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2019 Focus

TyphoonFiST

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#2
I saw this also...It looks like our only hope to have our cake and eat it too in the hot hatch realm with Ford moving forward. I'd roll a wagon.....If they made an ST Wagon definitely! I guess we will have to wait and see in 2019 what really happens! we all know Fords ability to hose its Stateside hometown folks and give better stuff to the cock womble Muppets across the pond. [bootyshake]
 


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I saw this also...It looks like our only hope to have our cake and eat it too in the hot hatch realm with Ford moving forward. I'd roll a wagon.....If they made an ST Wagon definitely! I guess we will have to wait and see in 2019 what really happens! we all know Fords ability to hose its Stateside hometown folks and give better stuff to the cock womble Muppets across the pond. [bootyshake]
Wasn't the Fiesta ST designed by ford europe and then brought to the US. American arent buying so you cant blame ford for selling their wares only in markets the product does well in. It would be cool if it was easy to import cars from Europe for personal use
 


TyphoonFiST

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Wasn't the Fiesta ST designed by ford europe and then brought to the US. American arent buying so you cant blame ford for selling their wares only in markets the product does well in. It would be cool if it was easy to import cars from Europe for personal use
Where did Ford originate from? I didn't forget....did you? I'm pretty sure it wasn't europe.


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Ford ST

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Where did Ford originate from? I didn't forget....did you? I'm pretty sure it wasn't europe.


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USA all the way. Ford has forgot who they are. I will never buy a chinese made car never ever no way in hell.

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Watched a video recently comparing high grade bolts made in us vs china. Im sorry guys.. china has really stepped up their game.

Its an AvE vid if you wanna see for yourself
 


Ford ST

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Watched a video recently comparing high grade bolts made in us vs china. Im sorry guys.. china has really stepped up their game.

Its an AvE vid if you wanna see for yourself
Don't care about how they do it. It's about supporting jobs in the USA I would rather support or friends to the South Mexico, than ever support China. I would rather buy a Toyota made in America then buy a Ford made in China.

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Where did Ford originate from? I didn't forget....did you? I'm pretty sure it wasn't europe.


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Founded By Henry Ford in Detroit, Michigan. Still doest change the fact that the Fiesta ST was designed by Ford Europe
 


BRGT350

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Ford, just like everyone these days, is a global company. Parts come from all over the world and the products are sold in multiple markets. Am I thrilled about a China Focus? No, but I would rather drive an imported Focus from China than a SUV made in the US. The average consumer, actually closer to 99% of the consumers will never know the Focus was imported from China and most won't care. The EcoSport is from India and the original Transit was imported from Turkey. Nobody cares.

A quick history lesson, Ford has been in Europe since the early 1900's. It mostly operated separately from the US version. During WWII, bombers made by Ford at Willow Run were bombing Ford factories in Germany and France that were making equipment for the Nazi's. To protect Ford on both sides of the pond, there could be no communication or involvement between them during the war. After the war, the companies went back to making products for their markets. The legendary GT40 was built by Ford of Europe and didn't become competitive until Shelby, Moody, and the "whiz kids" figured out the engine and aerodynamics. Ford of Europe collaborated with DeTomaso with the Pantera that was sold in the US by Lincoln. The Fiesta may have been the first attempt to bring a product from Europe to the US in the late 1970's. The next world car was the Escort and was very similar between the markets for the first few years. The European model became a monster and the US one became something barely suitable for a rental car. Ford shared cars under the Merkur name in the 1980's with limited success. Ford tried the world car again in 1995 with the Contour and Mondeo. It was too small of a sedan for the US market and died. Sad since it was probably the best sedan that wasn't German. Horribly complex and expensive to repair, but a winner in terms of a proper driver's sedan. Next up with the Focus in 2000 and Cougar. Ford once again turned the US Focus into a rental car and the European version became a hot hatch. Under Mulally, Ford once again tried to combine products under the "One Ford" program. The US got the Transit, C-Max, Fiesta, Escape, and Focus. The Mondeo and Fusion were eventually merged as well. Europe got the Mustang, Edge, and shared the Escape/Kuga, Focus, Fiesta, Mondeo/Fusion, and probably some other stuff. Over the course of all of this, Ford has had JV's and owned all sorts of car companies. Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, Mazda, Volvo, Daewoo (nobody remembers that the Korean's built the Aspire and I think the Festiva), and countless other companies around the world. This created a vast manufacturing and supply network that can supply both regional and global markets. Ford's standardized assembly line and quality systems mean a car built in China should have the same quality as one built in Mexico, Germany, or the US. The processes are such that it doesn't matter who puts it together. With this being a global marketplace, a worker in China making a Ford that I buy can probably buy a Buick that somebody in the US made. Assuming of course that tariffs and other trade games aren't messing up the system that should work great for everyone. Would I buy a Chinese Focus ST? Yeah, I don't have a problem with it. I would prefer mine to be made in Mexico, but that is because all the cars I have owned in the last 18 years have all come from Mexico and have all been flawless.
 


