Ford Focus ST TDCi in the works
Here's an interesting tidbit of information: Our counterparts over at Autoblog Spanish are reporting that come January, some countries not named the United States of America will receive a diesel version of the Ford Focus ST. Details are scarce, but what is known is that the Focus ST TDCi will have the Oval's 2.0-liter diesel underhood. Feel free to speculate as to whether the boys at Ford's skunkworks will tune the powerplant to produce more than the 136-horsepower it generates in stock form. If it's really going to get the ST treatment, we'd imagine Ford would want to do something besides just slapping the ST bodywork and interior mods on.
We'll find out soon enough. In any case, add this one to the list of cool Foci that we won't be seeing here.
[Source: Autoblog Spanish (translated)]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
purecoda 10:14AM (10/25/2006)
Dear Ford,
Please bring the Focus ST over to the US, unchanged.
Thanks,
purecoda
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M. 10:19AM (10/25/2006)
The new Peugeot Bi-Turbo 2.2l (DW12) uses the same block as the 2.0l TDCi (DW10). This engine produces 170 horses stock. Using the DW12 would make more sense than tuning the DW10.
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Disgruntled American Focus Owner 10:27AM (10/25/2006)
Dear Ford,
I hate you. I currently own a Focus, and would love to buy a REAL Focus if you had the balls to bring it over to America. I guess not, so it looks like I'll be buying a Mazda3.
Thanks for nothing.
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WolfgangNC 10:35AM (10/25/2006)
I'd hate you Ford, just treat me as an intelligent customer and tell me exactly why you won't replace everything in the US market (except the trucks, mustang and fusion) with your offerings from Europe and down under?
To this day, I have heard pletty of complaining and junk; but has anyone asked Ford why they are not doing this? Reports and editors any answers?
Is it the union deal over here? Cost of retooling the factories? Engineering certain models to have the driver on the left side?
I mean Ford does have smart people in it, there has to be a logical answer why they aren't doing this. Because profit is money and everyone wants to make more money.
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noub 11:06AM (10/25/2006)
WolfgangNC,
the european product will come, but the focus and the fiesta are here in europe in the middle of their life cycle. They just need to retooling their factories and be prepared for the next generation of B and C class european product.
The next generation of fiesta is due to 2009 and the next gen focus is due to 2010-2011.
I think Fields is right when he does not want to import the econobox from brazil. the only thing the US would have got is an already old car unable to compete with the yaris and the fit !!
I know that 2009 is late, but I am pretty sure that Ford will come up with appealing product (at least I hope).
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Ben 11:51AM (10/25/2006)
Does anyone from FoMoCo ever read these columns?
Has anyone ever read any comment(s) from anyone @ FoMoCo responding to what is stated here. It is such a no-brainer ... dumping the Focus we have and replacing it with the Focus ST etc.
I just don't get it !?!?!?
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Steve0 12:03PM (10/25/2006)
Ugh, yet another article to highlight the great cars we DON'T get here in the U.S...
I'm hopeful that once America's fascination with crude trucks subsides there will be more of a market for interesting, cool, efficient, good-handling smaller premium vehicles like this. I'll be waiting!
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Howard Kerr 12:12PM (10/25/2006)
Several European car manufacturers already build a B-class "performance" diesel-powered car. Ford is one of the last to go this route. Could it have sold here? Not until the refineries started producing the new low sulfur diesel that just went on sale here in the U.S. a few WEEKS ago. Give Ford a break. As I've said here many times " you can't sell a car in a market where there is no fuel for it". IF gas goes back above $3.00 a gallon, I imagine the next Focus Ford produces for the U.S. will have a diesel. BTW, ONLY M-B has a 2007 diesel ready for sale at the moment, VW's diesels are all "leftover" 2006s, except for the Toureg.
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leo 1:05PM (10/25/2006)
Ford must be kicking itself in the buttt right about now for having made the wrong decision to stay witht he US Focus for 10years
seems liek nothing has changed at Ford
And the Mondeo interior is way better than what we have in the Fusion/Milan adn even Zyfer here in the US
what a shame
2011 is way out there, we're just turning 2007. WTF are they doing taking 4 years to retool
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Bingo 12:15PM (10/25/2006)
Please! Please, no more! I just can't take it any longer,
I've no
more tears left to cry over the cars we can't buy in the US. O' cruel
fortune , why dost thou mock me so?
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Hamud 12:35PM (10/25/2006)
You cry cause you don't have the Ford Europe line in the USA. What about me? We have some Euro Fords here 5 times more expensive than the original ones, on the other side we have the Fusion, top quality costing 85K...
Ford isn't in the best shape they could be, so I believe that if taking the Euros to the USA were the the answer for their problems they sure would be doing that . If they aren't is because they know something we don't.
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DC_1 1:08PM (10/25/2006)
At least Ford can make the old Focus look like this one.
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K 1:35PM (10/25/2006)
That diesel may not need over 136 hp. The torque curve is more important.
Ford probably delayed bringing the better Focus models to the US until the diesel fuel and emission standards questions were ended. Even VW and Mercedes held off.
That doesn't excuse Ford continuing to avoid any trace of interesting features or continous improvement in their US models. (renaming a Lincoln model five times doesn't count)
Besides the six speed automatic and a couple of, not bad, hybrids - what have they done lately ('lately'... hmm, that seems familiar).
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johnny 2:14PM (10/25/2006)
Ford stands for Full OF Retarded Dummies.
Bring the Euro Focus here with the 2.3 liter gas engine and thats good enough. Add the diesel later.
I cant believe the Focus will be 10 years old before a redesign. What garbage. The Civic was different in September 1998 went Focus was introduced, the civic was redesigned in 2001, then again in 2006 and probably again in 2010. All Ford can do is wonder why their sales are down!
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JIm 2:14PM (10/25/2006)
Follow the money. Right or wrong, Ford wants to keep the Focus at the price point where it currently exists. By bringing in some of the sweet Euorpean Focus vehicles we all read about from time to time they push the price up to a whole different market segment. For example the 4x4 turbo Focus available in Europe would cost $30K. There just isn't enough market demand in the U.S. at that price for that vehicle.
The market equates the Focus with low-price. If Ford moves the Focus up market with some of these nice European models they cross over into the Fusion market and leave the lower end empty. They don't want to do that and I don't blame them. As a consumer, I'd sure like to see some of those nice European vehicles over here, but it would also be difficult for me to justify the prices surely to be asked when there are so many alternatives at that price.
On a related note. Can anyone tell me why the EPA (Government?) seems to move the emission requirements for diesels just beyond the engineering for the current standards? We don't have diesels (IMO) not because of GM's mis-step in the mid-80s, but because just as mfgrs think there is a market in the U.S. and develop engines meeting the standard, the EPA moves the bar. To me, this seems to have been going on for way too long to be random. Any ideas?
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Steven James 6:24AM (10/26/2006)
Hey, the Focus ST is an amazing car and please get it to every part of U.S. I am an avid driver and would like to test the Diesel version. So FORD, if you're listening to me i hope you won't disappoint me this time ....
Would like to share some auto insurance rates which i found on bills.com.
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