Ford Iosis

The crew here at Autoblog were blown away by the Ford Iosis when the pictures were released recently. The dramatic styling of the Iosis was apparent, but the car is much more dramatic in person. The Ford Iosis is a physical representation of Ford of Europe's new 'kinetic' design language. Remember the phrase, "Looks fast while standing still?" This new design direction is best described by this simple phrase. Ford of Europe's line up has a reputation for being dynamically superior to its competitors. Now Ford wants to express this dynamic performance in the design elements of the car. You can see a little Aston Martin influence in the lines of this concept. Also, there appears to be an evolution of some current design elements. For instance, the grill and headlight arrangement seems to pull from the current Focus. The visually defined and separated grill with supporting hood and vendor lines seems to be an extreme version of the current European Focus' more subtle front fascia. Overall, the concept is beautiful. I especially enjoy the rear taillights and how the trunk and rear fenders seem to wrap around them. I'm starting to be a big fan of the four door coupe style of vehicles like the Mercedes CLS, and the Ford Iosis fits right into that.

I know that you?re listening Ford. The Iosis is a fantastic vehicle, but your latest round of product planning has eliminated any hope of bringing Ford of Europe?s dramatic and dynamically superior cars to the US. We understand the expense of these models, and perhaps how Ford?s brand positioning restricts premium products. And don?t get me wrong, the entire new Ford line up is incredible. However, the potential in Europe?s line up is untapped. So instead of messing with a good thing at the Ford brand, why not spice up Mercury?s offerings. Look at what GM is going with Saturn by bringing heavily European-influenced vehicles into the US. Of course, we don?t want to be deterred by horror stories of Merkur, but times are substantially different today. Come on, think about it.