BRGT350

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and yes, the Mk7 Fiesta was designed in Europe as a global platform. It was introduced as the Verve concept at Geneva in 2006/7, then as the Fiesta after that. The Verve sedan concept was shown at the NAIAS the following year. The Fiesta Movement cars were all imported from Germany in 2009 and were all EU models. Production started in 2010 of the America's version of the Fiesta with different bumpers, emissions, terrible Powershift, a sedan version (that was also sold in China), and many other unique tweaks for the US market for both consumer and regulatory reasons. The Fiesta ST was a joint development project between the TeamRS engineers in England and SVT in Detroit. TeamRS lead almost all of the development. SVT handled the unique aspects for the US market and regulations. TeamRS in Germany did the Focus ST and thought the British Fiesta ST was too rowdy and childish. TeamRS and SVT were merged to become Ford Performance and had the highest level of collaboration on the Focus RS.

Why was the Fiesta built in Mexico? Because it would be sold in North and South America. South America always had the Fiesta, and I think Mexico did as well. They were imported from Europe. Putting a plant in Mexico would allow both markets to be served and South America has better trade relationships with Mexico than the US does.
 


zanethan

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#12
Don't care about how they do it. It's about supporting jobs in the USA I would rather support or friends to the South Mexico, than ever support China. I would rather buy a Toyota made in America then buy a Ford made in China.

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To be fair the plant that used to be producing the Focus in the US is being retooled for the bronco, so those jobs aren't lost...

Realistically speaking, they will be hiring more labor as the volume of the Bronco will likely be greater than the Focus. So in theory moving Focus production to China will ADD US based manufacturing jobs...just saying.
 


Ford ST

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To be fair the plant that used to be producing the Focus in the US is being retooled for the bronco, so those jobs aren't lost...

Realistically speaking, they will be hiring more labor as the volume of the Bronco will likely be greater than the Focus. So in theory moving Focus production to China will ADD US based manufacturing jobs...just saying.
You are right. It just seems that foreign manufacturers are investing a lot in American manufacturing, but American companies are investing in cheap oversea labor. I just would not buy a Chinese made car.

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zanethan

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You are right. It just seems that foreign manufacturers are investing a lot in American manufacturing, but American companies are investing in cheap oversea labor. I just would not buy a Chinese made car.

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It's got more to do with logistics than anything. Toyota sells a ton of Tacoma's in the US but not at many in Europe/Asia so it makes sense to invest in a plant and save on shipping from a Japan plant. Since these are new facilities and states will offer steep tax incentives to lure them this makes the news.

Meanwhile, the big 3 already have the plants here and are using them to produce the more popular platforms (trucks). Because they are existing plants no news/excitement is generated. Less profitable model production is shifted to other plants based on demand. So it makes perfect sense to move Focus production to China as they sell more of those in Asia/Europe.
 


BRGT350

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It's got more to do with logistics than anything. Toyota sells a ton of Tacoma's in the US but not at many in Europe/Asia so it makes sense to invest in a plant and save on shipping from a Japan plant. Since these are new facilities and states will offer steep tax incentives to lure them this makes the news.

Meanwhile, the big 3 already have the plants here and are using them to produce the more popular platforms (trucks). Because they are existing plants no news/excitement is generated. Less profitable model production is shifted to other plants based on demand. So it makes perfect sense to move Focus production to China as they sell more of those in Asia/Europe.
yep, you got it! Logistics, markets, demand, and supply chain all play a role where plants are placed.
 


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I will never buy KDM junk.
KDM Junk? I've owned late model Kia's and they are great cars. Actually coincidentally enough the only vehicles I have had issues with is American Cars. Ford Mustang, Engine and Electrical issues, Ford F-150- Engine and Transmission issues thay almost left my family stranded 1000 miles from home. Owned a couple of Chevy's, all of which had issues. One of my considerations when ordering a fiesta st was if it would last 20 years without falling apart on me. Still not convinced it will.

Ive owned Toyota, Kia, Porsche, BMW, and Audi all with minimal issues. Even a 30 year old Toyota's with 200k miles had no issues outside of standard maintenance.
 


jmrtsus

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It is one thing to say I will not buy a Chinese built car for political reasons, same with Korean cars. But studies show the Kia's are more reliable than our Fords........what does that make our cars if they are "junk"? Scrap metal? As a used car the auto Fiesta is a don't touch with a ten foot pole car in any source of used car guides. Ford has never mastered infotainment systems.....look at the update problems for the last year. Add in a terrible transmission, cars that catch fire and steering wheel that fall off so they stay low on the reliability/resale lists. My only beef with my ST is the same old problems with Ford. Their technology is still years behind, Sync 3 may have been better but it is still a POS with all of it's update problems for many owners. I think the same people that thought a digital clock was earth shattering technology in a car still run the Ford IT divisions.
 


BRGT350

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I would still love my ST if it came without any infotainment system. I doubt any company has mastered infotainment systems. Just about every journalist I know complains about all the infotainment systems. Using a lot of rental cars over the years for vacations and company travel, I can say that all the infotainment systems I have used are bad. I find Sync3 to be one of the best. I have logged plenty of time playing with it in a number of cars and it is pretty decent. I would never buy or not buy a car based on the infotainment system. It ranks pretty much dead last on importance. My Mustang doesn't even have a radio.
 




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