2008 Ford Focus

[ifcar]

[rohan]

Well at least they stuck with somehting they knew!  great find!

[Catman]

Vents and grilles that have no function are best left out of a design.  I think they give an otherwise solid design an element of cheapness.

[gasoline]

picture #1 does anyone else see they are just copying the Acura TL?
Picture #2 What the hell is Ford doing with these stupid vent things?  Why is this suddenly cool for Frod?  WTH?
Picture#3 actually this is kinda a cool picture.

At what point do you just begin to feel ridiculous?

Every single car that was ever conceived this NAIAS season--foreign or domestic--has been struck with such comments ("It looks like...").
When does it just feel ludicrous?

I wonder what this car "looks like"?

[TheIntrepid]

I see Versa and Sebring from this angle. The lights are shrunken Impala lights.

[rohan]

At what point do you just begin to feel ridiculous?

Every single car that was ever conceived this NAIAS season--foreign or domestic--has been struck with such comments ("It looks like...").
When does it just feel ludicrous?

I wonder what this car "looks like"?

So now we're not allowed to point out that something looks like somehting else?  Thanks for pointing that out mr. post policeman.  (where is the middle finger smilie when you need one?)

[WookieOnRitalin]

I don't get the exterior, but that doesn't mean its bad. It's different, but some gripes...

1: Tail lights are too small. Their placement looks awful and they appear to look like zits on the rear.
2: Sebring hood. What the hell? Ugly.


Interior looks sharp and its going to handle like a champ. It's just not enough to unseat the Civic or Corolla. It'll cut into Cobalt sales most likely and some Corolla sales. Hopefully, the hatchback versions come out sexier on the exterior.

The more you see the Euro Focus, the more you wish Ford would just import the design. That's a lovely car.

[rohan]

I see Versa and Sebring from this angle. The lights are shrunken Impala lights.

You're not allowed to say that- ask gasoline aka mr. post police.

[TheIntrepid]

You're not allowed to say that- ask gasoline aka mr. post police.

What the hell are you talking about?

[rohan]

At what point do you just begin to feel ridiculous?

I guess when my sig says "just testing this sig thing. Never had a picture-sig in my life. Congratulate me if...."

[rohan]

At what point do you just begin to feel ridiculous?

Every single car that was ever conceived this NAIAS season--foreign or domestic--has been struck with such comments ("It looks like...").
When does it just feel ludicrous?

I wonder what this car "looks like"?

This is what the hell I'm talking about.  Apparently he doesn't like it when cars are compared.

[sportyaccordy]

Is this just a re-skin? Why not just bring the Euro Focus? It's such a good car, and 132,443 times better looking than this. They could do a simple customer survey...put a card with this Focus and the Euro one out, and see which one people go for first.

[giant_mtb]

What's with the miniscule tail lights?

[rohan]

...and 132,443 times better looking...

Do you have a link to those numbers mr.??
J/K!

[nickdrinkwater]

Looks like SHIT.  Thank god our Focus doesn't look like this.

What's with that stupid vent/line thing on the side - what were they thinking?  The line looks ridiculous and the vent type thing looks cheap as hell.  The 'FOCUS' writing on the back is just tacky to be honest.

This car could be anything, it has no identity as a Ford at all IMO.  They obviously couldn't decide whether to use Chevrolet Impala or Mitsubishi rear lights, so went for a mix of the two.  What happened to the 3-bar grille they introduced on the Fusion?

What the hell is going on with that interior?  Maybe it would look better in a darker colour.  Or maybe not.

Ford deserves to go out of business if it carries on bringing out stuff like this, IMO.

[SaltyDog]

Oh, and the door handles look like the Malibu's.  That's what I forgot to include.  It looks like a "Best of" (or "Worst of") taken from an assortment of other ugly cars.

The Euro one posted on the first page looks real nice OTOH.

I'd like to see the Focus become a world car, though it might be too big and expensive.

[MX793]

Click on thumbnails for press release with pics:

Anybody catch the following bit in the press release:

"We raised the beltline to give Focus more modern proportions," says Lon Zaback, Focus chief designer.  "By raising the belt line, we created a sleeker profile.  The overall look is solid and more substantial."

Well, Mr Zaback, just because everybody else is raising the belt lines of their cars doesn't mean it's a good design direction to follow.  And higher beltlines don't create a sleeker look, they create a car that has wheels that appear to be disproportionately small.

