New 2012 Ford Focus unveiled (pics)

[liberalpragmatist]

This looks VERY nice.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/11/2011-ford-focus-unveiled-u-s-and-euro-models-finally-unite/











It will the same model sold in Europe and the rest of the world, with some small regional tweaks.

Not to turn this into a Ford/GM fight, GM actually looks like it has some good things in the pipeline too. There's the 2011 Chevy Aveo:



http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f70/naias-chevrolet-aveo-rs-concept-87774/

And the new GMC Granite:



http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/11/gmc-granite-concept-offers-professional-grade-bix-box-styling/

[snooper2]

1. Interesting,

looks kind of like a Volvo on update :)

[Codeine]

2. The Granite concept looks fantastic.

I'd buy that in a second.

[tridim]

3. Is that a hatchback?

I love hatchbacks, but they're hard to find these days.

[Codeine]

7. It will be available

as a five-door hatch and as a four-door sedan.

The Ford C-Max MPV will be available in NA soon as well, built on the same Ford C1 platform.

[Codeine]

8. oops

dupe

[SemiCharmedQuark]

76. So do I!

We're looking for a hatchback right now actually. Hubby's Pontiac Grand Prix got totaled by another driver who "didn't see" the red light this past December.

[tammywammy]

4. The Focus looks greats! n/t

[zbdent]

5. Not to attack GMC (I have a 2007 Focus, and a 1976 Corvette) ...

but that GMC "Granite" is fugly ...

edited to add:

My apologies, I should have said "in my opinion, that GMC Granite is fugly ..."

[Codeine]

9. You really think so?

My jaw dropped when I saw it --I think it's stunning.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. I'd go with 'fugly' too

Any idea what 'bix box styling' is? That might give us a clue to the intent of the designer. It looks like they've said "I want a huge grill, and then I'll fit in a car behind that. Just take a box, and smooth off the edges".

[tridim]

14. Yep, it's the gigantic grill that turns me off too.

I do think there are lots of people who like the semi-truck look.

[Codeine]

16. I guess I just like that asthetic.

I like the Dodge Caliber and Nitro styling as well, though I'd never buy the latter.

[spinbaby]

17. It seems to be the "in" design

Big grill, high shoulders, squinty narrow windows, butt up in the air. I don't like the look.

[JVS]

20. I say fugly too

[RexDart]

25. Looks kinda like a toad.

although my first thought was that it looked like one of those slab sided Volvo station wagons, and not in a good way.


But I do like the look of the Ford.

[liberalpragmatist]

23. It's a genre that people either love or hate

Cube cars like the Scion xB, Honda Element, Nissan Cube. Many people hate them, others love 'em.

Personally I agree that, at least among those cube cars, the GMC Granite looks great. Of course, if you don't like that style to begin with, you probably won't like the Granite all that much.

[zbdent]

29. Please accept my apology ...

I have updated the post to reflect that this is MY OPINION ...

[GreenArrow]

27. Couldn't agree more.

It's hideous.

[Romulox]

37. It's obviously a take on the Scion, Kia Soul form factor...

:hi:

[City Lights]

54. Totally agree. nt

[Brickbat]

6. Total love! I had a 2001 Focus wagon and Mr. Brickbat has a 2008 Focus and they are excellent,

excellent cars. Mr. Brickbat gets around 35 mpg in his. They're solid, comfortable and dependable, and they look classy.

[sandnsea]

10. Did we learn nothing from the Gremlin & Pacer?

Those GM cars are awful. The Focus looks good though.

[Mudoria]

11. ?

You must be joking. The Granite has very nice lines.

[Codeine]

12. Are we seriously comparing

cars from forty years ago -- nearly half a century - to new models? Seriously?

And neither the Pacer nor Gremlin were GMC cars anyway.

[sandnsea]

15. Ugly is ugly

and those two cars are ugly with that same chopped off back end. No, the Pacer and Gremlin were built by AMC, who are where??

[Romulox]

30. sandnsea? Meet the reality of aero-dynamics. Aero-dynamics? sandnsea.

Now that the two of you are acquainted...

[NNN0LHI]

18. Goddamn I wish I would have had the nerve to buy some Ford stock at $1.06 a share last year

But I didn't.

Fuck me!

Don

[Romulox]

28. You and me both, brotha! nt

[NorthCarolina]

46. We picked some Ford stock up when it was at $1.27/share. Might top $12/share today! eom

[NNN0LHI]

49. Its at $11.99

I am happy for you.

Don

[proud2BlibKansan]

52. Just checked. It's up to $12

:woohoo:

[proud2BlibKansan]

51. You got a better deal than we did

Started watching it when it was a dollar a share. Talked about buying it and before we knew it, it was up to $1.50.

[proud2BlibKansan]

50. I bought at $1.50

:)

[blue_onyx]

53. Me too

I "had the nerve" but no money. It's probably still worth buying now. Ford will continue to go up.

