You aren't gonna believe this. Ford's new reskinned Focus actually...looks.....GOOD!

I suspect Ford Focus' image is in for a slight change if appearences make the impression.

I expected a new nose & tail. You can say this goes a bit beyond that. :)

http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070107/AUTO04/701070343

Will the 2-door still look like Euro-trash wannabe wagon?

I think the lighted interior picture looks fantastic................ especially for an entry level car. All the new technology should also help to win over import buyers.

That said, Ford really one upped GM (and everyone else) with this Sync technology.

Looks pretty freakin' ugly to me. :yuck:

Looks pretty freakin' ugly to me. :yuck:
Same. :barf:

Are we looking at the same car Guy? Looks like a rehash of whatever that bad Hyundai was (atleast the one this looks like).

Nothing special there. The interior is pretty good but the outside is crap.

I don't know, its not doing much to impress me. :shrug:

Same. :barf:

Are we looking at the same car Guy? Looks like a rehash of whatever that bad Hyundai was (atleast the one this looks like).


I think Ford did a good job on the car. Excellent when you consider the confines and the budget they had to work with.

They had to take a car that's become as intresting to look at as beige paint, and inject enough visual excitement into the car (without laying a finger on the underskin structure) and come up with something that had high visual impact and get attention.

I personally like the nose. The side "crease" from the fake extractor, and the higher beltline and revised rear window shape breaks up what otherwise would continue to be a dull profile.

I wouldn't buy one, and the design is going to have it's detractors (who also wouldn't buy any car of that class). But IMO, Ford managed to get a one up over the Cobalt sedan in looks. While Cobalt looks Japaneese with annomous strling, the Focus looks more overstyled-Euro.

I think it'll do very well.


http://www.thefusionsource.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/423.jpg
http://www.thefusionsource.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/425.jpg
http://www.thefusionsource.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/421.jpg
http://www.thefusionsource.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/431.jpg
http://www.thefusionsource.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/420.jpg

In this instance, I think they took a bad car & made it worse.... but at least the interior looks nice.

http://www.thefusionsource.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/409.jpg
http://www.thefusionsource.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/413.jpg
http://www.thefusionsource.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/417.jpg
http://www.thefusionsource.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/412.jpg

It doesn't say Ford in the styling to me, looks like some kind of Kia or something from one of those rip off Chinese auto companies. But I guess anything will help the now almost 8 year old styling of the Focus, but I don't see a big boost in sale because of this

By the way those interior shots are of the new Five-Hundred interior not the Focus And that Five-Hundred refresh doesn't look to promising either. I was expecting it to look a lot better. Still looks like the same old bland car with a Fusion style grill.

By the way those interior shots are of the new Five-Hundred interior not the Focus.

Nope. It's the Focus. The Five-Hundred's above.

Car and Driver says the car reminds them of the Ion ("which is not a good thing" :rolleyes: ). I don't see Ion in it at all.

I do see lots of Ion (and a bit of Neon) in the new Nissan Sentra, but not this Focus.

The exterior (front and front fenders) are a little busy looking to me in the pics, but the interior looks pretty good...

:think:

Nope. It's the Focus. The Five-Hundred's above.

I was refering to the photos in the link, those Focus photos in the thread weren't up when I made my post.

Not feeling that at all , the 2 pics Ive seen of the coupe are marginally better . The lighting in the Focus interior looks really sweet , but I think even my Cobalt has too much silver painted plastic in it ...thats just insane in the Ford . Overkill for sure .

Nope. It's the Focus. The Five-Hundred's above.wrong. both pics are the same.

That Focus is terrible. Again, it looks like each person in a design group got to have one portion of thier design combined into one large design...........not unlike Voltron. The interior is better, and definatly better than the current Focus.

Guy, I'll back you up. I like it. A lot. Way better than the current Focus, and definitely more sporty than the Cobalt...

Then again, we haven't seen the '08 Cobalt, either...

