Filed under: Coupes, Sedans/Saloons, Ford
Ford polishes Focus after consumer backlash
Click the image above for more shots of the 2008 Ford Focus.
The pure, unadulterated loathing of the redesigned Focus has apparently been heard by FoMoCo execs, and according to Automotive News, a move began in late August that attempted to smooth out the 2008 model's rough edges. The styling revisions include the replacement of the show car's square fog lights with round units; black door handles instead of chrome; aluminum trim on the instrument panel in lieu of shiny inserts; a mesh cover that cured the gaping opening in the grille; white-on-black seats that allow for more contrast and carry over styling cues from the Fusion and Mustang; plus more chrome on the vents and gearshift knob.
This is a highly unusual move by an automaker to garner favor with the public, but considering the outcry heard from both consumers and media alike, it's not much of a surprise. Although we can commend Ford for its efforts (and expenditure), we doubt that these kind of subtle tweaks are going to change public perception about a model in need of much more than a nose job and some botox.
[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
mavkato 9:07AM (9/24/2007)
i am actually starting to warm up to that design. from that angle, it doesn't look that bad. at least it is not bland and boring like some of the other offerings out there
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Lemmiwinks 7:28PM (9/24/2007)
I wouldn't call it "bad" either. Though it does look pretty dated. Looks like a refresh of the last Escort.
Chris 9:08AM (9/24/2007)
Well, if they'd have brought over the good looking Euro Focus instead of wasting time with this dog, they wouldn't have to scramble like this. And it's still going to be ugly after all those band aids are slapped on.
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Just me 9:08AM (9/24/2007)
Aside from wishing we had the euro version sooner, I don't get the negative remarks about it's styling. it looks good to me and better than most small cars in it's class. Cobalt? FAI!!! Civic? FAI!!! Corolla? FAI!!!
It looks good overall, but the interior and sync is where it will shine the most.
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Yago Bal 10:42AM (9/24/2007)
Of course it does look good to you, and to millions and millions of others.
That's why the Euro-Focus will never be sold in the US: it's quite more expensive to build, has lower margins, and the US market isn't as demanding and hard to please as Europe's.
jgp 11:51AM (9/24/2007)
Actually, I'm not fond of the design of either the current Euro Focus or the new NA Focus. The former is too bland, and the latter is too ugly. By contrast, I _loved_ the Mk.1 Focus hatchbacks, which were just beautiful (but not the sedan, which wa just as ugly as the new NA Focus).
I'd take a Mitsubishi Lancer or Saturn Astra over any car you mentioned above...
naggs 12:25PM (9/24/2007)
it looks like son of saturn ion
the main reason i am displeased with the new focus is the lack of hatch and no 2.3 engine
fuknut 9:10AM (9/24/2007)
Exterior looks good. Interior looks very spartan compared to the class leaders Civic, Elantra, 3, etc. I still think its a mistake not to offer the Euro-Focus platform underpinning the S40 and Mazda 3. You'd think the parent company would really want to make their small car their future but Ford continues to offer US customers their second-class ride. If I were Ford I woulda gone head-to-head with Civic and subsidize the hell out of it to get people into this car to change paradigms.
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graviton 9:15AM (9/24/2007)
Whats that saying about polishing turds?
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Guenther 11:57AM (9/24/2007)
What grit sandpaper do you use for that?
DesiAuto 9:20AM (9/24/2007)
New focus looks totally boring on road. It's bad to design something so unimpressive but it's worse to approve this design thinking customers will like it. Ford should fire the guy/team that approves such boring designs.
I mean look at the transfomation of Civic and Corolla, they are way more interesting cars now. Ford should do similar to Focus, they have the talent ...
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Atomicbri 11:02AM (9/24/2007)
You are right, Ford does have the talent and they are putting out that product in Europe. Americans they must figure don't care one bit for good design, style nor handling, so they continue to feed us products like the 9 year old Focus platform with new clothes wrapped over the metal... I mean they even got rid of the two most practical versions, the hatchbacks, for a coupe!!! Ford, Ford, Ford, you get what you deserve and if you continue to fail in the American market, you have only yourselves to blame... and maybe the UAW.
Bill 9:21AM (9/24/2007)
The design doesn't bother me as much as it initially did. I realize that this is really a stop-gap until the US market gets in synch with the Focus that the rest of the world has.
However, I sorta think Ford should have saved the money on this design, and instead just worked on improving the Focus as it was. Sure it had been around for awhile, but the car was/is fundamentally decent. They should have just made some noticable refinements and improvements to help carry it through for two more years, and keep the price low and content level high to attract customers. I don't know if the sales numbers reflect it, but anecdotally there seems to be renewed interest in the outgoing Focus. This is probably due to gas prices of course, but maybe some people just finally gave it a serious look? I'm seeing more of them. Dealers are offering fantastic deals on them. Sure they're not making much money off them, but I think they should have just muddled through for 2 more years, then make a really "bold move" by bringing both the Verve/Fiesta and the global Focus to the NA market for 2009/10.
This model just doesn't really fit in stylisitically with the current Ford lineup, or the lineup that appears to be in the pipeline. It's just an odd duck.
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john riley 9:21AM (9/24/2007)
I know wagons and hatches aren't big sellers in N Am, but hatches are coming back some, and wagons are rare. I'm sorry to see them gone.
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mooj 9:24AM (9/24/2007)
ford had succeeded in doing something that, even for hopeless stylists is relatively difficult-- they made a coupe look like a boring-ass econobox sedan. Cheers, gentlemen. A coupe! A coupe should be able to design itself!
This car screams mediocrity. It looks cheap, and whatever self-realized dignity the previous focus had is securely dead.
Keep shuffling the chrome and plastic bits around, boys. There you go. That's it....
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David W. 9:36AM (9/24/2007)
haha ouch... :P
Gene B 9:25AM (9/24/2007)
The new Focus is a disaster. Ford is going to see a minimum 25% drop in sales with this. The styling is horrible, and has been said elsewhere, only sedans are offered. What were they thinking? Who's in charge there?
It is a travesty that what was once a great company is being destroyed from within.
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David W. 9:35AM (9/24/2007)
"It is a travesty that what was once a great company is being destroyed from within."
?
Aside from the Focus I think Ford is producing some AMAZING looking cars. Mustang, Taurus, Edge, Escape Explorer, and F-150 are all great looking cars/trucks in my opinion. I like the Fusion as well...just...I don't like those headlights, they never grew on me, *shrugs*.
But in the end I guess it's all a matter of personal opinion
AZMike 9:56AM (9/24/2007)
a 25% drop in sales? are you kidding?
the average Focus buyer is looking for a cheap car that they can get financed on, gets good fuel economy, has a big rebate. that's it.
I actually think that the new coupe looks great, and am more than happy to see the stupid, ugly hatchback gone. manufacturers should realize after about 10 tries that we don't like hatchbacks here. I'm sure the present bunch for sale here in the US will be gone in the next few years, just like they have in the past.
the styling is a great improvement over the original "cat face" design. I seriously doubt most posters here would ever consider a Focus anyway, no matter what the styling cues are. I'm also sure all the fleet buyers will not care about the styling, either.
in the real world, this car has very little competition when it comes to price. you can find them just about everywhere for $9,999 (manual) or $10,999 (automatic) on special almost every day, and that includes air conditioning.
the cheapest Corollas and Civics are at least $3,000 more than this.
AZMike
psarhjinian 11:37AM (9/24/2007)
Ford of Canada must be screaming about this. The wagon and hatch made up more than 50% of Focus sales and the Focus is their second-best seller next to the F150.
Ford of Canada's sales are going to _crater_ because of this car.