This would be nice to have here in the states.

 

Yes, it would. A very thought-provoking topic...

 

It's a little pricey @ > $30K. But Ford would probably sell a lot of them.

 

The ST was featured in the newest Topgear i believe (the one with the Zonda, 430, and Ford GT driving through paris) episode. Jermey loved it.

The ST is the entry level performance model. It has a 220hp turbocharged 5cyl engine (from volvo i beleive). It looks great. Ford is still at work on a more powerful AWD RS (rumored 300+horses).

Ahh, the stuff we don't get over here. Pics of the ST below. I think it looks great...even in that bright orange. Nice looking little hatch.

 

If they brought the RS here, I'd seriously consider it.

 

would be nice to have here, indeed. I think ford didnt want to bring the new focus because of the cost, but I believe the cost is being amortized now with the sales of mazda 3s and volvo S40's

 

I thought it had more to do with the fact that the US focus was only on market for like 3 years and so they didn't want to rush in the new Focus that shares platforms with the Mazda3 and volvo you mentioned.

They thought it was too early in its lifecycle to be bringing a new one out. Big mistake imo, cause they could definitly use the new focus in their much improved car line. Holding back on stuff is what's killing them. They need good new products NOW, not 3-4 years down the line if they want to survive.

 

most likely, ford felt that they hadnt gotten their moneys worth out of the old platform. couple that with the more expensive C1 architecture, and the fact that either margin would suffer or prices would rise (and subsequently alienate buyers) and sticking with the old platform is a no brainer. that was in 03, though. this is three model years later, and we still have the original focus. assuming ford can price it within a reasonable amount of current pricing (05 model) then its time for us to get the C1

 

Trying to sell a $30K focus would be tough in the US. I somehow doubt it costs that much to produce. They could sell it for $25K w/o much problem.

 

well whats the base price on a focus now? 17?
edit: 12495 after rebates for a BASE model. funny enough, our base model has more horsepower than everything shy of the ST over there, which makes drawing pricing comparisons hard. the 225 hp ST rings up to just under 31k after converting to dollars. compare that to our SVT (last year being 2004, so adjust a bit for inflation) and its cost of 18.8k.
18.8 was a good price, as it kept it a good ways away from the mustang GT. 31k puts the ST squarely in mustang pricing. and we all know how ford is about their mustang...

 

Only Focus that would probably cost $30k U.S would probably be the RS when it does see production (and if it does come to our shores). Other focus models (including ST) should be alot cheaper.

 

my girl just an 05 a few months back. black ZX3 with every option, even heated seats for $15,000. i was impressed with the car, it had alot more stuff than i thought it would at that price: heated seats, 6Cd in-dash changer, sunroof, 16in wheels, automatic, all the power stuff. it has decent acceleration and is pretty roomy (unless you have the back seats folded down for 300+ miles with the dog in the back to Watkins Glen).

i asked her if she would get an ST or the RS, she said if they were here, yes. she wanted an SVT and the RS definetley peaked her interest.

 

I wish ford uk had a comparable focus to ours. its either 80, 115, or 225 hp.
interesting to note is that much like video games, movies, and the like. UK prices seem to be the same numerically as ours, just in pounds instead of dollars. maybe the C1 chassis isnt as eexpensive as I thought, and the brits just managed to screw themselves? after all, $19k makes far more sense for the ST than 31k.
a zetec hatch in australian dollars is 27490 ($20,574.xx). in pounds its 15,395.00 ($27,176.xx). in germany its €18.075,00 ($21,654.xx) remember this is a model roughly comparable to your gfs focus that came up to 15k (I assume after rebates) also noteworthy is the entry price of the mazda3 4 door hatch($17,9xx) vs that of the US focus 4 door hatch ($13,9xx) and the Euro 4 door hatch ($22,613.xx). I wonder what makes one C1 4 door hatch so much more than the other, considering that they are equipped roughly the same way (possibly nicer in the 3)

 

it was with rebates, but without them it still only came in at $18,000, which is still cheaper than a comparable oversees model. i guess the price difference could be due to the demand in the segment the car is offered in. most of Europe would value a car the size of a Focus higher than they would something the size of say a 300C.

as far as the Mazda vs Ford price in the US, i'd say it could have somehting to do with the cost of the two body styles. maybe the look of the Mazda just costs more to do.

 

less to do, rather. the mazda3 is a C1 model, just like the euro focus. you may be right on the demand issue. I just hope ford can manage to keep prices down without crazy decontenting.