[gasoline]

This is what the hell I'm talking about.  Apparently he doesn't like it when cars are compared.

Wow. You've been ruffled.



Go take a nap.

[rohan]

Wow. You've been ruffled.



Go take a nap.

I do get that way once in a while- sorry nothing personal.  I'm working the end of a 5 day week with travel to Chicago and a turn around from last night I got out at 12am and had to be back at 7am.  Sometimes I just get that way- ignore me when I do. <---I need to do some of that today!

[USA_Idol]

The Good:
1.  The styling is very much freshened.  That new "face" is certainly distinctive.
2.  The interior may be better-constructed, possibly from better materials.
3.  The coupe is a welcome addition...even if it does mean less versatility than the hatchback.

The Bad:
1.  The rear end is too plain-looking, with taillamps that are too small for the car.
2.  The side "vents" are silly.
3.  The wheels, on every version I've seen so far, are ugly.
4.  The interior is too plain, and that gigantic piece of "aluminum" (actually silver plastic) is tacky.
5.  Why are there no hatchbacks?

My comments are a preliminary judgment at best.  Ultimately, final approval (or disapproval) requires that I see the car "in the metal." 

[mazda6er]

The Good:
1.  The styling is very much freshened.  That new "face" is certainly distinctive.
2.  The interior may be better-constructed, possibly from better materials.
3.  The coupe is a welcome addition...even if it does mean less versatility than the hatchback.

The Bad:
1.  The rear end is too plain-looking, with taillamps that are too small for the car.
2.  The side "vents" are silly.
3.  The wheels, on every version I've seen so far, are ugly.
4.  The interior is too plain, and that gigantic piece of "aluminum" (actually silver plastic) is tacky.
5.  Why are there no hatchbacks?

My comments are a preliminary judgment at best.  Ultimately, final approval (or disapproval) requires that I see the car "in the metal." 

I agree with most of that. Especially that the taillights are too small.

[gasoline]

I do get that way once in a while- sorry nothing personal.  I'm working the end of a 5 day week with travel to Chicago and a turn around from last night I got out at 12am and had to be back at 7am.  Sometimes I just get that way- ignore me when I do. <---I need to do some of that today!

Well if you're going to be in Chicago, what you need is this:

http://www.naias.com

[Raghavan]

It's ugly. All of it.
GIVE US THE EURO VERSION!!!

[AutobahnSHO]

Although they are pretty sill, and I'm usually staunchly against extra non-functional crap, I think the vents give it a little bit of a different look.  I agree that the original (or Euro) were better, but maybe all the silly G6, cobalt, and Sentra buyers will look at this car.

[SVT666]

I wish people would shut up about bringing over the Euro version.  It's already been explained more times then I can count.  It would cost too much to bring the Euro-Focus over here at this time, however the next generation Euro-Focus is being designed to be sold in both markets.  That car is set to appear in about 3 or 4 years.  In the meantime, there is nothing wrong with the current Focue.  Everything about it is still competitive.

[TBR]

I started to say something, then realized how useless it would be.

[sportyaccordy]

What's with the miniscule tail lights?

Agreed. There are a lot of details that seem to have been thrown in for no other reason than to establish some kind of cohesive design criteria across Ford's brand. Not to mention, bigger tail lights would go a long way towards reducing the height, broadness and slabness of the trunk. I hope Ford hasn't tooled all the pieces to create all the panels for this, as IMO they really need to head back to the drawing board.

[nickdrinkwater]

I wish people would shut up about bringing over the Euro version.  It's already been explained more times then I can count.  It would cost too much to bring the Euro-Focus over here at this time, however the next generation Euro-Focus is being designed to be sold in both markets.  That car is set to appear in about 3 or 4 years.  In the meantime, there is nothing wrong with the current Focue.  Everything about it is still competitive.

They would shut up if the American one didn't look like rubbish.

[IrishGuy]

My 2000 Pontiac Sunfire's airbags were controlled by the stereo.  I got an aftermarket deck put in and they had to mount to stock deck in the trunk so that the airbags would still work in a collision.  Manufacturers want you to buy their most expensive system so they do shit like that to turn the consumer off of the aftermarket and fork out the dollars for the factory premium sound system.

You are incorrect. That is a myth. The only thing controlled through the radio were the chimes for the door ajar w/key/headlights.

[S204STi]

Looks like someone crimped off a huge diarrhea-riddled turd and slapped wheels on it...Who designed this thing, a bunch of kids at the Helen Keller school of design?