you know how the Escort started out the same in the U.S. and Europe, and then...
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ohhh wait, duh you're right. for some reason i thought the escort had more of a history in the U.S., but i guess it doesn't.
ok, with that said, how close does everyone think the U.S. Focus will stay with the Euro one?
do you all think it will still be a "world" car for some time, or that slowly the models will evolve into some bastardized american version, and an even cooler euro line?
ok, with that said, how close does everyone think the U.S. Focus will stay with the Euro one?
do you all think it will still be a "world" car for some time, or that slowly the models will evolve into some bastardized american version, and an even cooler euro line?
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Don't forget the real #1 reason - Americans have ****ty tastes. Sure, some of our regulations are impediments to importation but they are not the final reason to not import. Pretty much any car can be mildly modified to pass regulations - or find a way to be excluded from regulation - if there's enough of a market to make it worth it. If Lotus can import the Elise, do you think it's that hard to get by safety standards? And if the Viper, CL55 AMG, M5 and other big ass overmotored cars can pass emissions, do you really think that for instance a twin turbo V6 can't be tuned to pass? Car companies just care about the money, so if they see a market they'll bring the car over. When they whine about regulations, what they're really saying is "We don't see enough sales to justify the bother."
[ 05-04-2003, 01:49 PM: Message edited by: proxemac ]
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One word, California. Many cars do not get imported because of the CARB standards. Since Capitalism is all about profit and bottom line, car companies do not import certain cars because it is not cost effective to make them CARB legal. Unfortunately most companies don't just say "screw california, we'll sell everywhere else." California has a massive population so they would rather not lose out on sales there. so we lose out.
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Ford has already said that on the next redesign the US focus is gonna look VERY different from the Euro focus. What is up with that I have no idea...
You gotta remember there is no to almost no cost saving is having the same design in Euro AND the N.A. market. Ford still runs 2 complete assembly lines. They do not "share" parts between the 2 cars (that I am aware of)
The huge thing to remember is that in Europe, the Focus is a valuable money making car for FORD. In the N.Am. it is pretty much just sold as-is by Ford so they can continue to make SUV's and not get killed by CAFE standards. Look at the bottom line on each type of car. Ford N. America, makes pennies to nothing on a Focus compared to the mark up on F-150's, Expeditions, Explorers etc.
I could see the day where Ford just slops some crap together with the cheapest parts, and sells the N.Am. Focus only in Fleets and minimal consumer sales... the same way they killed off the Escort.
I hope this doesn't happen, but until the compact car segment in N.Am takes on the same value as it is in Europe, we always run the risk of getting all the left over crap.
Cheers.
The huge thing to remember is that in Europe, the Focus is a valuable money making car for FORD. In the N.Am. it is pretty much just sold as-is by Ford so they can continue to make SUV's and not get killed by CAFE standards. Look at the bottom line on each type of car. Ford N. America, makes pennies to nothing on a Focus compared to the mark up on F-150's, Expeditions, Explorers etc.
I could see the day where Ford just slops some crap together with the cheapest parts, and sells the N.Am. Focus only in Fleets and minimal consumer sales... the same way they killed off the Escort.
I hope this doesn't happen, but until the compact car segment in N.Am takes on the same value as it is in Europe, we always run the risk of getting all the left over crap.
Cheers.
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The reason Europe gets better "smaller" cars is because of perception and need.
Perception: Americans tend to associate "small" with "cheap" so no matter how good the car is, they have to price it cheap for it to sell, so the cool small cars (if a version exists here at all) become watered down versions of what's available across the pond.
Need: Americans have cheap gas and wide/straight roads (perfect conditions for an SUV/large car environment
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). A fuel-efficient corner carver isn't necessarily going to appeal to the masses here like it does in Europe.
Perception: Americans tend to associate "small" with "cheap" so no matter how good the car is, they have to price it cheap for it to sell, so the cool small cars (if a version exists here at all) become watered down versions of what's available across the pond.
Need: Americans have cheap gas and wide/straight roads (perfect conditions for an SUV/large car environment
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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">So far I bought FSVT springs, some other miscelaneous suspension components, and a stock transmission/engine mount from the dealer. All were made in europe.
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