http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6vCpVldeKQ


To put my 2 cents, I must say I wont be buying one... No hatchback model?
Very dissapointed with this new model.[:(]

Theres nothing more annoying then hearing "uhh" and "umm" 200 times.

wow, i only watched about a minute of that before feeling like i'm gonna puke. no hatch option, cheese ball fake side vents, hideous head lights, that damn chrome grill... do i need to continue?

uuh....ummm......and umm.....ya and umm...NO!

But seriously, the 08 is kinda growning on me. i love the look of my focus and would'nt trade it for the new one on any day, but it's starting to look a little more appealing.

Only good thing that I heard in that vid was the diesel motor in the back round

God, Ford sucks. You all realize that the 2000-2004 Focus that most of us know and love was just an aberration - just Ford going schizo and actually bringing us an undiluted Euro product - right? The 2005 U.S. facelift (facePLANT is more like it) and the 2008 prove it's back to business-as-usual...

But as long as Americans keep buying their crap, we'll never get the goodies like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDgEZYpKeh4&mode=related&search=

4hp more then the 07- yeah i knew about it but he seems like its a selling point, heh.

"I am the Chief Engineer for the 08 brand new 08 Ford Focus"

Translation "I have no personality. If you can't tell by my lack of on camera skills, look at the car I just designed."

He sound just like a lame car salesman trying to sell a car by describing useless fact. I test driving a Focus once and the salesman said "Look how far this seat can recline" and then he actually reclined all the way back.

no no no no no they suck need more hatch

"4hp more then the 07- yeah i knew about it but he seems like its a selling point, heh."

^^ya really.
Actually the big selling point of this car are the awesome little side vents...jk.

I can forgive the "uhs" and "ums" (he sounds Brazilian and he's probably nervous), but:

Notice that it's an ENGINEER giving the tour. Certainly none of the car's "designers" would be caught dead on video with it. (That or they're all in the witness protection program.)

What a disaster.

"test driving a Focus once and the salesman said "Look how far this seat can recline" and then he actually reclined all the way back.

LOL!

Holy crap. The car may not be the greatest, but that video makes it, Ford in general, and Marcio all look and sound awful. That cannot possibly be a publicly released Ford-sponsored video. Maybe some kind of rough draft or screening. That guy is Marcio Alfonso, Chief Nameplate Engineer for Focus. CNEs are usually hard asses, but this guy... "the car, the, the 08 Focus has, uh, all new, uh, headlights. Those are a unique, uh, design" There's about the first 30 seconds of his speech...

Honestly!! I really couldn't listen to much more. Anyone know WTH "CarData" is?

*edit* Sweet Moses, I just listened to more... is he actually emphasizing the fact that it comes with a high mount stop light!?? He's really stretching... this is embarrassing to listen to. I'm almost thinking this is some amatuer video, filmed at a show or press event, maybe. Like some Joe points his camera at Marcio and demands a tour. That would explain the shoddy camera work and quality, the complete lack of preparedness on Marcio's part, and also what looks like other new models in the background. Then the Joe posts the vid up on YouTube to make everything look like a hack job. At least that's my story, and I'm stickin to it. It's the only way I won't feel like stabbing myself for being a Ford employee.

Ford better get there act in, if they don't sell hatchback there sales and profits are going to go[thumbd] .

Also theres something familiar about the interior style except for the steering wheel, Most of the interior fabric was ripped from the 08 Escapes,Tributes, and Mariners; the door handles, the shift noob head, the center console.

And seriously why can't we use Europeans 2.5 5 cyl duratec?
And why did they drop the 2.3 duratec?

I must say I kinda like the new interior, I like the heads up display they got going on....but other than that....dear lord ford dropped the ball on this one [smackbum] . Lets all cross our fingers that by 2011 they remove there heads from there a[:)] [:)] es....We should all take a march to SVT headquarters and demand a new performance focus....

With a man like this at the helm of the design effort, I feel as though we have nothing to fear.

.........

Ahem... uh yeah, I'll uh, I'll be at the Subaru/Honda/Nissan/Toyota/anybody else dealership if you need me.

^^^Subaru for me

Fiesta for me.

no no no that car its not a focus, nooooooooooooo focus=hatchback, that car looks more like a escort... just look at the coupe... thats a escort... they shouldnt put the name "focus" to that car.... and that dude on the video its lame... "european design" jajajaja

"The seats are all-new, very nicely designed for providing good lumber support and leather support".

wtf?

no no no that car its not a focus, nooooooooooooo focus=hatchback, that car looks more like a escort... just look at the coupe... thats a escort... they shouldnt put the name "focus" to that car.... and that dude on the video its lame... "european design" jajajaja

It does look more like a ZX2. Might as well put that badge on if there going to revert back.