[high density]

19. Granite looks better (IMO) than the other "box cars"

i.e. Scion xb, Kia Soul, Nissan Cube

Exterior of the new Focus looks great, but I'm not sold on the interior.

The new Buick Regal looks nice:

[blue_onyx]

56. I really like the new Buick products

It's too bad they are a little outside my price range.

[superduperfarleft]

21. That Focus looks awesome.

I've always said that American car companies need to get new designers, as they're notorious for putting out monstrously ugly cars. Not that I care about looks, I'll drive whatever's dependable and affordable, but many people do.

[semillama]

22. This is the sort of stuff I've been waiting around for

I knew that the the Big three could really put out good looking cars if they wanted to, and that those could be the cars that are the everyday vehicles, not just the sports coupes and power cars. The focus in particular is a VERY sharp looking car.

Of course, since my record of car ownership is that I never have owned a car made in the same decade as I am currently living, I won't be driving a car like that Focus for another ten years...

[GoCubsGo]

24. Ah! My next car!

The Ford, not the Chevy, which as others have said is FUGLY. I hope my 1996 Ford holds out until it's available.

That Chevy thing looks like a bad revamp of the old Honda Civic hatchbacks of the late 90s. I wasn't impressed by the style of those, either...

[Codeine]

33. To be fair to Chevy

that's really just a rebranded Daewoo Kalos, at least in its current model.

[liberalpragmatist]

44. Sort of

Old model is just an old Daewoo. The new Aveo is also going to be sold as a Daewoo in Korea, but it's not really correct to say it's a Daewoo "rebadge." The thing is that these days, Daewoo is really just GM's Korean nameplate. While the Daewoo design studio contributes to Chevy's new cars, like the Cruze and the new Aveo, product development is shared globally. It's no different than how the new Ford Focus, for example, was designed in Ford studios in both Europe and the U.S.

Basically, the new Aveo is a car that is developed by GM globally and sold in Korea as a Daewoo and everywhere else as a Chevy.

[Codeine]

47. Yeah, I saw that after I posted. Romulox learned me.

I'm excited to see it'll be built here by UAW workers.

[Lance_Boyle]

26. diesel available?

I'll take a Golf, if not.

[Romulox]

36. VW's are much less reliable than Fords. Get to know the name of the fellow at the service dep't.

:hi:

[alfredo]

31. The fusion hybrid won car of the year at the Detroit Auto Show.

[blue_onyx]

57. Ford also won truck of the year too

Although, I would have vote for the Buick LaCrosse for Car of the Year.

[alfredo]

60. I haven't seen that one yet.

[skipos]

68. I have one and it is great. nt

[Romulox]

32. Focus is made at Wayne Assembly, Wayne Michigan. Aveo production is moving to Warren, Michigan.

What's happening at Ford is very exciting.

[Codeine]

35. Are you serious?!

The Aveo will be UAW too?

Fucking sweet.

[Romulox]

38. Yup. Small correction though--Orion Township, Michigan, not Warren.

http://www.freep.com/article/20091217/BUSINESS01/912170753/GM-to-build-Chevrolet-Aveo-at-Orion-Twp.-plant

[PVnRT]

34. Good looking little car

We might look into that Focus when we replace the Aveo, although I'm really in the market for a V6.

[Gold Metal Flake]

39. Granite: Finally a worthy style successor to the Pontiac Aztec.

[Romulox]

41. Check out the competitors in that class.

[Codeine]

43. I love Cube Cars!

Now gimme one made by American unionized labor and I'll be a happy consumerbot.

[Gold Metal Flake]

61. No. I refuse.

Not looking not looking can't make me!

[Alcibiades]

40. Is that Aveo a rebranded Astra

Looks a little like it.



I've read elsewhere that the Astra will be given to Buick, which I think is a big mistake. It should be a Chevy.

[Romulox]

42. I think the Aveo is a much smaller car than that. nt

[blue_onyx]

55. I think they are about the same size

but the new Aveo will be a little larger than the current model.

[Romulox]

58. Astra's wheelbase is 5" longer...I guess it's all relative.

(I know which one I'd rather drive!)

[Codeine]

45. The current Aveo is a Daewoo.

Funnily enough the Astra is sold as a Chevy in Latin America. In Europe it's the Opel Kadett (I think.)

[liberalpragmatist]

48. Astra will be both Chevy Cruze and a Buick

The NEW Opel/Vauxhall Astra looks like this:



The same platform, Delta, will underpin two new models, the Chevy Cruze:



... and an unnamed Buick, which will share styling cues with the new Buick Lacrosse.

[Alcibiades]

63. Wow

Leave it to GM to take something that looks as good as the Astra pictured above and turn it into something that looks like another vanilla small car. What the hell is wrong with them?

[liberalpragmatist]

67. Cruze isn't bad

The picture I posted isn't very flattering, but I've seen other pics that do it more justice.

