[oldeguy]

Focus RS to start at 24,995............English Pounds, according to Autoblog.com

[Frost__2001]

oldeguy,Dec 16 2008, 05:54 PM Wrote:Focus RS to start at 24,995............English Pounds, according to Autoblog.com
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£24,995.00 = $45,761.70 in current exchange rates

[ZTWsquared]

oldeguy,Dec 16 2008, 05:54 PM Wrote:Focus RS to start at 24,995............English Pounds, according to Autoblog.com
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Interesting ... at today's exchange of 1.9 (assuming they sold it here for the same relative price) ... that represents a price of 47,500 CAD ... about 2,000 more than the top of the line Subaru WRX StI with the Sport Tech package.

[ZX3_2NV]

Damm you got me so happy with the $24 and then broke it when I saw Pounds They won't sell here for that price way to mush It needs to be around the price of the cobalt Turbo and SRT 4 rather than the STI and Mini Cooper

[dBlast]

All cars are more expensive in UK.

You can't just apply the exchange and expect the same relative price for cars here. (just look at the price difference between what we pay here vs what Americans pay for the exact same car)

Even on Top Gear when they quote a price for an exotic car in pounds and you apply the exchange, they are so much more expensive than what you can but the exact same car here.

[FocusGuy7476]

there are a lot of different factors that go into the pricing of a product, in this case the Focus RS would not cost 45k here in Canada. dBlast is right, you cannot just apply a foreign exchange rate to product to get the price that it would be in your home country. Not the way the current markets work anyways.

If and when we get the global platform for the Focus in North America, your going to see a similar pricing structure across the entire model line that now exists.

[oldeguy]

If I had the money........to hell with the Japanese STI's and Evo's, although I do like the way the Evo looks, I'd be buying an RS

[NOS2Go4Me]

If a Focus RS came in anywhere north of 40 large, I'd be buying the new WRX265.

I can't talk that s*** up enough - that HAS to be the best sport compact out there for the money right now.

[OAC_Sparky]

If you were to look back at my posts on this subject, I always said to all the people that were crying that the ST/RS EuroFocus wasn't here that they wouldn't want to pay the price that it was worth.

Which is why they didn't bring it here in the first place.

If you really want something badly enough you have to put your money where your mouth is. Tire kickers and wishful thinkers do not buy cars.

[darkpuppet]

OAC_Sparky,Dec 17 2008, 08:06 AM Wrote:If you were to look back at my posts on this subject, I always said to all the people that were crying that the ST/RS EuroFocus wasn't here that they wouldn't want to pay the price that it was worth.

Which is why they didn't bring it here in the first place.

If you really want something badly enough you have to put your money where your mouth is. Tire kickers and wishful thinkers do not buy cars.
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quoted for truth..

[NOS2Go4Me]

OAC_Sparky,Dec 17 2008, 07:06 AM Wrote:If you were to look back at my posts on this subject, I always said to all the people that were crying that the ST/RS EuroFocus wasn't here that they wouldn't want to pay the price that it was worth.

Which is why they didn't bring it here in the first place.

If you really want something badly enough you have to put your money where your mouth is. Tire kickers and wishful thinkers do not buy cars.
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Just because the British are either: A - loaded, B - stupid or C - both doesn't make the RS worth that much here. That goes double if it's FWD.

If the STI can be sold for 44-48Gs new and the WRX265 can be sold for 34Gs off the showroom floor, there's no way in hell anyone's paying 48Gs for a Focus RS. It can be 300+HP all it wants, but the Mazda3 is an example of what happens to that platform without a LSD - chaos. They're also forced to lower peak torque output in the first two gears. If AWD was part of the picture, power-reduction wouldn't be required.

The Cobalt SS is FWD and turbos done right. The Mazda3, not so much.

So, if the RS comes over here - add a Haldex AWD setup and keep the sticker at or around 36-38000. Then it will be worth buying.

[ZTWsquared]

FocusGuy7476,Dec 16 2008, 09:27 PM Wrote:there are a lot of different factors that go into the pricing of a product, in this case the Focus RS would not cost 45k here in Canada. dBlast is right, you cannot just apply a foreign exchange rate to product to get the price that it would be in your home country. Not the way the current markets work anyways.

If and when we get the global platform for the Focus in North America, your going to see a similar pricing structure across the entire model line that now exists.
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Obviously pricing is going to be different in Europe vs. here from a marketability point of view, but the essential costs of producing identical vehicles on either side of the pond aren't going to be significantly different - especially in an era where there is a movement to harmonize safety requirements.

There are a couple of things to consider, however when comparing UK prices to ours.

1. UK prices always include their 15% tax (VAT) as Europeans tend to talk about OTR (on the road) prices and we almost always look at MSRP.

2. The example I gave is representative of that ... a Subaru WRX STI in the UK is £26,039, or £22,643 before taxes ... that's 43,021 CAD ... compared to 40 to 45,000 in Canada before taxes for the same car - that's a fairly direct comparison.

So if Subaru can do it (sell for essentially the same pricing here as in UK) there's no reason why Ford can't ... so IMO saying that a Focus ST in the UK is £25,000 OTR, that equates to a Canadian MSRP of 41,300 before taxes ... that's squarely in the ballpark of the WRX STI, the EVO, Acura TSX Tech, ... and less than 10 grand more than a 200hp VW.

