Spied: Ford Focus RS

[F1_Master]

explains why ford is losing money in the us

Uh, bingo.

I believe only 1 magazine in the US right now has published the obvious that bringing in some Ford AUS vehicles could help Ford greatly.

[kingofthering]

I am not trying to be a smarta$$ here, but do hatches sell in the US? Since I don't live there, I am under the impression that they sell rather poorly.

If so, then it's best for Ford to focus it's efforts (not on the Focus) on the cars that sell most. For that reason I think that it's a very logical move to focus on the Fusion (According to the Bold Moves documentary by Ford it sells better than the Camry) and the Edge SUV.

Well, the Audi A3/Mini Cooper/S/Ford Focus has been flying off the shelves,so yes.

[ruim20]

Yea, it seriously is. Under local Group N prototype rules it is possible to make an AWD car that isn't in production (Toyota run AWD Corollas in the series) but Ford couldn't comply. I'm unsure as to what the regs are, but yea. They could make it RWD though, so I guess they figured a RWD would be better than FWD.

It would be very a very cool focus if they made a RWD version of the Rs

[VtecMini]

Anybody want to hazard a guess at what the badge on the back, just above the ST badge is? I thought it might be an ST170 badge, but on the ST170 badge, the red & black are the other way around. I suppose it could be a TDCi badge (Colours other way round) in a manoever to try and confuse photographers. I'd imagine the sound of a petrol engine might put paid to that rumour though...

On the other hand, an ST diesel would be pretty cool and probably pretty popular over here. I think it worked okay for the Mondeo.

200bhp and 300ft lb? Hmmm...

[NSXType-R]

It would be very a very cool focus if they made a RWD version of the Rs

That's not hard to do- remove the front differential.

[KonaGreen]

So considering the news today here in Vancouver said that Ford has lost yet more money, do you think that they will ever figure it out, and bring cars like the Focus ST here? Or are they going to continue to rely on Trucks?

Edit: http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum...ad.php?t=29248

[QuattroMan]

I doubt it. Ford's not interested in the small car market yet, forget about the pocket rockets.

they should!!! ford's we have here suck big-time, funny Ford is not doing well they should bring some exsitement back in to there cars.ps why is thread on European car thread..

[fpv_gtho]

ps why is thread on European car thread..

Why not? The RS is a Euro Ford

[Zytek_Fan]

If the US does get the Focus RS it'll prolly be called the SVT...

[ZeTurbo]

I doubt it. Ford's not interested in the small car market yet, forget about the pocket rockets.

Are you forgetting the sucess the focus had when it came out?

Hatches aren't more popular here because car makers dont put the effort into making decent one available to the public! Just like the Focus here. Saying they are not interested in the hatch market is absurd. Why would they sell the focus anyways if they werent.

Therre IS a market in north america for hatchbacks!! The thing is that ford NA is allways last in line to figure these things out. Look at toyota! They are selling Yaris like no tomorrow here. Nissan is having GREAT sales with the Versa! The mazda 3 sportback is selling very well also!

If they brought this New focus, (screw the RS, even the NORMAL second gen focus ) IT would sell like crazy! Do you really think that a dodge caliber is any sort of competition to the new focus?

Evryone is going on about how much it would cost to sell here in NA, Its not like they have to completely redevelop the car, its not like they are coming up with a new model! The car is freakin made allready! it cant be THAT expensive to modify it to meet US demands.

I find it absolutely absurd that Ford are not capitalising on this great opurtinity to capture a market that is growing every year!!

[Rockefella]

I find it absolutely absurd that Ford are not capitalising on this great opurtinity to capture a market that is growing every year!!

Which explains their horrible profit margins every quarter.

[VtecMini]

Evryone is going on about how much it would cost to sell here in NA, Its not like they have to completely redevelop the car, its not like they are coming up with a new model! The car is freakin made allready! it cant be THAT expensive to modify it to meet US demands.

I think the thing that you're missing is that European cars have much higher quality, more expensive interiors than is the norm in the states. This means that as a result of this, the Euro Mk2 Focus would be more expensive than its competitors, something that maybe Audi, for example, could get away with, but the blue oval doesn't have the badge kudos to pull that off.

Admittedly there's a lot of assumptions in there, but I'm sure you see what I'm getting at.

[kigango123]

awd, not a really wise move from ford. i mean focus was not supposed to be this ricey!, i like it, america wont! i wonder if the same system is going into the 4-door sport.

[syko]

awd, not a really wise move from ford. i mean focus was not supposed to be this ricey!, i like it, america wont! i wonder if the same system is going into the 4-door sport.

Nothing you just said makes sense. why wouldn't awd be good, would you rather they try run 300hp through a fwd setup. It doesn't matter if america like it or not since there not going to get it and what 4 door sport are you taking about.

and btw this is not ricey!

[kingofthering]

awd, not a really wise move from ford. i mean focus was not supposed to be this ricey!, i like it, america wont! i wonder if the same system is going into the 4-door sport.

I like it and I'm american. As for Syko, the new Mazdaspeed 3 will have a 250hp FWD setup.