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Return of Focus Wagon


joihan777

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I'm usually not a wagon person, but that looks really good, IMO.

 

 

 

I believe the 5 door will be coming in 2012 when our Focus and the rest of the world's Focus are merged.

 

 

IMO, Ford made a big mistake ending the Focus Wagon. While not a great seller, it sure would have been popular last 9 months or so. Try to find a used Focus wagon on used car lot. Everynow and then I will see one and it's sold in couple days. The Escort wagon sold real well and that was not that many years ago. Ford has lots of wagons now with Taurus X and Flex, but they don't get 35mpg either. There is a place for a Focus wagon or at least a Fusion wagon.

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IMO, Ford made a big mistake ending the Focus Wagon. While not a great seller, it sure would have been popular last 9 months or so. Try to find a used Focus wagon on used car lot. Everynow and then I will see one and it's sold in couple days. The Escort wagon sold real well and that was not that many years ago. Ford has lots of wagons now with Taurus X and Flex, but they don't get 35mpg either. There is a place for a Focus wagon or at least a Fusion wagon.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of small wagon appear in the Ford lineup within the next few years, or perhaps the new smaller-car Mercury lineup?

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IMO, Ford made a big mistake ending the Focus Wagon. While not a great seller, it sure would have been popular last 9 months or so. Try to find a used Focus wagon on used car lot. Everynow and then I will see one and it's sold in couple days. The Escort wagon sold real well and that was not that many years ago. Ford has lots of wagons now with Taurus X and Flex, but they don't get 35mpg either. There is a place for a Focus wagon or at least a Fusion wagon.

 

I used to drive a Toyota Corolla wagon for a job several years ago. It didn't have any graphics, just a plain-jane office/delivery car.

 

More than once did people pull up next to me and asked me if it was for sale.

 

Even if gasoline prices drop back further, wagons still make a heck of a lot of sense.

 

Really, they're SUV's for city slickers. Easy on gas and easy to drive. A Fusion wagon could be a possibility too.

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Around here (Southern Ontario, Canada), Focus Wagons have sold incredibly well for us. We found that it was usually older people who couldn't get up into an Escape/Edge who want something that they can put tons of stuff in and still get great fuel milage.

 

They sold really well for us and now we get people coming in every week asking if Ford still made a Focus Wagon and now we have to try to get them into something else. Mosto f the time they do not like whatever it is we suggest. One of my customers went and bought a Passat Wagon, which was about $10,000 MORE and it required 91 octane. As\ll she was worried about was good fuel milage and it had to be a wagon.

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Around here (Southern Ontario, Canada), Focus Wagons have sold incredibly well for us. We found that it was usually older people who couldn't get up into an Escape/Edge who want something that they can put tons of stuff in and still get great fuel milage.

 

They sold really well for us and now we get people coming in every week asking if Ford still made a Focus Wagon and now we have to try to get them into something else. Mosto f the time they do not like whatever it is we suggest. One of my customers went and bought a Passat Wagon, which was about $10,000 MORE and it required 91 octane. As\ll she was worried about was good fuel milage and it had to be a wagon.

 

Gosh I hope your factory reps know this!

 

That's a good point about height, there are quite a few folks who prefer lower slung vehicles.... a Focus wagon would indeed be very similar to an Escape except for the height difference.

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To be honest, this is a part of American consumer culture that I will NEVER understand.

 

I've always considered a wagon to be more sporty and more "masculine" than the crossovers currently being marketed to the "lifestyle" segment (whatever the hell that is). To me, crossovers like the RAV4, Highlander, Murano, and Edge all look plump, bulbous, and effeminate. Kind of like a eunoch, which I believe to be an appropriate analogy, as they, too, tend toward plumpness (hunger replaces sex drive).

 

I thought the Dodge Magnum was the coolest people-hauler in decades. It was completely counter to the current trend-- it was low-slung, long, lean, and butch. It was also fast, powerful, and surprisingly-frugal for a pushrod V8.

 

Mark my words-- in 5 years, hatchbacks and wagons will start coming back into fashion. Just like skinny pants and tights.

 

I can't stand the term "crossover" at all... IT SOUNDS TOO EFFEMINATE!

 

Besides... These god damn things can't tow anyway!

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Working at a Ford dealer, I can tell you that there is ABSOLUTELY a market for the Focus wagon. Just try buying one at the auction. A.) There aren't any B.) If there is one you are gonna fight with every dealer there for it, and end up paying almost as much as it cost new. Then, you will put it on your lot, and it will have a shelf life of about three hours. If you list it on the internet, you will continue to get call after call, even after it is sold. And you will get every penny you ask for it. It has more room than the Escape, gets 30 mpg, and is actually fun to drive. Yep, I said it, FUN. I wish I had fifty of them on my lot. I find it kind of funny that they didn't really sell when Ford built them, And then when gas soared, they had just discontinued them. Hell, every once in awhile we'll get a low mileage Escort wagon in on trade, and sell that within days. For all the talk about wagons being "uncool", I sure can't keep one around.

