silvrsvt Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 As far as the Contour being killed, you can look at the interior dimensions of the Contour and the Focus. You will find that the Focus is within fractions of an inch in headroom, legroom, and hiproom, front and back. The Contour wasn't a midsize car. It was thisclose to being a compact. BTW, the Taurus is going away, so the Fusion (which has interior dimensions quite similar to the Taurus) does not exactly prove your point. To further add to this the Taurus is a fairly large mid-sized sedan, and its market was split into two with the Fusion on the lower end and the 500 on the upper end. Much like the spilt with the Avalon and Camary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005Explorer Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 This is a very interesting story on the future of the Focus. Looks like Ford is really paying attention to this model since fuel prices have became so high. One interesting quote about the redesigned Focus was this... The refreshed Focus is "a lot stronger than a lot of people expected," said Jim Hall, an analyst with AutoPacific Inc. in Southfield, who has seen the new vehicle. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...UTO01/608020385 It's a good read and finally a little positive news coming from Ford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 This is a very interesting story on the future of the Focus. Looks like Ford is really paying attention to this model since fuel prices have became so high. One interesting quote about the redesigned Focus was this... The refreshed Focus is "a lot stronger than a lot of people expected," said Jim Hall, an analyst with AutoPacific Inc. in Southfield, who has seen the new vehicle. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...UTO01/608020385 It's a good read and finally a little positive news coming from Ford. ummmmmm ..... this is the article that started this thread .. not trying to be a smart or jack ass... just you know .. it is a little funny And I agree ... Ford is taking the reskin seriously... they have to .. they have to kep the Focus somewhat competitive until 2010. Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005Explorer Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 ummmmmm ..... this is the article that started this thread .. not trying to be a smart or jack ass... just you know .. it is a little funny And I agree ... Ford is taking the reskin seriously... they have to .. they have to kep the Focus somewhat competitive until 2010. Igor Sorry for reposting the link. :shrug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 ummmmmm ..... this is the article that started this thread .. not trying to be a smart or jack ass... just you know .. it is a little funny And I agree ... Ford is taking the reskin seriously... they have to .. they have to kep the Focus somewhat competitive until 2010. Igor It also appears that Ford retuned a few emissions controls for 07 uping the fuel economy by 3mpg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005Explorer Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I noticed this from the article... Ford also has released a service fix so mechanics can retune 2006 models to get similar performance increases. Any Focus ownes here that have tried that yet? I would be interested to hear if anyone took their 2006 back in to get the 3 MPG improvement. Ford needs to focus on the magic number of 40 for the 2008 model. In this day and age of record fuel prices the best thing you can advertise is something like 40 MPG EPA highway in a simple car that you can actually afford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I noticed this from the article... Ford also has released a service fix so mechanics can retune 2006 models to get similar performance increases. Any Focus ownes here that have tried that yet? I would be interested to hear if anyone took their 2006 back in to get the 3 MPG improvement. Ford needs to focus on the magic number of 40 for the 2008 model. In this day and age of record fuel prices the best thing you can advertise is something like 40 MPG EPA highway in a simple car that you can actually afford. Someone at FocusFanatics did and the dealer had no idea .... I believe the plan is 30/40 for 2008 Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005Explorer Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I believe the plan is 30/40 for 2008 Igor Good to hear that. Nice numbers there. They need to plaster it everywhere...that should be a big part of the advertising. That is the only thing that will begin to change the public perception that Ford is not capable of building anything that gets extremely good fuel economy. Right now the public perception is that everything Toyota, Honda or Nissan builds gets awesome fuel economy even though they make plenty of vehicles that suck down fuel. We know this is not the case with vehicles like the Ridgeline, Tundra, Sequoia, Tacoma, 4 Runner, Titan, Pathfinder, Armada, etc, but the general public thinks that those models are very fuel efficient just because the Japanese build them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 (edited) So, did they make the car run a little "dirty" to squeeze more mpg out of it? :shrug: Umm, I'd have to check that out...... Edited August 4, 2006 by Michael Reynolds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swenson88 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Umm, I'd have to check that out...... Well the article does state that the engines were previously tuned for primarily low emissions, not mpg. Now they altered it so they are tuned primarily for mpg, not emissions. They're still little 4-bangers, probably not spewing out much of anything, and I know I'd rather have the 3mpg than the lower emissions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Well the article does state that the engines were previously tuned for primarily low emissions, not mpg. Now they altered it so they are tuned primarily for mpg, not emissions. They're still little 4-bangers, probably not spewing out much of anything, and I know I'd rather have the 3mpg than the lower emissions. I'm with you there, besides I would think the increased fuel efficency would cancel out the minimal increase from a pollution stand point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker16 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I'm sure Ford will offer a package to them if they do open a new plant in the southern US if they decide to go that route. I'm not sure what the deal is with Wanye and how it can be expanded etc... I doubt the revolutionary changes needed to make a profitable C-car in a Ford can be done at wayne. A clean sheet would be much prefered over a redo of an old plant. I woyuld say have the state of michgan finance the project, the loan rate would be far lower than what could be had on the open market. Wayne's inherent issues are: labor relations long assmebly line non flexible body shop. Possible size limitations with larger vehicles like a possible MPV. can it be made For JITDS and ILVS supplier park. produtivity well below Class average Can wayne deliver < 17 HPV? poor quality Where can the Focus be built during this very long renovation process. Ford needs a thorough reevaluation of the next Focus assembly site, because we can not afford a another 2005 Focus. It would be easier to move theFocus to an idled site like Wixom or build a new plant. IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 The '06 Focus was a PZ [partial zero emissions] engine, which exceeded regs. It is not as if they are going back to 1970 standards. Focus sales are not as bad as some think, just not record setting. Could be better? Yes. Is is so bad is has to get dropped? NO! Stories about the 08 say nothing about hatches getting canned. But the wagon, maybe. With the Caliber and Rabbit selling well, they be foolish to drop hatches. Also, the 1981 Escort did not truly replace the Fiesta, since in Europe the Fiesta and FWD 'Erika' Escort were sold side by side. In the US the Pinto was succeeded by the Scort. Fiesta was dropped due to currancy rates also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker16 Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 The '06 Focus was a PZ [partial zero emissions] engine, which exceeded regs. It is not as if they are going back to 1970 standards. Focus sales are not as bad as some think, just not record setting. Could be better? Yes. Is is so bad is has to get dropped? NO! Stories about the 08 say nothing about hatches getting canned. But the wagon, maybe. With the Caliber and Rabbit selling well, they be foolish to drop hatches. Also, the 1981 Escort did not truly replace the Fiesta, since in Europe the Fiesta and FWD 'Erika' Escort were sold side by side. In the US the Pinto was succeeded by the Scort. Fiesta was dropped due to currancy rates also. the hatches are done. :fan: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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