I'm not saying anyone's wrong or right here ... I'm saying that if a WRX or EVO can sell here for 40k+ - there might just be a market for a Euro spec Focus ST in the same price range.

[Flofocus]

ZTWsquared,Dec 17 2008, 12:30 PM Wrote:I'm not saying anyone's wrong or right here ... I'm saying that if a WRX or EVO can sell here for 40k+ - there might just be a market for a Euro spec Focus ST in the same price range.
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I think so too, where Ford fuct up is they didnt bring it over here initially in 99/00. We got some cheap, recalled-to-hell machines. Then they introduced the SVT, puhlease :rolleyes: . Dodge knew how to do it right with the SRT4, why they didnt give us a boosted SVT version still bothers me. If they had brought over the RS version along with the SPi and Zetec, then it would have done some amazing things to the focus' image & street cred. street cred is something we may not think about, but it plays a huge role for people like us. Reason why the WRX, sti's, evos sell 'well' here is because of the street cred they project. Fast, affordable cars out of the box with one hell of a factory detune waiting to be played with. :D.

[2001 ZTS]

Reputation plays a factor as well.

Ford Europe has a great reputation amoungst Europeans at least as much or more as something like a Subaru.

Ford North America is a different story, the cars are considered econo boxes and (right or wrong) lesser to something like a Subaru.

Much fewer people in North America (right or wrong) will pay $40G+ for a Ford compact than would in the rest of the world.

Our "Americans friends" don't even embrace the concept of a hatchback (of any make) period so a $40G+ one made by Ford is a REAL stretch.

[NOS2Go4Me]

ZTWsquared,Dec 17 2008, 11:30 AM Wrote:I'm not saying anyone's wrong or right here ... I'm saying that if a WRX or EVO can sell here for 40k+ - there might just be a market for a Euro spec Focus ST in the same price range.
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If it's AWD, sure. If it's FWD, it'll displace / compete with / steals sales back and forth with and ultimately kill the MS3. I don't know how their cross-licensing works. I don't know if Mazda would stand by as rabid Ford UK fanboys slaughter the MS3 pocket rocket brigade with what I would assume to be 3-4x the sales the MS3 currently enjoys... easily.

And if it's FWD, my comment stands. The WRX265 is THE best sport compact performance deal going right now, especially among upper echelon players like the VW GTI / R32, the EVO X, the MS3 and the Cobalt SS. The Cobalt SS is the runaway FWD performance leader, followed closely by the MS3. For AWD, the WRX265 is the king of the hill. The STI at 14Gs (and more) for 35 more HP and "moar optionz", even as performance-oriented as most of them are, doesn't stack up.

[NoiSeeVT]

Damn $40,000 its nice but I was at Markville Mall and Markville Ford had a Setup there with a Shelby GT500 for $44995, not the same thing in terms of style but that seems to be alot more car for the cash , the reality is that a Focus no matter the power, drive wheels ect, cant be that much more over the base, I sure like those RS's but there are a lot of cars for that type of $, they would have to get around $30 for it to work in the start (put it up against the Civic SI, MazdaSpeed) but way more car.

David

[faster_than_u]

40k+ would be way to much if they wanna sell alot of these 25-28 is were it needs to be. i know i wont be willing to pay 40k+ for it. but id gladly pay 25-28 for it

[Flofocus]

faster_than_u,Dec 17 2008, 07:35 PM Wrote:40k+ would be way to much if they wanna sell alot of these 25-28 is were it needs to be. i know i wont be willing to pay 40k+ for it. but id gladly pay 25-28 for it
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lol, wont be anywhere near that price.

[ZTWsquared]

NOS2Go4Me,Dec 17 2008, 02:08 PM Wrote:

ZTWsquared,Dec 17 2008, 11:30 AM Wrote:I'm not saying anyone's wrong or right here ... I'm saying that if a WRX or EVO can sell here for 40k+ - there might just be a market for a Euro spec Focus ST in the same price range.
[right][snapback]278384[/snapback][/right]

If it's AWD, sure. If it's FWD, it'll displace / compete with / steals sales back and forth with and ultimately kill the MS3. I don't know how their cross-licensing works. I don't know if Mazda would stand by as rabid Ford UK fanboys slaughter the MS3 pocket rocket brigade with what I would assume to be 3-4x the sales the MS3 currently enjoys... easily.

And if it's FWD, my comment stands. The WRX265 is THE best sport compact performance deal going right now, especially among upper echelon players like the VW GTI / R32, the EVO X, the MS3 and the Cobalt SS. The Cobalt SS is the runaway FWD performance leader, followed closely by the MS3. For AWD, the WRX265 is the king of the hill. The STI at 14Gs (and more) for 35 more HP and "moar optionz", even as performance-oriented as most of them are, doesn't stack up.
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Hypothetically the Focus ST as it is sold in the UK right now would retail here for about 30k ... and although it would still have on paper 35hp less than the Cobalt, from what I've read it would be a much, much more sophisticated and enjoyable driving experience. And based on what I've read and seen on video, it would be far and away the better car when compared to any VW in the same price, and certainly the MS3.

I'd love to see Jeremy Clarkson test drive the Cobalt - he seemed to love the ST - I wonder if he'd like the Cobalt as much - somehow I doubt it.

If Ford is in fact considering a high-po Focus for us, I wonder if the ST wouldn't be at the top of their list.

[oldeguy]

from what I've read, the RS is priced lower than the STi and the Evo.