I was expecting something more like the mk2 focus. This is just kinda :blah:

wrong. both pics are the same.

http://www.thefusionsource.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/431.jpg
http://www.thefusionsource.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/412.jpg

Those don't look the same to me... :thinking:

The interior pic on the link Guy posted was an interior pic of the Ford Five Hundred.

I don't see anything to get excited about with the new Focus's exterior. The first thing it reminded me of was the '07 Aveo, which I find bland at best.

The 500's exterior is an improvement, except the euro-style tail lights. An American car should look American, IMO. Copy the Europeans and you'll be seen as a copy. An inferior copy.

The interiors of both cars look nice. I'm guessing that the Ion reference stems from the center-mounted display pod, which looks a bit like the Ion's center mounted gauge cluster.

at first i thought it was a saturn.

The interiors of both cars look nice. I'm guessing that the Ion reference stems from the center-mounted display pod, which looks a bit like the Ion's center mounted gauge cluster.Nah. They were referring to the exterior styling when they brought up the Ion. And that little display doesn't much remind me of the center mounted guages in the Ion (which I currently drive).

:)

I am sure all the kids will be clamoring for the new Focus.

I do see a lot of Ion in the Focus, especially in the front view.

It actually looks older than the previous one. Good job Ford :rolleyes:

Nah. They were referring to the exterior styling when they brought up the Ion. And that little display doesn't much remind me of the center mounted guages in the Ion (which I currently drive).

:)

I think the Ion comments stem from the headlights and grille that seem to have a shape similar to the Ion IMO.
I think the Focus looks ok but what I like is the bolder interior and sport to the exterior, although not to my liking I think in the segment the Focus is trying to operate in those features will do it well/

I like the interior on the 500 alot. Nice and not too busy.

Hmmm...I still don't believe you....:p

Dear God Ford, first the F250/350 and now the 500...are they having a contest to see just how ugly to make the front of a vehicle?

dad has a focus... yea he even calls it a cheap pos.. NO idea why he bought it(brand new)

while it looks 1892798172901x better than the current ones, inside/out, it still looks like crap on the outside.. the inside, thats a dif story

honestly, to me, it looks like a rejected design idea from a korean company from the 90s:barf:

and seirously, ford, loose those chrome bars on the grille. they look so damn ugly. much MUCH worse than the bowtie grille.

i dont know maybe thats just me:shrug:

I guess it's okay in a Nissan Sentra/Versa kinda way (not my favorites). I don't see this breaking new ground sales wise. Perhaps a year or two improvement, but this isn't going to save the ship. To think, they have a perfectly good Focus sitting a continent away complete with race heritage...

In UK/Japan:
http://us.tnpv.net/2005/WKA200510/WKA2005102449620_pv.jpg

In US:
http://us.tnpv.net/2007/WKA200701/WKA2007010668331_pv.jpg
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com//pictures/VEHICLE/2007/Nissan/2007.nissan.sentra.20103948-E.jpg

Another look at the mug:
http://us.tnpv.net/2007/WKA200701/WKA2007010668414_pv.jpg

You know the more I look at it, the more the name Ford Escort keeps popping up in my mind.

Repost! :lol:
http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=491222&page=2
:p

Another... wait, two more misses for Ford.

You know with the way Ford treats people Ive routed for their death for years. Pintos, Exploding tires, etc. but I love the AC Cobra, the GT40 and certain Mustangs and this is just painful to watch...:(

You know with the way Ford treats people Ive routed for their death for years. Pintos, Exploding tires, etc. but I love the AC Cobra, the GT40 and certain Mustangs and this is just painful to watch...:(
That was because when the tires blew out people were wrenching the steering wheel in a direction instead of just keeping the car straight.

Panicing when you're tire explodes is understandable.

Tires exploding is not.

Panicing when you're tire explodes is understandable.

Tires exploding is not.

It is not OK to panic and swerve the car when your tire blows out. I wouldn't call someone a complete idiot for doing it, but it is probably the result of not being taught correctly, and not paying attention.
I don't know about "exploding" tires.

