, if ford is going to redo the vehicle design should be number one IMO.

 

Defending Fords mistakes against audi and toyota is only going to continue fords downfall. I redesigned exterior will bold more sales success, the audi is outdated and it looks it, it doesneed a redesign.

 

The focus's greenhouse is too geometric and too many dividing lines, it looks outdated to me.

 

The Focus update is similar to the Escape update...and all of Ford's recent updates. There is total makeover excluding the greenhouse. The Focus and Fusion are very similar designs so it won't be too hard to make the Focus look like a Fusion. The unfortunate thing about this update is that it indicates Ford is comited to a longer run with the current Focus chasis instead of the C2 chasis. They have to get at least 3 years out of a substantial mid-cycle update before they invest in a replacement. So add 3 years to 2008 and that is a good indication of when we MIGHT see a world class Focus again. This will still look a lot like the Focus we've known for a very long time and that may not be a constructive thing for Ford if they want to get people to look at the Focus again. Who knows how the Focus plays into Ford's plans with the small car segment. The Escape and Focus are receiving similar underwhelming updates, but are about to be accompanied by alternative products. The Edge and Escape are awfully similar products...as I'm sure the Focus and its small car cousins will be. Ford seems to be investing accordingly, realizing they are about to canablize certain nameplates in order to diversify their market reach.

What will end up happening is that the escape will be discontinued due to poor sales by 2010 even though foprd ignored it. And if the focus lasts to 2011, it will be close to 15 years, that is pathetic. They had such a hot car back in 1998-99 and they are letting it die.

[RichardJensen]

The unfortunate thing about this update is that it indicates Ford is comited to a longer run with the current Focus chasis instead of the C2 chasis. They have to get at least 3 years out of a substantial mid-cycle update before they invest in a replacement.

Yeah. Because that's one of the automotive 10 commandments. There will be vengeance from the Deity if Ford replaces the C170 Focus less than 3 years after the 2008 model debuts.

 

BTW, Borg, check out the numbers on the spreadsheet in the "Mark Fields" topic. Kind of puts some context to your frequent attacks on the Explorer refresh.

[Jazzhead]

83 pages of "2007 Toyota Camry Woes"?

 

I'm impressed!

 

My '01 Focus just hit 30,000 miles, and it has yet to see the inside of a shop, other than the Lube Works.

Edited July 21, 2006 by Jazzhead

[RichardJensen]

The Edge and Escape are awfully similar products.

Yeah. Except for that $6k difference in starting price.

 

it went much further with the exterior than the explorer,

Not really. Pretty much all your average person is going to say when they see either will be "huh. a new front end."

[Footballfan]

Instead of wasing all the money on a new body on the current Focus, why doesn't Ford do something right- keep the current Focus for another year or so and build a new one on the C2?

[RichardJensen]

Instead of wasing all the money on a new body on the current Focus, why doesn't Ford do something right- keep the current Focus for another year or so and build a new one on the C2?

Fields' first review of Ford product plans began in November of last year. By that time work was well underway on the 2008 Focus. It is quite likely that no decision was made on the fate of the C170 Focus until early this spring. By that time, the '08 had probably been more or less frozen as is. Fields knows quite well that the market is going small, and he knows that it's not enough for Ford to make small cars. They need to make small cars profitable.

 

That means getting Ford's small cars on GLOBAL architectures (not orphaned platforms in the U.S.) ASAP. It also means small cars that can be invoiced very close to MSRP, and with transaction prices similarly close to MSRP.

 

Ford Europe turned C1 into EUCD in about two years. There is no reason to believe that Ford's GPDS cannot improve C1 into C2 in two years, leading to unique products for Ford NA and FoE. FoE was the crucible where Ford developed GPDS. Unlike Ford 2000, GPDS does not designate certain geographic locations for development of global product. It tasks working groups following a definite program with certain architectures. Those architectures are then configured a variety of ways (LR2, Galaxy, S-Max, S80), by teams at each brand (or geographic region for the Ford brand).

 

EUCD underpins these vehicles:

Ford Galaxy

Ford S-Max (SWB Galaxy)

Land Rover LR2

Volvo S80

 

The question is whether or not Ford is going to do this. I think so. Ford's GPDS applied to CD3, D3, C1, T1, etc., can keep pace with the best that Japan, Inc. has to throw at it.

Edited July 21, 2006 by RichardJensen

[Michael Reynolds]

......... it looks outdated to me.

 

Like I said outdated to you might be fresh, or different for someone else. All of this talk about product being dated, is once again, subjective. FWIW, I've never heard anyone complain about the Focus' greenhouse (or even the Audi).

 

Maybe your on to something? Or just being a bit critical of a product that we can only see 20% of.

[Watchdevil]

Burger King sales are skyrocketing right now, because Burger King refuses to follow Wendy's and McDonalds in expanding their customer base. They're selling to their core customers, who will eat there every day, and want the biggest and most badass burgers out there, health be damned.

 

All the Burger Kings are going out of business around here... They're food is horrible... They are managed poorly.. And I stopped eating there after something I ate there nearly killed me....

[silvrsvt]

Instead of wasing all the money on a new body on the current Focus, why doesn't Ford do something right- keep the current Focus for another year or so and build a new one on the C2?

