If I have any qualms about the Focus lineup at all, they derive from Ford's persistence in chasing the World Car dream. An X indicates that the vehicle was not manufactured for a specific year. Extra weight is given to the more serious areas such as major engine or transmission problems. It is, in short, not so fun to play Cassandra in the global automotive epic that will climax next millennium with a showdown between energy consumption, emissions control, and spacious individual vehicles. With the arrival of a trio of snappy Ford Focus models, we are meant to envision the latest stage of Ford's persistent, uninterrupted quest for the World Car.
If you do, tell us in the comments section below. Presented at the 2004 Paris Motor Show, the Focus sedan was actually the second to come off the assembly line, being preceded by the hatch, the first commercially available model. Specifically, I mean the sheer physical magic by which a series of discreet, still photographs springs alive into motion before our very eyes. Extra weight is given to the more serious areas such as major engine or transmission problems. Consumer Reports subscribers reported on any serious problems they had with their vehicles during the past 12 months that they considered serious because of cost, failure, safety, or downtime, in any of the trouble spots included in the table below.
Based on this data and further analysis, we predict reliability for the latest year. Last week, kp was the first to correctly identify our Mystery Vehicle, a 2000 Ford Focus. Based on this data and further analysis, we predict reliability for the latest year. On approaching this car, it's instantly apparent that the sloping, anteater hood and the starchy creases in fenders and doors advertise a dramatic departure from anything else on the road. This was brought on also by a significant increase in size wh. .
The plan is to do it with an automobile designed, engineered, and already successfully on sale in Europe. As a former film student, I have always marveled at the magic of the movies. Reliability History Reliability History The reliability charts are based on responses on hundreds of thousands of vehicles from our latest Annual Auto Survey. Edgier styling, a wider range of options, and improved performance… Chrysler literally invented the front-wheel-drive minivan 16 years ago. The results are presented relative to the average model that year. It is a dream that Ford has enticed me to share before, and my unabashed support for the ill-fated Contour has tended to marginalize my expectations as a North American auto enthusiast.
An X indicates that the vehicle was not manufactured for a specific year. An X indicates that the vehicle was not manufactured for a specific year. Interior quality and pronounced road noise mar this otherwise capable package though. A genuine subcompact, the Focus sedan is a tall and wide bubble inside that consigns the competition to inner spacelessness by comparison. Just the same, by shifting its Focus to appeal to younger buyers of subcompacts, perhaps Ford has not only conceived the right car to go global, but also the right chorus of new voices to spread the word about it.
Access, rear seat room and trunk space belie the fact that this is a small sedan. A New World Car It has been Ford's persistent vision, after all, to design, build, and sell a nearly identical car in all the world's markets--for the betterment of global commuters and the enrichment of the corporate treasury. The look is crisp, different, but with an exotic allure that entices rather than repels as does, for example, the less successful fauvist styling of the new Mercury Cougar. Ultimately, smart, clean, and affordable cars benefit even those of us who don't drive them--at least those of us who persist in our vision of private choices in personal transportation. What's compact and unusual outside, moreover, is unusually spacious inside, so that slipping behind the wheel or into any of the four passenger seats is a bit like passing through the looking glass.
On paper, only the 150-horsepower Dodge Neon outmuscles the Focus models equipped with the twin-cam, 2. I put around 80 000 km in two years. Consumer Reports subscribers reported on any serious problems they had with their vehicles during the past 12 months that they considered serious because of cost, failure, safety, or downtime, in any of the trouble spots included in the table below. Time, then, to descend the demographic staircase and return to the demimonde of subcompacts, favored by youngsters with entry-level paychecks and by budgeteers of every age. All this has very little to do with automobiles, of course, and yet it's uncanny how faithfully the new Ford Focus suite of subcompacts depends on this same technique in pursuit of that automotive holy grail, the World Car.
Ford Motor Company is recalibrating the North American small-car standard. Inside, new colors and materials offer a new level of convenience for compact car customers, while also adding new seat. But on the one continent that mattered then and matters still—all-dominant North America—overall sales of the car were a dud. Even though it's illogical to equate static images with moving reality, we defer to a persistent mental interpreter that allows us to give in to the illusion of motion--otherwise, we'd be hopelessly distracted and we'd never keep up with the story. Meaning almost 80 percent of the components used to build the car were the same for all.
Since then, a hungry market devoured 8 million of this maker's transport gadgets. This, packaged with true multi-link independent suspension at all four corners, yields spunky handling that is not only surprisingly reassuring but also devilishly tempting: It is virtually impossible not to toss this car around in traffic and through neighborhood twists and turns in a way that transforms the banal commute into a rally car rehearsal. This European-developed car offers ride comfort and agility on par with respectable sport sedans. The Focus manages to be both logical in its design as well as fun to drive. If you feel you have received this message in error, please view our customer care or access your here.
Our subscribers provide great insights into their satisfaction by answering one simple question: If they had it to do all over again, would they definitely buy or lease the same model? An X indicates that the vehicle was not manufactured for a specific year. Based on the C1 platform, the new Focus kept the same suspension system as the previous generation, but added rigidity to the bodyshell for better handling. Interior quality and pronounced road noise mar this otherwise capable package though. For its 2001 facelift, the Focus received a lot of minor modifications, all aimed at increasing the overall quality of the car. Released in 3 body configurations - 5-door hatchback, 4-door sedan and 5-door station wagon - the model was part of One Ford strategy. The car featured a lot of high tech innovations, like the rear multi-link suspension which which Ford managed to produce at a low cost by using a pressed metal technique.