The drivers skill is irrelevant, those tires should have never been on the road, Ford and Firestone knew that but went ahead anyway.

They are completely at fault for anything that ensues.

...and Ford wonders why it has to plunk sacks of cash on the hood of its cars to move 'em....

The only thing nice I have to say is that the interior isn't horrible.

:blah:

Just based on styling, I would take this car over the Chevy Cobolt. And I generally like the Cobolt.

this is also the base model, im guessing there will be a better bumper somewhere along the line...and i really like the interior and the microsoft "sync"

A new coupe is also available. This looks a bit nicer than the sedan:
http://cwimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/urlget?url=/files/specials/2007_detroit/ford/focus/04.jpg
http://cwimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/urlget?url=/files/specials/2007_detroit/ford/focus/03.jpg

As others have said, I think the car gets a bit too busy as you move from the rear forward, but overall it's an improvement. Anything is better than the last completely forgettable restyle.

Given the resources they were likely allowed, I think its a good effort. Its just that they have simply made it competitive again. Whereas for once, we would all LIKE to see Ford introduce a class leader.

That was because when the tires blew out people were wrenching the steering wheel in a direction instead of just keeping the car straight.

Also most of these people were on Interstates driving 80+ mph in a SUV with tires that weren't designed to be going that fast.

The drivers skill is irrelevant, those tires should have never been on the road, Ford and Firestone knew that but went ahead anyway.

They are completely at fault for anything that ensues.


The tires were made by scrub workers when there was a strike at Firestone. Ford took a lot of the blame when the tires were what was defective.

As far as the original topic, the front end looks a lot like a 1998 model Contour with some new edge styling added in.

I guess it's okay in a Nissan Sentra/Versa kinda way (not my favorites). I don't see this breaking new ground sales wise. Perhaps a year or two improvement, but this isn't going to save the ship. To think, they have a perfectly good Focus sitting a continent away complete with race heritage...

In UK/Japan:
http://us.tnpv.net/2005/WKA200510/WKA2005102449620_pv.jpg

In US:
http://us.tnpv.net/2007/WKA200701/WKA2007010668331_pv.jpg

I agree completely, the Focus over in the UK/Japan looks really great, (especially the RS)...This new one for us looks positively revolting though :barf: This is a prime example of why Ford is in so much trouble. They took a car that was just boring and made it downright offensive looking...All they had to do was give us the UK Focus...How hard would it really be to give us a turbocharged 4WD Focus that was styled like the euro version? I just don't understand why they refuse to capitalize on their success in WRC...For those that don't know they are ahead in the manufacturers' cup this year by 29 points. Why not build a car to fight the EVO's/STI's? They can obviously build one that can do it in competition, (OK, Mitsu didn't run this year but you get my point), so why the hell can't they build something that could do the same on the street???

Its better than the last restyle but I still think the Fusion and the Edge are the only vehicles I like that chrome grille styling on. It looks HORRIBLE on the 500 and even a little weird on the Focus. I do like the lines of the coupe though, once you get past the front end.

You know with the way Ford treats people Ive routed for their death for years. Pintos, Exploding tires, etc. but I love the AC Cobra, the GT40 and certain Mustangs and this is just painful to watch...:(That was because when the tires blew out people were wrenching the steering wheel in a direction instead of just keeping the car straight.

The tires exploding was a result of people swerving when they blew out? did you read my post before you quoted it???:confused: A tire blowing out = expolding tires By saying they blew out in the first place you pretty much restated what I said.

There is no such thing as exploding tires.

You can have a blow-out, but this is very far from "exploding tires."

Let me guess, you also read the National Enquirer??

There is no such thing as exploding tires.

You can have a blow-out, but this is very far from "exploding tires."

Let me guess, you also read the National Enquirer??

youre arguing semantacs? You win! How about if I had said blowouts due to defective tires in multiple multiple SUV's.

That was because when the tires blew out people were wrenching the steering wheel in a direction instead of just keeping the car straight.


