The California Air Resources Board has sent Saleen a $700,000 bill for making non-compliant changes to three of its aftermarket products. Saleen's Focus N20, Focus S121, and Mustang S281 were altered in ways that weren't legal under ARB guidelines. Based on the release, it appears that Saleen's offenses were altering emissions control systems on the N20, and not getting the other two models certified.
The size of the fine and the fact that the ARB expressly states it is using the fine as a deterrent for other aftermarket tuners makes it sound like Saleen knew it wasn't in compliance. However, the ARB release says that only the Focus N20 must be recalled and reconfigured. The other two models "were ultimately certified for use in California," but the ARB gives no indication that they had to be recalled in order to do so. Regardless, if you've got an N20 in SoCal that hasn't been fixed, get it off the road and back to Saleen.
[Source: Mustang Evolution]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
vectorbug @ Sep 4th 2007 3:39PM
yuck get those things off the road regardless.
Jon @ Sep 4th 2007 3:43PM
I could not agree more. Why on earth would anyone choose to drive a Ford, much less a Focus?!
Richard @ Sep 4th 2007 3:50PM
Because light and fast is more fun than heavy and fast!
John P. @ Sep 4th 2007 4:03PM
yep, I drive a focus too, and it's a great car, good handling, comfy and well designed, 1st gen anyway. Don't go ragging on my focus vectorbug.
Owain Ozymandias Buck @ Sep 4th 2007 4:44PM
Without a doubt, the focus is the best small car ever offered by a domestic manufacturer. Drives good, light weight, and the wagon was the best in its segment. Don't list more expensive cars as its competition--it's a good value.
Too bad they killed the wagon and hatches and fuglied up the remainder.
Ryan @ Sep 4th 2007 8:44PM
oo, ya! all of yall that support focus' should definitely get one, cause i was driving home a couple weeks ago and saw one on fire on the side of the road! that was awesome! and made me happy for the rest of the day.
although, i am split on my congratulations because Saleen now rocks even more for doing this. good job Saleen, but at the same time... why? Why Saleen? whyyyy would u bother at all with a stupid Focus, look how stupid crappy and ugly they are... smaller miiiight be quicker(note the difference between quicker and faster) but it also sounds sooo much gayer... so enjoy ur car with a coffee can exhaust, but id rather have the mustang
also, all of this is necessary.
That One Person @ Sep 4th 2007 10:23PM
Ryan...no you didn't. Also, you are a complete moron.
While the Focus may be ancient in car years, it's still more fun to drive than the Cobalt. And if it had a 200hp engine, it may give the Civic a decent beating. The platform is still solid after all these years.
Compy386 @ Sep 4th 2007 3:50PM
Hey I drive a Focus and it's a great car. Cheap to buy ($14K), cheap to maintain (2 years just $150 in maintenance), great fuel economy (about 34 for me on the highway 30 mixed 50/50), and a blast to drive. It's not a fast car but it never really feel slow. You can take corners pretty fast in it. In fact I can only think of 2 compacts that are better than the Focus: Mazda 3 and Honda Civic. Both of those come with extra 2k in sticker for not much extra in content. Corolla is is just awful, Cobalt is okay, but it doesn't handle that well.
RWD fan @ Sep 4th 2007 3:51PM
Saleen just needs to pull out of the market there.
Does the company really sell enough cars there that they'll go under if they refuse to fold to CARB?
felipe @ Sep 4th 2007 3:54PM
sorry, that is the best escort i've ever seen.
still would never buy one.
would never buy a ford.
dont know why anyone would.
as for the ARB and this story, it almost seems like this was planned..or intentionally set in motion in order to make news....hum.
Scott Eaton @ Sep 4th 2007 4:22PM
RWD Fan, do you know how BIG the California market is for sports cars? :D For a lot of niche markets, no California equals no sustainable business.
Frank @ Sep 4th 2007 4:49PM
You guys are all retards. FORD #1
Scott Eaton @ Sep 4th 2007 4:52PM
Oh, plus it would make it odd to "pull out" of California, given that their headquarters is at:
76 Fairbanks
Irvine, California 92618-1602, U.S.A.
motorman @ Sep 4th 2007 5:14PM
looks like the libs are trying to drive another business out of calif.
Scott Eaton @ Sep 4th 2007 5:28PM
Hey, we have clean air for a reason (outside of LA)! Saleen can follow the rules just like every other manufacturer has to do.
THIS "lib" thinks the more jobs the better and the more car choices, the better... so thanks for making it political.
SPG @ Sep 4th 2007 5:09PM
When the Focus came to Canada I was an unofficial spokesperson to my family and friends. I even took people down to the dealership to test drive them if they still were not convinced.
The end result, everybody agreed with me in the end.
It's a great car and I'd love to own one.
robz4 @ Sep 4th 2007 5:18PM
It costs Saleen a lot of green to stay clean ( and green ). Wow ..it rhimes :)
RWD fan @ Sep 4th 2007 5:26PM
Scott Eaton,
Some companies are doing just that. Why let a single state dictate the practice for a national company? It does come down to the almighty dollar though. If CA is where a majority of your sales are, then fine, bohica. If your company can get along without the business then why deal with the Peoples Republic of CA? The reality is that it's not even the whole state, but just the bay area and L.A. that are dictating the politics of the place. When one of those neat blue/red bias maps is shown of just CA it's funny to see the whole left/right contrast.
But I digress. More companies should be standing up to the strong arm politics of CA. Sure, it might hurt in the near future, but if enough people get fed up with not having free choice then maybe there will be a change. If all of CA is so "green" then why does everyone there have to be forced to comply? Why isn't the whole state clamoring for electric vehicles and boycotting Ford or GM or Toyota trucks?
Scott Eaton @ Sep 4th 2007 6:22PM
RWD fan, I'm at work so can only take a minute. Currently, there are 12 states either following or planning to follow "California Emissions" standards - most recently Florida, I believe [a June article on autobloggreen.com] -- point being is that it's not just one state anymore.
The "Peoples Republic of California" joke never gets old - it's pretty accurate. I'm a bloody lib and I fit in fine around here, but it's so big that there's room for everybody. Remember that if California were a standalone country, it would be the TENTH largest world economy. That's a lot of buying power!
link>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_California
Logik @ Sep 4th 2007 9:57PM
"The reality is that it's not even the whole state, but just the bay area and L.A. that are dictating the politics of the place."
That is because, those are the two areas where most of the people live.
Sorry for double post.