Ken F. Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 . . . a lipstick and eye shadow treatment to the same car. An enormous opportunity will be missed if existing technology is not made available. There is NO EXCUSE for the lack of a hybrid offering economy equal to the Prius or Civic hybrid. There is NO EXCUSE for the lack of a diesel offering economy equal to the Jetta diesel or soon to be Civic diesel. If this car comes out with a new look but the same technical functionality, it will be a real shame and yet another missed opportunity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 . . . a lipstick and eye shadow treatment to the same car. An enormous opportunity will be missed if existing technology is not made available. It should be getting Ford's SYNC system at the very least, as far as high-tech doodads go. There is NO EXCUSE for the lack of a hybrid offering economy equal to the Prius or Civic hybrid. Plenty of excuse for it. Can the current hybrid system even be packaged in the existing C170 chassis? It probably won't happen until the next gen hybrid system debuts in the '09 Fusion. There is NO EXCUSE for the lack of a diesel offering economy equal to the Jetta diesel or soon to be Civic diesel. Ford doesn't have any small diesels that are certified for the US. They likely will have them in a couple of years, but from my understanding, the Civic diesel is still a year or two away also. If this car comes out with a new look but the same technical functionality, it will be a real shame and yet another missed opportunity. At the most, sadly, the '08 Focus refresh is simply a band-aid to tide Ford over until the C2 Focus arrives at the end of the decade. At least the interior is an improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken F. Posted January 19, 2007 Author Share Posted January 19, 2007 It may sound like I am down on the Focus, but I actually am not. I have one now and plan to buy another. I think it's the best deal out there. With a hybrid or diesel option, many more people would share my views. With that being said, I know Ford has excellent small diesels in Europe. I think it would have been a smart move several years ago to offer one of the DuraTorq turbo diesels as an option. As far as the new emissions standards go, the got the PSD out, didn't they? There seems to be a lack of interest/commitment in developing the small car market. People lined up and paid OVER MSRP for '06 Jetta diesels while Ford is offering up to $3000 in rebates on the Focus. I see this as missed opportunity for Ford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 As far as the new emissions standards go, the got the PSD out, didn't they? The emissions limits are far tighter for cars than for pickups. Not really a valid comparison. Plus the PSD was designed from the start to be sold here, the DuraTorq's were not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 It should be getting Ford's SYNC system at the very least, as far as high-tech doodads go. SYNC is awesome, but it pales in comparision to having a hybrid within the small car market. If not just as an image thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 SYNC is awesome, but it pales in comparision to having a hybrid within the small car market. If not just as an image thing. Yes, having the hybrid would be good marketing. But it's not ready for the Focus. That's the sad reality of it. Now, if the Escape's system would fit in the Focus and they still didn't bother to use it, that'd be a different story. Supposedly the new hybrid setup for the '09 Fusion will be a much more compact and "modular" design, meaning it should be much easier to drop it into a multitude of vehicles. Perhaps Ford could really pull a coup in the compact segment and offer a diesel hybrid in the Focus that gets excellent city AND highway fuel economy. That would really be a BOLD MOVE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken F. Posted January 19, 2007 Author Share Posted January 19, 2007 Now you're talking!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66fairlane Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 There is NO EXCUSE for the lack of a diesel offering economy equal to the Jetta diesel or soon to be Civic diesel. VW no longer sales a new car with diesel in it in the U.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 VW no longer sales a new car with diesel in it in the U.S. They should be back in another 12-24 months though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 They should be back in another 12-24 months though. yes , and Honds is brining over Diesel. However people are too hung up on the TDI as an option .. if Ford does it right the, GTDI engines will be just as good, whil not relying on some miracle that would bring Diesel fueling pumps mainstream. As I mentioned elsewhere - it is quite likely the 2011 all new Focus will debut with something to the tune of 1.3l GTDI I-4 making about 130hp and some 50 mpg. Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 yes , and Honds is brining over Diesel. However people are too hung up on the TDI as an option .. if Ford does it right the, GTDI engines will be just as good, whil not relying on some miracle that would bring Diesel fueling pumps mainstream. As I mentioned elsewhere - it is quite likely the 2011 all new Focus will debut with something to the tune of 1.3l GTDI I-4 making about 130hp and some 50 mpg. Igor As long as the fuel economy increases significantly without jacking up the price (a'la hybrid) I'm all for it, gasoline or diesel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken F. Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 They should be back in another 12-24 months though. I think the VW diesel will be back before the end of the year. In a very smart move, the ran as many '06's as possible hoping they would last into mid '07. I read that they are also bringing back the Jetta Wagon. Sorry if I sound like a broken record, but I think Ford has missed a HUGE oppertunity by not offering a diesel. As I understand it, they have an excellent motor in the Dura-torq. They should have offerd it as an option YEARS ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I think the VW diesel will be back before the end of the year. In a very smart move, the ran as many '06's as possible hoping they would last into mid '07. I read that they are also bringing back the Jetta Wagon. Sorry if I sound like a broken record, but I think Ford has missed a HUGE oppertunity by not offering a diesel. As I understand it, they have an excellent motor in the Dura-torq. They should have offerd it as an option YEARS ago. Coulda, shoula, woulda. It's all in the past at this point. I can't really see the Focus getting any significant improvements until the C2 finally makes its way over here. THEN hopefully they'll be smart enough to offer the diesel in it along with a small displacement direct injection gas engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchdevil Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 VW no longer sales a new car with diesel in it in the U.S. MMM.. ok so why does the VW dealership down the street from me have a 2007 Jetta Wolfsburg Diesel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchdevil Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Coulda, shoula, woulda. It's all in the past at this point. I can't really see the Focus getting any significant improvements until the C2 finally makes its way over here. THEN hopefully they'll be smart enough to offer the diesel in it along with a small displacement direct injection gas engine. I think the new Focus would make a wonderful rental car along with the Five Hundred... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldracer Posted February 4, 2007 Share Posted February 4, 2007 2008 will see the VW Diesel back at dealers in their car line. BMW, Mercedes and VW pooled their efforts and develeoped the BlueTec diesel currently on sale in Mercedes vehicles. Ford could steal a page from Saturn and buy engines from one of them until it could get it's own ready, but pride and a seemingly poor attitude about diesels will render that a bad idea I bet. I plan to trade my 2005 Focus ST for a 2008 Jetta or Passat TDI wagon and then run it until it dies..... I am repenting for my years of racing and musclecar ownership where I sucked up way more than my share of dinosaur juice.....NOT!!! When our Trac gets traded in 2 years, she is getting a Mercedes ML BlueTec, or a ML63, whatever we want more at the time.....only the Shelby, (whenever it gets here), the 02 GT Vert and the 93 LX 5.0 will survive the purge..... I don't see cheap gas coming back and everyone will buy at least 1 vehicle to use as a high mpg driver, even with the ST getting 27-32 mpg, I spend $50/week just driving to work. The Sport Trac uses one tank every 10 days, for my wife's drive, so that's another $120/month...$320 month used to be $150....it isn't gonna kill me but I would rather spend my $$ on other things and travel. A diesel Focus would be on my must have list, barring that going to VW to get what I want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScrutenizer Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 It looks to me as though the company is going the wrong way with the Focus, but then there's a lot of wrong way thinking going on in my opinion. My 2 favotire Focus models are being dropped, the wagon and hatchback. More bad decisions. Someone will probably get a big bonus for killing another decent car line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken F. Posted March 11, 2007 Author Share Posted March 11, 2007 So, when will the '08 Focus be out? Can I still order an '07 4 door SES with a manual trans? 5 speeds are hard to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66fairlane Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 So, when will the '08 Focus be out? Can I still order an '07 4 door SES with a manual trans? 5 speeds are hard to find. I order a 07 ZX5 SES with a manual about three weeks ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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