 

The also need a plant in North America that they can build the car at and make profit, which will happen between 2007 and 2010

[swenson88]

All the Burger Kings are going out of business around here... They're food is horrible... They are managed poorly.. And I stopped eating there after something I ate there nearly killed me....

 

Not to turn this into a Burger King thread, but I have to disagree. If there's one fast food joint I choose first it's Burger King and the Whopper. No other fast food burger even comes close to the tasty goodness of a Whopper, hands down. And none seem to be going out of business anywhere near me, nor have I had any near-death experiences from them. Chances are whatever made you sick was due to an employee, which can happen anywhere cause people are dirty creatures.

[silvrsvt]

there i no reson to buy the focus other than price. I don't see how a fusion grille will fix that. espcially when you are throwing away the hatches in favor of the "Fleet Queen" sedan. it is ford givng up on the only area tat makes the focus stand out the hatches. Wayne will be down to one shift by 2009. and the shrinkage continues.

 

C170 is 10years old, it was time to move on 3 years ago.

 

lets see, Ford is going to automatically lose 24% of Focus sales just because they drop the hatchback? I don't get how dropping one body-style is going to lose nearly 1/4 of total Focus sales. The Coupe will take over that percentage and maybe even grow sales more, since hatchbacks aren't what Americans want (exculding Focaljet) They are as popular as 2 door SUV's, which you can't even get anymore.

 

As for your fleet queen sedan vs retail hatchback sales, I bet the profit margin on them is a wash since you can get a hatchback in the low teens (with incentives), which is how much ford prob sells their rental sedans at.

 

As for the C1 vs C170 arugment...get over it. Ford didnt have a crystal ball as to what would be happening 5-6 years after launching the car, not to mention they would never able to make any $$ off it if they built the C1 at the Wanye plant. Just feel fortantante that Ford has seen the light and we will see the C1's successor sooner then later, with a plan in place that they can make $$$ off of it.

[johnnyb82]

This is probably a stupid question, but everyone says that they are getting rid of the hatchback. Does that mean they are getting rid of the 5-Door hatchback as well?

[silvrsvt]

This is probably a stupid question, but everyone says that they are getting rid of the hatchback. Does that mean they are getting rid of the 5-Door hatchback as well?

 

 

Yep the ZX5 is a ZX3 with different and additional doors on it.

[johnnyb82]

What about the wagon?

[Ralph Greene]

I had a 2001 Focus for a while, the top of the line 4 door with leather (vinyl), etc.

 

We used the car as our short trip grocery getter type car. I even took it on some solo trips. Economy was great with 2.0. We especially liked the huge trunk, it's really why we bought it over some other small cars.

 

The only reason we sold it after 2 years, is because none of us ever really could get comfortable in the drivers seat. The seat bottom had this this weird adjustment that only moved the back of the seat bottom up and down, not the whole seat. Also the seat bottom was too short going toward the knee. And no one in our family is over 5' 10". Otherwise we would still have that car around our house. It was made cheap it's true, but didn't cost much to buy either. We had zero mechanical issues.

Edited July 21, 2006 by Ralph Greene

[NickF1011]

since hatchbacks aren't what Americans want

 

Oh yeah...there's no market for hatchbacks...

 

Mazda3

Mazda6

Matrix

Aerio

Aveo

xA

xB

Mini Cooper

HHR

PT Cruiser

Caliber

 

I'm sure there are plenty I'm missing.

 

The Focus hatch is the ONLY model I'd consider if I was in the market. I shopped the Mazda3 before settling on the Mazda6 HATCHBACK. I didn't even look at the Mazda3 sedan. I skipped the Focus altogether. I may have looked if it was better looking, but wouldn't have bothered if there was no hatch version.

Edited July 21, 2006 by NickF1011

[Biker16]

lets see, Ford is going to automatically lose 24% of Focus sales just because they drop the hatchback? I don't get how dropping one body-style is going to lose nearly 1/4 of total Focus sales. The Coupe will take over that percentage and maybe even grow sales more, since hatchbacks aren't what Americans want (exculding Focaljet) They are as popular as 2 door SUV's, which you can't even get anymore.

 

they will lose volume I guarantee it. there is NOTHING apealing about this vehicle. Do you think ford will dump money in this car to actually make it, competitive? to do that would require.... C1. a new archtechture. but we will waste 100s of millions of dollars developing a new variant on an lame duck platfrom??????

 

you owned a Focus hatchback, There is a Huge market for compact Hatches, you really don't get it

 

As for your fleet queen sedan vs retail hatchback sales, I bet the profit margin on them is a wash since you can get a hatchback in the low teens (with incentives), which is how much ford prob sells their rental sedans at.

 

there is alot of "I bet" and "prob" even with incentives Ford makes more money on retial than fleet. why? because of Ford credit.

 

As for the C1 vs C170 arugment...get over it. Ford didnt have a crystal ball as to what would be happening 5-6 years after launching the car, not to mention they would never able to make any $$ off it if they built the C1 at the Wanye plant. Just feel fortantante that Ford has seen the light and we will see the C1's successor sooner then later, with a plan in place that they can make $$$ off of it.

 

Well Damn, Crystal balls, there was a lack of leadership. and lack of vision, sorta like now with the abandonment of the hatchback.

Edited July 22, 2006 by Biker16