http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/02...uga-crossover/

I'm guessing this will be the 2012 Ford Escape.

 

That is frickin' sweet looking! I would totally buy one of those if it was a 30+mpg hybrid and could tow 2000lbs.

 

awesome news. ford needs it!

 

If it comes to Louisville it will go to the Explorer plant rather than the KTP (Kentucky Truck Plant). The Explorer plant was expected to be converted to produce a unibody SUV Explorer in a few years. My wager is that someone's signals got crossed and the Explorer will still be built there. The Kuga could theoretically be built beside a unibody Explorer as long as it is a flex line.

The plant is one of the oldest automotive plants outside Michigan in the US.

 

Very cool looking, probably the best looking small ute if they bring it stateside

 

Were is the next Focus going to be built? I'd expect the Kuga/Escape to be built there. I hope they don't pull a GM and get rid of the Escape name. No one knows what a Kuga is, yet Escape is Fords best selling vehicle after the F-150.

 

I don't have any inside knowledge on where things are going to be built, I am just following the bread crumbs like everyone else. I would guess the next Focus will be built in Mexico, where the current Focus is built.

 

They're calling this a crossover, so shouldn't it be replacing the Edge? I like the looks of the current Escape much better than this thing.

 

Very nicely styled.

Something I dont often say of a Ford product.

Thumbs up to Ford.

 

It is basically the exact same size as a US Ford Escape. The Kuga came out in 2008 and is on the Ford C1 platform. My guess is the US will not get the version show, we will get the next generation, probably a 2012 and I can't see how it wouldn't replace the Escape or be called Escape.

 

It will be called Escape, and it will be built in the US. It will consist of 4cyl and hybrid models only. This will end the overlap with the Edge.

91 Z28 4me, the Focus is built at Wayne Assembly, in the US, and has been since the Hermosillo plant was retooled for the Fusion/Milan/MKZ. The Fusion had to go to Mexico, as it is one of the most popular cars in Mexico and Brazil, and could only avoid import tariffs, if NOT built in the US.

The Focus will continue to be built in the US, as will other C2 (update of C1) varients. Ford is retooling a couple of truck plants to build the other C2's. I can't remember the name of the plant, but there is a newer plant that is across the street from Wayne Assembly. The current thinking, is that this plant will get all of Focus production, and Wayne will be closed. However, I imagine that this would depend on volume.

 

I must be the only one who doesn't like it.

- tacky side vents (a la Focus),
- unnecessarily large lower grille,
- awful center-mounted antenna (why don't they get integrated into the window?),
- the tired and frequently (ab)used rear quarter-window
- the fact that the belt-line starts lower than the hood line
- bug-eye headlights that stretch across the sides nearly to the center of the wheel wells

I think it's rather ugly.

 

According to the plant manager who was on the local news out of Louisville the Kuga will be replacing the Explorer. Or at least the Kuga will be built on the line the current Explorer uses. Regardless the BOF Explorer will be no more, which has been known for a while now.

 

Not fond of the look...and looks more like a Volvo than a Ford.

 

The next Ford Explorer is the Taurus X replacement, and is based on that architecture and was done here. It's locked & loaded and ready to go next year.

Kuga is the Escape's replacement and will carry the Escape's nameplate. It's also due next year as well.