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08-03-2006, 01:00 AM
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic.../608020385/1148
WAYNE -- A few years ago, Ford Motor Co.'s Michigan Truck plant was churning out big SUVs and big profits while its car plant down the road in Wayne quietly cranked out small cars that fewer and fewer Americans wanted.
Now, the tables appear to be turning.
The same skyrocketing gasoline prices that have knocked the bottom out of the SUV market could help bolster the future of the fuel-efficient Focus and the Wayne Stamping and Assembly Plant, which is making more vehicles than it has in years.
And instead of neglecting the Focus as it has in years past, Ford has big plans to improve the design, engineering and fuel efficiency of the little car. For example:
Ford boosted the fuel economy of the Focus currently on the road by about 3 miles per gallon through engineering tweaks.
In January, Ford will show off a refreshed version of the Focus at the Detroit auto show and begin selling it next summer, company sources told The Detroit News. The new design will feature a reworked front end and a bolder design patterned after the Ford Fusion sedan. The new car has room for only a two-bar chrome grille instead of the signature three-bar grille on the Fusion.
Ford will also debut a two-door Focus coupe to complement its stable of offerings, which includes three- and five-door hatchbacks, a four-door sedan and a four-door wagon.
The refreshed Focus is "a lot stronger than a lot of people expected," said Jim Hall, an analyst with AutoPacific Inc. in Southfield, who has seen the new vehicle.
WAYNE -- A few years ago, Ford Motor Co.'s Michigan Truck plant was churning out big SUVs and big profits while its car plant down the road in Wayne quietly cranked out small cars that fewer and fewer Americans wanted.
Now, the tables appear to be turning.
The same skyrocketing gasoline prices that have knocked the bottom out of the SUV market could help bolster the future of the fuel-efficient Focus and the Wayne Stamping and Assembly Plant, which is making more vehicles than it has in years.
And instead of neglecting the Focus as it has in years past, Ford has big plans to improve the design, engineering and fuel efficiency of the little car. For example:
Ford boosted the fuel economy of the Focus currently on the road by about 3 miles per gallon through engineering tweaks.
In January, Ford will show off a refreshed version of the Focus at the Detroit auto show and begin selling it next summer, company sources told The Detroit News. The new design will feature a reworked front end and a bolder design patterned after the Ford Fusion sedan. The new car has room for only a two-bar chrome grille instead of the signature three-bar grille on the Fusion.
Ford will also debut a two-door Focus coupe to complement its stable of offerings, which includes three- and five-door hatchbacks, a four-door sedan and a four-door wagon.
The refreshed Focus is "a lot stronger than a lot of people expected," said Jim Hall, an analyst with AutoPacific Inc. in Southfield, who has seen the new vehicle.
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