Statisically, the LR tire blew out more often than not, panic stop with unequal traction on the rear in a vehicle with a high center of gravity and a narrow track and well the results speak for themselves.

Also most of these people were on Interstates driving 80+ mph in a SUV with tires that weren't designed to be going that fast.

The tires were S rated, so they were designed to go 112 mph for upto 8 hours without failure at the proper air pressure (may not have been possible to adequately inflate the tires to a proper air pressure given the load imposed by the vehicle). However, the reccommended inflation pressure from Ford in most cases was 26 psi, I believe now that that the reccomended pressure is 32 psi.

A big problem with the tires on the Exploder was probably due to the already low air pressure combined with poor maintenece which allowed the tires to lose even more pressure (you lose roughly 1% a month as the air migrates out of the tire naturally if all things are perfect) combine that with cold air which decreases air pressure by 1% for every 10 degree drop and the problem worsens.

So when summer comes around and people have failed to check thier air pressure, the tires were most likely below the 20% threshhold which constitutes a dangerously underinflated tire (26 psi x .20 = a friggin measley 5.2 psi). Combine that with a tire's worst enemy HEAT and boom! Or that they just came apart like they were put together.

As a consequence, the feds enacted the TREAD act which now requires vehicle manufacturers to install an active or passive tire pressure monitoring system on all new vehicles produced.

The focus redesign looks like a saturn. Where is this "excitement" I'm supposed to see? Boring as heck. The first gen focus looks best to me.

EEEW did the focus find a staurn and make babies?

UK's Focus ST:

http://www.ford.co.uk/spg/getImage.asp?imageName=SPG_3_28_0_23521.jpg&filename=Focus%20ST.30.08.05

Turbocharged 5 cylinder

UK's Focus ST:

http://www.ford.co.uk/spg/getImage.asp?imageName=SPG_3_28_0_23521.jpg&filename=Focus%20ST.30.08.05

Turbocharged 5 cylinder

Does anyone know why they refuse to bring that here :confused:

Does anyone know why they refuse to bring that here :confused:

Stupidity!:mad:

The tires were S rated, so they were designed to go 112 mph for upto 8 hours without failure at the proper air pressure (may not have been possible to adequately inflate the tires to a proper air pressure given the load imposed by the vehicle). However, the reccommended inflation pressure from Ford in most cases was 26 psi, I believe now that that the reccomended pressure is 32 psi.

A big problem with the tires on the Exploder was probably due to the already low air pressure combined with poor maintenece which allowed the tires to lose even more pressure (you lose roughly 1% a month as the air migrates out of the tire naturally if all things are perfect) combine that with cold air which decreases air pressure by 1% for every 10 degree drop and the problem worsens.

So when summer comes around and people have failed to check thier air pressure, the tires were most likely below the 20% threshhold which constitutes a dangerously underinflated tire (26 psi x .20 = a friggin measley 5.2 psi). Combine that with a tire's worst enemy HEAT and boom! Or that they just came apart like they were put together.

As a consequence, the feds enacted the TREAD act which now requires vehicle manufacturers to install an active or passive tire pressure monitoring system on all new vehicles produced.

Honestly, it wasn't really the tire pressure - it contributed, but there were actually other reasons that were more significant contributors to the failure. Low tire pressure just aggravated the other conditions.
Let's not proliferate conjecture or heresay... people believe things if they read them enough times!;)

The TRUE reason for the WRECKS was tread separation and violent loss of control (not a simple flat-tire or even a blow-out... blowing out a side wall is fairly common and still manageable, but a 20-30lb chunk of tread coming off and slapping the car, fenders, steering linkages, tie-rod ends, E-brake cables, etc can actually take control of the vehicle away from you... BIG difference guys) - and there were 3 or 4 main reasons for the TREAD SEPARATIONS...
1) Design of the "wedge" that supports the outer wall/corner
2) The direction of the reinforcement chords which caused internal heat buildup
3) The "recipe" for the rubber used had more lubricants than normal - which made them easier to produce, but the laminating glue could not bond as well (not to mention they re-glued cold ones in the plant to minimize production losses which is a no-no!)
4) The steel chord construction design was flawed - it had voids in the center which allowed movement and friction, compounding the other problems.