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Working at a Ford dealer, I can tell you that there is ABSOLUTELY a market for the Focus wagon. Just try buying one at the auction. A.) There aren't any B.) If there is one you are gonna fight with every dealer there for it, and end up paying almost as much as it cost new. Then, you will put it on your lot, and it will have a shelf life of about three hours. If you list it on the internet, you will continue to get call after call, even after it is sold. And you will get every penny you ask for it. It has more room than the Escape, gets 30 mpg, and is actually fun to drive. Yep, I said it, FUN. I wish I had fifty of them on my lot. I find it kind of funny that they didn't really sell when Ford built them, And then when gas soared, they had just discontinued them. Hell, every once in awhile we'll get a low mileage Escort wagon in on trade, and sell that within days. For all the talk about wagons being "uncool", I sure can't keep one around.

 

I still can't understand why Ford got out of the station wagon business anyway?

 

Why did they discontinue the Country Squire/Colony Park back in 1991? Those cars got just as good gas mileage as a Focus Wagon.

 

If they had any brains down in Dearborn. I strongly suggest they bring back those because like I said... YOU CAN'T TOW A DAMN THING WITH SOME WIMPY CROSSOVER! And the SUV market is dead in the water.

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Who still sells wagons? Audi, Volvo? An occasional Mazda? The ZX-5 and the Focus wagon should have have been killed. Especially now with the "focus" on smaller cars. Ford would have more product to offer and hence made more sales. As for wagons themselves. I have owned several and the 1992 Taurus L that was in our family for years was awesome. It handled and rode like the sedan. Was great on gas for it's size. was a tough hauler and was loved by everyone of us who drove it. THAT was a true wagon and a true Ford winner.

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Ironically, I do remember that for many years, not sure about now but fairly recent, Ford produced the most station wagons of any other automaker. I do know this was true in the late 80, the 90's, and up till recent. Now the lines have been blurbed as to the definition of station wagon.

HA! Back in the day Ford was the WagonMaster! Ford build more station wagons than all the other car companies in the US combined. Not so much anymore.

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I still can't understand why Ford got out of the station wagon business anyway?

 

Sales, just because we have some andiocal information here, wagons as a market is deader then dead

 

If they had any brains down in Dearborn. I strongly suggest they bring back those because like I said... YOU CAN'T TOW A DAMN THING WITH SOME WIMPY CROSSOVER! And the SUV market is dead in the water.

 

Ever consider the fact that Ford could be underrating crossovers to force people to buy SUV's if they need to tow something? If you look at the Towing capability of the Focus in Europe vs the USA, you'll notice that the Euro Focus has a higher max tow weight vs the US one (at least with the C170 Focus)

 

The biggest limiting factor when it comes to towing is vehicle weight (needs to weigh more then what it can tow so its not pushed around by the weight) and then the Transmission. You can't ask a Edge to do a class 3 towing because wieght of tow would out weigh the vechile.

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It wont be long before people go back to wagons.... People will quickly figure out that Crossovers ( mini vans that men will drive ) don't really get any better gas milage than SUV's. They also do not handle as well because they are more top heavy... For example my AWD Edge gets about 17mpg around town and about 20mpg on the highway... That really is not worth the difference in comfort and towing capacity from a real SUV.

 

Anyway, that is just my opinion....

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Sales, just because we have some andiocal information here, wagons as a market is deader then dead

 

 

Not sure how you can make that claim. It's dead for the same reason that the hovercraft market is dead. They aren't offered. I wouldn't look at what Ford has offered as evidence of anything. Were they ready for the rise in oil? No. Were they ready for Focus demand? No.

In the world ruled by SUVs, the wagon market was dead. You know we don't live in that world anymore. The so called "dead" market could be an untapped market. How many people who bought CRVs would've chosen Focus wagons instead? You don't know.

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I thought the Dodge Magnum was the coolest people-hauler in decades. It was completely counter to the current trend-- it was low-slung, long, lean, and butch. It was also fast, powerful, and surprisingly-frugal for a pushrod V8.

The problem was that "low" didn't apply just to ground clearance. While my Trib can't hold more than the Focus wagon, it handles taller cargo easily. Ford made a big deal of the Escape being able to hold two mountain bikes (sans front wheel) in the back. Could you even get one in a Focus?

 

(Unlike Ford, I don't consider the car-based Escape/Mariner/Tribute an SUV)

 

I can't stand the term "crossover" at all... IT SOUNDS TOO EFFEMINATE!

 

Besides... These god damn things can't tow anyway!

Edge, Murano - 3500 lbs (Escape V6, too)

While you won't be pulling your dirt-track modified with one, this is enough capacity for a small tent trailer, two dirt motorcycles, a snowmobile, a Sunray or Hobie Cat, or anything you'd buy at Lowe's or Home Depot.