It's supposed to replace the Cobalt and has generally gotten favorable reviews. But style-wise you're right that it's nowhere near as good as the Astra or the new Focus.

The Buick version should look nice - like a mini version of the new LaCrosse.

[jakefrep]

59. The Focus looks like a BIG improvement over the current model.

Not crazy about the GMC Granite, though.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

62. I have driven the European version of the Focus

It drove just fine, but the interior was shit.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

64. The Granite: a car to run over trolls!

[Xithras]

65. I'm glad to see Ford re-embrace interesting design for this model.

The first generation Focus was a visually edgy design in its day, and was a hot seller as a result. Ford wanted to appeal to a younger demographic, and the sedate Escort wasn't cutting it. The Focus succeeded wildly for them.

The current generation Focus, on the other hand, seems to have gone back to its Escort roots. It looks like a car my grandmother would own...modern, but visually bland and uninteresting.

I would guess that Ford has heard the complaints about the crappy new design, and has decided to address them. I wouldn't even consider the current generation Focus for a purchase because it's an ugly car. The new one will definitely be on my list to check out (I will be helping my daughter buy her first car next year, so that's not an empty statement).

[ghurley]

66. I thought this was my brother's scion until i saw that it was a 4 door. n/t

[harun]

69. My 2002 Focus is still doing fine for me. There is another version of this new Focus

with sliding doors. Just about perfect design but I would like it to be a little longer for a bit more space in the back. I'll have to see what they come out with.

[closeupready]

70. Wow, that IS nice.

Love me one of them. :)

[flvegan]

71. Lord, please make Ford sell a *real* SVT version of that hatchback?

Not that anemic lump of crap they tried a few years ago. An honest-to-goodness 280 or so horsepower version, with a six-speed. AWD would be nice, but I'd be willing to settle.

Thank you.

[Codeine]

73. Two years at least for a performance version.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/06/rumormill-entry-no-3-256-north-america-could-get-next-gen-for/

[Blue_Tires]

78. true...back in '99 i thought Americans would storm Dearborn when they saw

the badass Focus the Euro market got compared to the grocery getter for its home market...

[Confusious]

72. Looks like every other car out on the road

:shrug:

What's the big deal?

[PHIMG]

74. Wow! Very nice. Ford is raising the bar.

I follow cars obsessively, go to the auto shows, dealers, etc. The domestics have really raised the bar. The interiors of Buick's newest models rival Lexus and Chevy's new models, most notably the Equinox are best in class.

As an American I take pride that GM and Ford have "got it" and are producing attractive cars that Americans want to buy. Republicans wanted GM and Ford to die to break the back of unionism. The auto unions are in need of reform clearly. But the survival of the US domestic auto industry is important to our nation's future.

Is this beginning of the American Manufacturing Renaissance?

[liberalpragmatist]

75. I still wonder about Chrysler though

I understand that they bailed out Chrysler because there was a willing bidder and its failure may have resulted in several hundreds of thousands more job losses.

But they have virtually nothing in the pipeline. There current models are terrible and they're YEARS away from even releasing a solid new model.

GM, by contrast, had extensive new product development before its bankruptcy. It needed to restructure, but now that the fat has been trimmed it has a very good chance of survival just based on the fact that they have a very solid collection of new cars coming out over the next few years. Chrylser? Not so much.

[PHIMG]

77. I agree. Chrysler should have been allowed to die probably. n/t

Might have been better for GM and for Ford for Chrysler to die off. Or maybe slimmed down on some life support down to just 3-5 good models. The biggest thing Chrysler has going for it is low expectations.

[blue_onyx]

80. Chrysler wouldn't have been allowed to completely die

Some on the auto task force wanted a merger between GM and Chrysler. GM would have basically bought Jeep, the Dodge trucks, and the minivans. The rest of vehicles would have discontinued and most plants would have been liquidated.


"In April, as both automakers were surviving on government aid and fighting bankruptcy, Obama administration officials spent two weeks working on a plan for GM to acquire Chrysler's best assets and keep the doors open on a third of its factories.

Some members of President Barack Obama's auto task force saw it as a fallback position if Chrysler failed to reach a partnership deal with Italy's Fiat SpA. Other members opposed it. But top task force officials ultimately decided it was too late in the game for a merger, too complicated and would cost too many jobs compared to an alliance with Fiat.

http://detnews.com/article/20091124/AUTO01/911240365/The-inside-story-of-the-GM--Chrysler-bailouts


The article is pretty interesting and the Detroit Free Press also did an 8 part story on the bailout.

http://www.freep.com/article/20091213/SPECIAL04/312130001/1411/special04



I agree that the Chrysler situation is more uncertain. They don't have anything new coming out until 2012 which is big issue. Hopefully they are able to make it.

[roamer65]

79. Looks a lot like the Fiesta due out this summer.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/fiesta/

[tridim]

81. Wow! I love the hatch. It's very CRX-like.

Ford is being very smart.