Blue Oval's All-New Compact Surprises With Maturity Ironically named little car, the Ford Focus. While you could surely argue we're drawing too literal a line between the car and its moniker, we have to chuckle a little when we recall just how far afield Ford drifted with its compact offering over the last several years. Suffice it to say that Ford lost its way somewhere after the original Focus was introduced as a so-called 'world car' back in 1999. At the time, the spunky Focus shared the same C170 platform no matter where in the world it was sold. Sadly, such platform sharing ... Read More

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Rumormill: 2015 Ford Focus RS to get five doors, turbo four and active noise cancellation 1329348600

Engines keep getting smaller, but that doesn't mean they're getting weaker. Case in point: Ford, which is developing a new 2.3-liter four with turbocharging and direct injection. It's rumored to go into the Mustang in a couple of years, but sources from across the pond (read: Hot Hatch country) expect it to power the next Focus RS. The engine would crank ...
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Podcast: Autoblog Podcast #267 1328046300

BMW M goes Diesel, Ford Focus fleet sales numbers, California 2025 green car mandate Episode #267 of the Autoblog Podcast is here with Chris, Dan, Zach and Chris Paukert this week. Topics include the addition of diesel-powered BMW M models overseas, the surprisingly high fleet sales figure for the Ford Focus, and a new green car mandate coming out of ...
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Report: Ford tops in non-retail sales, 45% of Focus sold to fleets 1327698060

Most everyone at Ford is grinning from ear-to-ear these days, as the company is enjoying profits as well as a vastly improved product portfolio and public image. Sales are up, the product pipeline is full, and market share grew last year. You can almost imagine Ford CEO Alan Mulally saying, "What, me worry?" But that's exactly what he should be doing, ...
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Report: Ford Focus Titanium to get manual transmission 1327503660

The Ford Focus sedan comes in four trim flavors, S, SE, SEL and Titanium, while the five-door hatch omits the base S version. Keeping form with past economy car tradition, only the S and SE trims have been offered with a five-speed manual transmission, but that changes with the 2012 Focus: the top-drawer Titanium trim will shortly receive a manual ...
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First Ford Focus Electric heads to Google 1325716320

This time last year, Ford was pulling the wraps off the Focus Electric at CES in Las Vegas. Twelve months later, Ford is slowly beginning production of its first EV at its Michigan Assembly plant and dropped off one early example to the crew at Google. We're not sure what the search giant is doing with Dearborn's inaugural EV, but something involving ...

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Video: Ford Racing gives Focus ST-R race car tour 1324566060

Ford has finally given us a complete walk around video of the company's ready-to-order Ford Focus ST-R racer. The vehicle is available through the Ford Racing catalog and features all the tricks you'll need to compete in series like the Grand-Am ST class or the SCCA World Challenge TC. The racecar makes use of the same production EcoBoost 2.0-liter ...
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Official: Your 2012 North American Car and Truck of the Year finalists are.... 1323972900

The finalists for the 2012 North American Car and Truck of the Year have just been announced, and this year, the three candidates in each category are as follows: Car: Ford Focus Hyundai Elantra Volkswagen Passat Truck: BMW X3 Honda CR-V Land Rover Range Rover Evoque The above finalists are the result of voting by a 50-member ...
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Report: Ford prices turnkey Focus ST-R racer at $98,995 1323874620

There aren't many American cars that approach $100,000. As excited as they were by the ZR1's performance figures, Corvette enthusiasts balked at how a 'Vette could cost so much. After steadily climbing since its announcement a few years ago, the Fisker Karma's base price just breached the $100k mark. And of course the Ferrari-slaying Ford GT went for a ...
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Official: Car and Driver reveals its 2012 10Best cars [w/video] 1323199680

Each year, the scribes at Car and Driver go through every new vehicle on sale and pick the ten best cars available here in the United States. And while some major automotive awards are only shelled out to vehicles that are all-new or significantly updated for a certain model year, C/D's approach is to look at the full scope of cars currently on sale. ...
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Official: Ford UK adds sportier Focus Zetec S to lineup 1322607660

Ford UK is giving Focus buyers a model to tide them over until the Focus ST arrives next year. The Focus Zetec S wears a full sports suspension with stiffer springs and dampers for slightly improved handling, though there's no word on whether or not the model sits any closer to the ground than its base counterpart. A full aero kit is part of the package, ...