First Drive: 2012 Ford Focus

[detroiter]

$23,000 for a Ford Focus with "titanium" handling? For $23,000 I'd rather
go plop that down on a RWD turbo Hyundai Genesis R spec, a car that would
wreck that Focus in every way possible. Good job charging rediculous prices
again Ford.

[Thirty-Nine]

Originally Posted by detroiter

$23,000 for a Ford Focus with "titanium" handling? For $23,000 I'd rather
go plop that down on a RWD turbo Hyundai Genesis R spec, a car that would
wreck that Focus in every way possible. Good job charging rediculous prices
again Ford.

Right, but I doubt there are few people cross shopping the Focus and the Hyundai Genesis R Spec.

It's a bit like saying why would you buy the $23,000 Focus, when for the same price you could get an F150 that can haul way more stuff.

[kou]

I like how this car was developed in europe not the USA and has been the staple for years. now they bring a shitty version of both the fiesta and focus with everyone thinking there awesome and trying to save the planet, big woop.Any car brought to the USA gets pu##ed down.

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by kou

I like how this car was developed in europe not the USA and has been the staple for years. now they bring a shitty version of both the fiesta and focus with everyone thinking there awesome and trying to save the planet, big woop.Any car brought to the USA gets pu##ed down.

This has often been true but is becoming less so.

The Fiesta and new Focus are virtually the same worldwide under Ford's new global product strategy. There are only minor differences and Americans are no longer going to get the watered down junk that was the first and second generation US spec Focus.

As a result, the new US Fiesta and Focus are pricier than Americans are used to paying for sub-compact and compact economy cars. Now, those complaints are coming in. Seems Ford can't win either way.

The difference has always been that Europeans always were willing to pay premium prices for small cars which is why they've gotten the goods. Americans associate size with premium price tags which is why we've always gotten stripped small cars. It's not necessarily the automakers fault, just a market and economic reality.

Ford's now betting the American market is ready to pay for great small cars. We'll see.

[kou]

Well the USA missed out on the allwheel drive focus with 300hp and i think they will skip the new RS model also.

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by kou

Well the USA missed out on the allwheel drive focus with 300hp and i think they will skip the new RS model also.

Those would probably be $30+K. They just wouldn't sell enough to justify. Although it would be good competition for the WRX/STI & Lancer EVO. Those established models have a hard enough time selling as it is.

[tk1971]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

Those would probably be $30+K. They just wouldn't sell enough to justify. Although it would be good competition for the WRX/STI & Lancer EVO. Those established models have a hard enough time selling as it is.

I whole-heartedly agree. At the end of the day, very few regular Joes will be willing to spend $30k on a turbo AWD car based on an Econo-box chasis.

These cars don't get any better in the used market. Trust me... Try selling a 2 year old EVO IX for about $25k privately... The kind of people who know what these cars are, won't have $25k to buy a used car. With all the supposed fan base that these cars have on the internet, I suspect most of them are under aged fan-boys driving around in their parents' Volvo and dreaming of the EVO / STI.

[detroiter]

Originally Posted by Thirty-Nine

Right, but I doubt there are few people cross shopping the Focus and the Hyundai Genesis R Spec.

It's a bit like saying why would you buy the $23,000 Focus, when for the same price you could get an F150 that can haul way more stuff.

because they are trying to make a "sporty" car. A f150 isn't sporty, it's built for hauling. So a comparison to a genesis is a very fair comparison, since it also is a "sporty" car.

[Thirty-Nine]

Originally Posted by detroiter

because they are trying to make a "sporty" car. A f150 isn't sporty, it's built for hauling. So a comparison to a genesis is a very fair comparison, since it also is a "sporty" car.

I think lumping a FWD four-door compact in the same class as a RWD two-door sports car isn't a fair comparison, but that's just my two cents. I also don't believe there will be many people cross shopping the two.