Yep...I think ford screwed the pooch on this one. The fact that there is no hatch is going to drive loyal customers away. The styling is very lackluster and the car seems rather watered down. I'm also willing to bet that it wi handle like butt. headlights and grill look horrible, the fake fender vent is late '70's early '80's fake wood lame, and again...NO HATCH!
Now had ford followed suit and shipped us a MKII with a turbo 5 svt I'd bet that wouldn't be able to keep 'em on the lot.

no aftermarket radio in that ugly thing. is it me or did the radio look built right into the dash? it should definately have been named Escort instead. that is no focus!

God, he sounds like a used car salesman from a dealership who works at a dealership with a name like "Vinnie's Quality Used Cars!!" I wanna shoot this guy

"Large and spacious trunk, one of the best in its category." What the [:)][:)][:)][:)] does that even mean?!?!?!??!?!

This guys a tool. If he works for ford, I'm buying a Yugo

that was truley awful......and some people wonder why ford is going down the toilet.....we need the turbo 2.5 st from europe, that thing is beastly

the problem with the automotive industry is there are no more "car guys/gals" in upper managment........just a bunch of people looking at excel spreadsheets trying to make numbers look good......

fords exterior sytling on just about all 08+ models look like trash......

Well.....uh.....uh...umm...I like the color[dunno]

lol to funny, i was gonan post this video, saw it the day it went on youtube, i couldnt it was such a shitty video and all..

Interesting things I noticed:

1. The side vent thing is in the shape of an F
2. They kept the same windshield, plastic thing in front of windshield, side windows, window frames, that little kick out in front of the rear wheel as the old model. In fact, they just put lipstick on a pig.

Sweeeeet

Now i know what the guy looks like, so I can find him and beat some sense into him


Run Marcio....run

I cant believe that the Chief Engineer would actually show his face on a video walk through of that abortion ford calls a focus. That thing looks like something the mustang vomited up.
Seriously Ford....that car is nothing at all to be proud of and that video is a complete waste of bandwidth!

Sweeeeet

Now i know what the guy looks like, so I can find him and beat some sense into him


Run Marcio....run


You're right, he needs a good.....[boxface]

I'm very dissapointed with the 2008 model...booo ford!!!

We all hate the 2008 Focus...haha but I never tire of hearing people make fun of it [:D] it deserves all the lashings it can get!!!

Actually I would say I feel sorry for IT and that the designers and others involved deserve all those lashings...IDIOTS!!!

I wish we could find out that ONE higher-up read these forums. I don't recall having seen more than 2 people say that they liked ONE thing about the new Focus...wish Ford could see that for themselves. That way they could adequately prepare for the catastrophe that is to come in their small car segment.

Good luck Ford. It's been nice knowing you.

"The seats are all-new, very nicely designed for providing good lumber support and leather support".

wtf?
Lumbar and lateral.

the car was just as dull as the guy talking about it[sleep]

Seeing all this negativity makes me want to post the things I like about it.

1. Reduced weight. The managed to take out 50lbs. of weight versus the current Focus (if I recall right). That's amazing and should deliver big bonuses in terms of efficiency, ride, handling, etc.

2. I like the new look front end. It's distinctive if not as sporty as I prefer.

3. The interior. Finally a Focus with an interior that I wouldn't be ashamed to show off. Nice job with the new materials. The seats look great too. Just sporty enough.

The biggest let downs for me are that I don't think it is going to be competitive because:

1. Alot of people know its a facelift and will think it is unreliable like the '00.

2. It's not good enough to take the fight to Civic and Mazda 3.

It's too bad, because I think they did do a good job in so many places.

For all who would like a clearer video of the Euro ST review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQM1NUmK3qA&mode=related&search=

[rofl]

As for this thing, looks like I'll be eyeing the '08 GTi Mkv...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuQqCW78TI4&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp37BvVmzfY

(Had to include this)

Why no headrests for the back? Even Cobalts have this. Makes the Focus look cheap. And no option for 4-wheel discs or the 2.3?

I think the styling could be made to work (some lowered photoshops with wheels looked nice enough), and I like that they took some weight out, but it just doesn't deliver overall. Whatever happened to SVT?

I seem to recall some 00 and 01 foci having rear head restraints. Something happened in 02, and they went the way of the dodo - only appearing in fringe products such as the svt focus.

It's nice to see the engineers are as excited about the 08 focus as I am. Uhh, Ummm, yeah - it's a new focus. Very sporty.

Though, come to think of it - the 08 focus appears to be, like the 08 escape - a half arsed effort to make a new product out of something that's close to a decade old. At least Chrysler's half hearted efforts to extend the shelf life of the k-car were cool - you know turbos and stuff. Heck, if Ford just shoved turbos and an 05 esque refresh (el cheapo refresh), I think that would have gone over better than this truly half hearted attempt.