Autoblog

click above to view more high-res shots of the Euro-Focus

News flash: small cars like the Ford Focus are selling beyond expectations (ours anyway) while trucks and SUVs are sitting on dealer lots much longer than auto manufacturers would like. For this reason, Ford is moving as quickly as possible to switch a few of its truck plants into car plants, including its Michigan Truck plant where behemoth SUVs like the Expedition and Navigator were being built. The switchover is going to cost the automaker since these are not flexible manufacturing facilities, with the first bit of retooling ringing the registers to the tune of $75 million bucks -- and that's just for a new bodyshop. The total cost to retool the plant will be in the hundreds of millions. As they say, it takes money to make money. While the plant is being refurbished, workers will be shuffled to the nearby Wayne plant to build even more Focuses. The best bit of news, though, is that Ford will finally be building its small cars from Europe at its converted truck plant, the ones we've all been asking for since the Euro-Focus got a new platform and we didn't. Not that we're still sour or anything...


[Source: The Detroit News]

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Ford Focus RS

In the magical lands where the Focus looks cool, otherwise known as Europe, new images of the hotrod 2009 Focus RS have had enthusiasts atwitter the last few days. While the images are clearly 'chops - the wheels and backgrounds look like they're in high speed motion, while the tire tread is statue-still - they're reportedly legitimate mockups that were used to illustrate internally how the car might look. Ford confirmed their legitimacy today when it released two more photos of an actual Focus RS prototype along with a press release. The two new pics show the RS prototype racing around the Nurburgring where it's being tested ahead of its launch in 2009. The press release confirms that the RS will be powered by a Duratic 2.5L engine that's turbocharged to produce 280 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Ford also claims it's got torque steer for this pocket rocket in check with a new front-wheel-drive system and limited-slip differential. As for the design, we'll get to see it for the first time at the 2009 London Motor Show in late July. Check out both the photoshopped pics and Ford's two official pics in our gallery below and read the official press release for yourself after the jump.


[Source: Ford, CarTribe via Carscoop]

click above image to view full high-res gallery of the new European Ford Focus

Ford of Europe's Executive Designerer Martin Smith has seen his "Kinetic" design language sweep across the company's product line ever since it debuted on the Iosis Concept two years ago in this very city. That design has finally reached the Focus, which will soon be wearing new "Kinetic" design cues like its siblings the Mondeo, S-Max and many others. What this means is a new front end with Iosis-inspired headlights, a larger lower air intake and more sculpted hood. From our perspective on the show floor, it looks fantastic. Normally you can tell when a car receives a mid-cycle enhancement; it's just obvious the new design cues weren't part of the original plan. The new Focus, however, looks whole, like it was meant to look this way from Day 1.

The Focus also gets a new interior that appears significantly upgraded in both design and the materials used to make it. But that's not all, just like with the Dodge Journey, the new Euro Ford Focus will also be available with a six-speed double-clutch transmission when ordered with the 2.0L Duratorq TDCi diesel engine that produces 134 HP.

Finally, Ford also revealed the Focus Econetic (it's the blue Focus in the gallery), which is basically for customers who want a Focus but also desire driving a greener car. Using off-the-shelf technology, Ford has managed to engineer the Focus Econetic to emit 115 grams/kilometer of CO2. It's powered by a squeaky clean 1.6L Duratorq TDCi diesel producing 107 HP and exhaling through a diesel particulate filter.