The whistle-blowers in Firestone's Decatur, Ill plant claimed and proved that they were forced into re-gluing casings and tread caps after it had been proven unsafe, because Firestone didn't want to "eat" the costs associated with scrapping so many cores simply because the glue didn't stick the first time. This came out in court documents on December 11, 2000. Firestone quickly accepted "liability" for the design and procedures once evidence and witnesses were produced.

Here's a link to an archived USAToday article about it...
Officials to say adhesive linked to bad tires (http://www.usatoday.com/money/consumer/autos/mauto949.htm)
"Ford Motor and Bridgestone/Firestone are expected to tell federal safety officials Monday that both companies are coming to similar conclusions about Firestone tire failures on Ford Explorers — conclusions that appear to exonerate Explorer and tire workers."

"...focus on problems in the tire manufacturing process involving adhesives between the tires' steel belts and on the tires' design in the so-called wedge area, which is a layer of rubber between the belts."

Another good article...Depositions don't match company's lines (http://www.usatoday.com/money/consumer/autos/mauto950.htm)
Another... Firestone leaves an indelible mark (http://www.usatoday.com/money/consumer/autos/mauto973.htm)
"Look back 22 years, to accounts of the Firestone 500 radial. Treads were peeling. People were dying. Defective tires were traced to the factory in Decatur, Ill. Congress held hearings. Tires were recalled.
This time, Bridgestone/Firestone ordered a massive recall after Ford analyzed the tire company's internal data and spotted an unmistakable pattern of tread-peeling problems on Firestone P235/75R-15 ATX and Wilderness AT tires. The Decatur plant, again, built most of the tires that failed. "

Here's another link to the possible causes brought out in court...
http://www.sptimes.com/News/webspecials/firestone/wrong.swf

Before I digress on the Explorer subject, and ask that we return to the original topic of the thread, I'd like to point out JUST how much influence the media has had on this subject, and what so many of us educated gear-heads in here actually believe happened in that fiasco.
Many actually still think the problem was related to the design of the Explorer due to Firestone's legal approach, or at least linked to the tire pressure recommendation from Ford, when in fact there has YET to be an Explorer of any year/model riding on GoodYear or Michelin tires to suffer the same results or have tread separation, even when they are inflated to the same 26psi rating. No Kidding. :yes:
THIS is the same influence the media has when it comes to convincing people that Asian cars are superior to Domestics.;)
Hear it enough times, don't look into it for yourself, and viola... you believe whatever they tell you and even start preaching it yourself!

Now, having resolved this little side bar - we will now return you to our regularly scheduled programming which is already in progress!


Does anyone know why they refuse to bring that here?
The last I heard, the folks at Dearborn don't think the European styling will sit well with the American market. (DON'T ASK ME!?!?)
You know, overwhelmingly, it seems that aggressive styling that is popular overseas is continuously doped-down if brought to the USA, and I don't get why.
Look at the Monero-turned-GTO...
Look at the Mondeo-turned-Contour...
Look at the Focus...

Crap... I dunno what they are thinking. :confused:

Focsu was very long in the tooth and due for a redesign. Doesn't do much for me but I'd never buy a Ford.

Same lame powertrains??

The last I heard, the folks at Dearborn don't think the European styling will sit well with the American market. (DON'T ASK ME!?!?)You know, overwhelmingly, it seems that aggressive styling that is popular overseas is continuously doped-down if brought to the USA, and I don't get why.
Look at the Monero-turned-GTO...
Look at the Mondeo-turned-Contour...
Look at the Focus...

Crap... I dunno what they are thinking. :confused:

A result of focus groups (trying to please all of the people all of the time)??????? Or maybe just boring people who like borting cars and think America is filled with people just like them?