 

Sales, just because we have some andiocal information here, wagons as a market is deader then dead

Exactly. People here don't seem to remember that the Explorer totally ate the Squire's lunch. Its sales were almost double what Ford expected.

 

If one were able to track Focus wagon sales through the years, I wouldn't be surprised to find that wagon sales were the smallest of the different body styles.

 

Ever consider the fact that Ford could be underrating crossovers to force people to buy SUV's if they need to tow something? If you look at the Towing capability of the Focus in Europe vs the USA, you'll notice that the Euro Focus has a higher max tow weight vs the US one (at least with the C170 Focus)

 

The biggest limiting factor when it comes to towing is vehicle weight (needs to weigh more then what it can tow so its not pushed around by the weight) and then the Transmission. You can't ask a Edge to do a class 3 towing because wieght of tow would out weigh the vechile.

Did you notice that you replied to your own speculation about differences in US/Euro Focus towing? They have different engines and transmissions.

 

 

As was pointed out a year ago, the reason there's no Focus wagon now is that Ford had limited funds to restyle the car, and engineering and crash-testing a third body style - with a limited market - would've been very expensive. As to the future, I would guess there's some managerial reason behind the rumors of Ford NA looking at the Ecosport. Yes, I know the combined Focus platform won't be here for a few years, but I also don't think anyone should expect Ford to be secretly working on a wagon version of the current platform.

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Not sure how you can make that claim. It's dead for the same reason that the hovercraft market is dead. They aren't offered. I wouldn't look at what Ford has offered as evidence of anything. Were they ready for the rise in oil? No. Were they ready for Focus demand? No.

In the world ruled by SUVs, the wagon market was dead. You know we don't live in that world anymore. The so called "dead" market could be an untapped market. How many people who bought CRVs would've chosen Focus wagons instead? You don't know.

Wrong. Ford and GM sold wagons and SUVs side-by-side back in the '90s. When the Explorer, Bronco/Expedition, Trailblazer, and Blazer/Tahoe got car-like creature-comfort interiors, sales of wagons dropped almost immediately. SUV sales -destroyed- the wagon market.

 

To repeat my earlier post: SUVs, and now CUVs, have a much more usable cargo space than wagons.

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Wrong. Ford and GM sold wagons and SUVs side-by-side back in the '90s. When the Explorer, Bronco/Expedition, Trailblazer, and Blazer/Tahoe got car-like creature-comfort interiors, sales of wagons dropped almost immediately. SUV sales -destroyed- the wagon market.

 

That's what I said. But you forgot cheap gas -- I can remember paying less than a buck in the late 90s.

 

To repeat my earlier post: SUVs, and now CUVs, have a much more usable cargo space than wagons.

 

And get much worse gas mileage.

 

Oil prices have changed car American car buying habits. Explorer sales have not been made up by Edge sales.

In June, Subaru sales were up over 18%, and in July (when almost everyone lost), they only lost 2%. I realize correlation does indicate causation, but it sure ain't Subaru's styling that's causing good sales (though admittedly, the currently ugly is better than the God-awful fugly of a few years ago).

 

Living by the SUV (or not that different CUV) is what got Ford in this mess in the first place.

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That's what I said. But you forgot cheap gas -- I can remember paying less than a buck in the late 90s.

Sorry, I misread your post. I thought you meant that wagons don't sell -because- they're not offered.

 

Note to self: read entire post before commenting.

 

:)

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  • 4 months later...

I replaced my Focus wagon with a Focus sedan because that was all that was available.

 

I really miss the functionality of the wagon. Most who drive the Focus do so for economical reasons. The wagon adds functionality to this economical vehicle.

 

How about the Toyota Matrix and it's Pontiac alter ego? They sell well, don't they?

 

Perhaps marketing is the problem.

Edited by Ken F.
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  • 2 years later...

Sales, just because we have some andiocal information here, wagons as a market is deader then dead

 

 

 

Ever consider the fact that Ford could be underrating crossovers to force people to buy SUV's if they need to tow something? If you look at the Towing capability of the Focus in Europe vs the USA, you'll notice that the Euro Focus has a higher max tow weight vs the US one (at least with the C170 Focus)

 

The biggest limiting factor when it comes to towing is vehicle weight (needs to weigh more then what it can tow so its not pushed around by the weight) and then the Transmission. You can't ask a Edge to do a class 3 towing because wieght of tow would out weigh the vechile.

 

Apparently you know about zero regarding towing - ever see a semi-truck? I'm pretty sure that the weight of the tractor is not *quite* as much as the load of steel coils on the trailer.

 

And you better get hold of Ford quick - how can they rate their 6-7000 lbs superduties to tow 10 or 12,000 lbs? Don't they know the vehicle must outweigh the load?!?!?

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