http://www.fordeurope.net/pictures/p17_sectionid/429

 

Will this one make it to NA?

 

Thats the point of the global Focus, to sell in all markets.

 

OH YEAH!! This will work quite well!! FINALLY we get the Euro Focus!

 

Too much Euro design for N. America.

 

Apparently this car is being designed in the U.S., so there is no question it is meant for our market.

 

More than likely 2010 means we will get in it in 2011-we cannot wait that long, Mr. Mulally!!

 

Actually that is the 2010 model year car, not 2010 calender year. That car will be out in less than 2 years.

 

Well its a sketch, so its a bit over the top. And the Fiesta/Verve has already shown how they'll adapt FoE kinetics to NA without killing the car's looks. I'm optimistic.

 

Puh-lease. Perhaps you think that current turd Ford of North America is trying to pass off as desirable is competitive in its class?

Besides, since when did ANY production car look as radical as an early sketch. Guaranteed it won't be anywhere near that swoopy.

And, forgive me, but haven't we already seen this car in the flesh - isn't it basically the new Focus that's already out in Europe...?

 

Sorry bud, but I've lived in Europe and the United States long enough to see how different people are when it comes to cars. And there is no way that global Focus will succeed. It will be just like Mazda Mazda3: liked by many, but bought by few.

 

I don't care if you've lived on the moon. Facts are facts, and the fact is that more North Americans are buying import vehicles from Europe and Japan than they are from the 'Big Three' domestic automakers...which is why the big three are fighting for their very lives even as sales decrease year over year.

So it's erroneous to say that North Americans don't like import vehicles. Clearly they do...and more than they like North American vehicles.

A good real world example of Euro styling succeeding in North America is Saturn, which is enjoying strong sales and good growth ever since it became effectively a European import division...according to a recent interview on Autoline Detroit.

If the new global Focus looks half as good as that drawing - and it's well executed, properly packaged and competitively priced - it will sell, and sell well. Bet on it.

It ain't 1985 anymore.

 

They're buying imported vehicles from Japan. Not Europe. Only European cars that are doing well in N. America are German luxury cars like BMW and Mercedes.

Name one non-luxury European car that succeeded in the States. Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique? That was a global car based on Mondeo.

As for Saturn, last year they sold only ~52,000 Auras. That is far less than 96,000 they were planing to sell. All new European VUE (a.k.a. Opel Antara) is also doing pretty bad (sales are down 10% compared to 2007 model). Even Astra, which is one of the best selling cars in Europe, Saturn is planing to sell only about 30,000-40,000 of them. Far below ION's sales.
Volkswagen Golf is another example. One of best sellers in Europe. US sales have been pretty low (25,000-30,000).

There is no way Ford will be able to sell more than 100,000-120,000 global Focus in the States. And that is pretty low number for $15,000 compact.
Ford should do what GM did with Chevrolet Cobalt. It's nowhere as good as Civic and Corolla, but it's a strong seller.

Like I said, global Focus in the States will be the car that many people will like, but only few will buy.

 

That kind of status quo thinking is what has led Ford to have to mortgage the family jewels just to stay in business.

Your Contour/Mystique comments...? It's not the 1980s anymore. The XR4Ti...? Great car. Too bad it entered the U.S. market with a different engine than the one it got in Europe, which effectively emasculated the car's performance. No wonder it didn't do well.

As to the numbers you're quoting, they're out of context and don't really mean anything, assuming they're accurate (and I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt, here, because as I mentioned, they just reported on Autoline Detroit two weeks ago that Saturn is doing well). For example, take Golf sales: What are the global sales for this car, because the new Focus will be a global model? What are North America-wide sales (not just the U.S. - I see tons of Golfs in my area...and I live in a major metro area)? Will the rise in fuel prices increase sales of cars like the Golf worldwide?

Please define "non-luxury" European car. If Volkswagen were doing so badly here, they'd pull up stakes and return to Europe, wouldn't they? They're clearly doing just fine. In fact, they've openly stated as part of their new strategy that they hope to pass Toyota in global sales in a couple of years; a difficult ambition, but one they will never achieve without North American sales.

Is the BMW 328 a luxury car? Hardly.

And again, regardless of whether buyers are buying from Europe or Japan, Japanese and European cars bear far more resemblance to one another (look at the side profile of the new Jag XF and the Lexus GS) than either of them bear to North American vehicles - so my comments still hold: North American buyers prefer import cars to American cars, regardless of whether their Euro or Japanese, which means they also prefer that aesthetic right now.

As I said: if the new Focus looks anywhere near as good as that sketch, is properly equipped and competitively priced, it will sell, and sell well...and you can take that to the bank.

 

Contour/Mystique was 90s. Late 90s. Not 80s.

Last year VW sold around 430,000 Golfs in Europe. US sales were around 20,000.

Saturn is doing well because they have more models now than they used to have in the past. Saturn currently has 5 models. They only used to have 2 or 3 vehicles in the past. Plus, there are other factors like moving Saturn in upper class. Saturn is not cheapest GM brand like it used to be. Aura's sales were far below expectations. Or take Astra as an example. Last year Opel sold over 400,000 of them in Europe (4th best selling car in Europe). Saturn expect to sell only 30,000-40,000 of them in the States.

Why do you think companies like Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Peugeot, Citroen, Renault, Skoda ... don't sell their vehicles in the States? Because Americans don't buy European non-luxury cars. BMW and Mercedes are only European companies with strong sales in the States.

I guarantee you, sales of global Focus in the USA will be far less than current US-only Focus.

 

first of all you guys are talking about a bunch of crap that has no connection to this topic. This new upcoming focus, in America IS STILL A FORD! To Americans, its still a focus.....a car that last time I checked sold pretty **** well. As long as Ford prices it competitavely like the current one, it will sell. Why? Because it looks good and is a Focus. It looks 10x better than the current one, and when it finally releases, people WILL notice that.

Honestly, how many people other than enthusiasts are going to buy a new focus knowing its a global model? Probably none. To them it will be an American car.......that looks hot. Regardless of the kinetic design cues it has, the customers who are going to buy it are buying it because its a good looking focus or because its priced well and is better looking than the competition.

Everyone talking about European cars selling here in the states is pointless because its not a european car, its a Focus, and in the end no one in America will know that its design came from Europe.....unless they are car people like us.

 

PS.......Doesnt it look a little bit like the Fiesta? I dont know for sure but I heard somewhere that Farley wanted to bring the 3 door Fiesta to the states. And if thats the case wouldnt these two cars compete with eachother? I dont know the exact size of the Fiesta, I know its smaller but im just not sure on how much smaller is all.

 

Just take a gander at FoE, they have the Ka, Fiesta, and Focus 3-doors. Our small-car market isn't quite that robust, but with the Focus edging up-market a bit there's space for both it and the Fiesta to co-exist.

 

Yea I guess the Focus is moving a little up market. If that is the case, especially when this new one comes to town, that would be a great time to bring in the Fiesta to "take over" the current Focus's small car market. Dont know how that would actually play out, but would certainly be an option. Pricing.....it all comes down to how they price them and how they segment them. With Farley working with Ford now, I really think that they have a good chance to change people's views on "cheap Fords"

 

There is no way new Focus will be prices like old and current one. Why? Because it will cost more to built. Current crappy Focus and all new Focus can't cost the same to built. Expect it to cost at least $1,500-$2,000 more.

Focus is pretty low seller for $14,000 compact. For example, in February Ford sold almost 28,000 of them (and that is with +22%) while Honda sold over 44,000 Civics and Toyota sold almost 42,000 Corollas. Heck, even Chevy Cobalt (over 34,000) outsold Focus.