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Yesterday's Focus ST500 special edition is cool and all, but what most Focus fans overseas are looking forward to is the next ST. Well, the wait's over thanks to the UK's Auto Express. The mag has pulled the cover off of the updated hot hatch, which incorporates all the latest Ford of Europe design cues. The headlights are very Mondeo, and that gaping lower intake shows us that the maw on the Verve concept was not some show car exaggeration. It's a styling element that's now officially been used on a production vehicle. Around back, the hatch is updated and the rear bumper has a diffuser insert.
As before, 3- and 5-door models will be offered, and the new car's powertrain also remains unchanged. It packs the same 2.5L 222-horsepower turbo five-cylinder underhood as the outgoing car, and it even keeps the same pricing scheme. The three-door ranges from £17,995 for the ST to £19,995 for the loaded-up ST-3. Five-door versions add another £600 to the bottom line. The updated Focus ST goes on sale in March 2008. While our pals across the pond get this toy to play with, we're stuck with the new car whose front end looks like it's made of Duplo blocks. But it has Sync, so rejoice.
[Source: Auto Express]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Matt @ Nov 8th 2007 4:03PM
I just think it is wrong that the best American cars...are not sold in America.
GM can import
VW can import
Why can't Ford import. They wouldn't have to import it far either as the EURO FOCUS ST IS SOLD IN MEXICO!
Sean Flanagan @ Nov 8th 2007 4:13PM
There's the rub. They can bring that car to the country right next to ours but can't bring it in for whatever reason. Instead they feed us a 13-year-old car with a facelift. Unbelievable.
Yaroukh @ Nov 8th 2007 5:19PM
> the best American cars...are not sold in America
LOL, which ones exactly do you mean?
Steve from Australia @ Nov 8th 2007 5:40PM
"Best American cars not sold in America" ????
Majority of Americans have NIL taste and therefore give the big manufacturers over there no choice other than to bastardise (note the s - no z) fluid WORLD car designs into hideous looking cars you have in that country of yours.
You only have to look at what you have done to the design of Focus you will be selling over there.... shame you couldnt rename it - (least you could have done for the rest of the world)
I love America. But for your info - the rest of the world laughs at your car designs. About time "Detroit" grew some balls and outsourced ALL car designs to other countries. (Yes - even Ethiopia!)
Steve from Australia
psarhjinian @ Nov 8th 2007 9:59PM
Because the cost of production doesn't justify it yet. Detroit is all quarterly sales and cost/benefit driven. This is why the were (and in some ways, still are) behind the curve on quality, economy and technology.
Detroit is risk averse. The last Focus cost a lot of money and had a few really rough years. No one at Ford wants to be the one to approve a big-dollar launch on a car with little or no margin.
The thing is, the last Focus was the most serious threat to the Asians--certainly moreso than press-release darlings like the Aura and vapourware like the Volt. It beat the Asians at their own game (small cars) and beat them badly enough that it took a whole 1.5 generations for a credible competitor to show up (the 2007 Civic; the Mazda3 doesn't count). It was fawned over both by enthusiasts and Consumer Reports. The Focus had the potential to pull in people who would never have considered a Ford before...
...and Ford proceeded to sit on their hands, rather than kick Honda and Toyota when they were down. The Focus could have been the foundation for a new generation of people who might otherwise have been lost, but Ford screwed up and did nothing. The reason was because the Focus cost too much and Ford wasn't about to pay money now for a return five or ten years down the road.
Will @ Nov 8th 2007 4:09PM
This would be a great little Mercury Tracer!
And it would give Mercury a unique Product here in the U.S.A
Jerk Face @ Nov 8th 2007 4:30PM
More like Mercury GAYcer. They need to just skim the fat and lop off Mercury altogether already.
jgp @ Nov 8th 2007 5:19PM
Screw the Tracer, this should be the new Mercury Lynx.
Give Mercury a cat theme again, with the Cougar as a flagship.
2004m3driver @ Nov 8th 2007 4:09PM
Damn that looks great. Better than the Mazda 3 and Si civic. Wow. I really don't understand. Our new Focus is sodamn ugly. sooo confused
KCurtis @ Nov 8th 2007 4:10PM
"Ford, bring that thing here!"
Kyle @ Nov 8th 2007 4:12PM
I agree with Will Ford should bring this car to the U.S. as a Mercury.
Jeff @ Nov 8th 2007 4:17PM
I think it looks great, but importing doesn't make much sense. Do a quick currency check and I don't think you'd pay that for a Focus.
Now if they could find a way to manufacture it here and use locally supplied components, it might be feasible, but probably still more expensive than the current Focus by a significant margin.
Snutz @ Nov 8th 2007 4:32PM
In Mexico they sell the Focus ST for 279,900 Pesos which converts to $25,900. Cars always cost more in Europe. And in Mexico the Ford Fusion costs the equivalent of $18,610 while it is sold in the US for $17,770. Using that ratio, the cost for a Focus ST in America would be about
$24,730.
Sure that's still a little more expensive than something like the Mazdaspeed 3, which costs $22,975, but they would probably cheapen the interior to bring the cost down. Either way, it seems like it should be financially viable to sell it in the US, but then what's keeping them from bringing it here?
speedball3 @ Nov 8th 2007 5:30PM
Can't sell as a Focus....so rename it. Can't be that hard, right?
Snutz @ Nov 8th 2007 6:38PM
Like Will said, call it a Mercury and it would make perfect sense.
aman @ Nov 8th 2007 4:19PM
wouldn't it be cheaper to have it designed, built, and sold here in the first place?
I hate Ford.
Jeff @ Nov 8th 2007 4:31PM
aman-
They should definitely borrow the design cues going forward.
I3ziko @ Nov 8th 2007 4:26PM
put whistle tip, spinner 24s and sell it here in USA
Alex @ Nov 8th 2007 4:29PM
Why does Ford hate America?
Aki @ Nov 8th 2007 4:32PM
Ford doesn't hate America-it just thinks it's full of stupid consumers who won't know the difference between this and a 10-yr old platform