Hi, Guest
01-20-2012, 11:32 PM
I don't mind the centre exit exhaust - it reminds me of the Saleen N2O Focus, but more polished than that ever was.
Of course, I'm a purist and I'd have to have a hell of a reason to actually "buy" this car as I'm not impressed with the curb weight bloat that has crept on nearly all sport compacts in the last 10-15 years. This is why I'm going to such pains to get Subsonic right. Hell, I'd import a Escort RS Mk.2 if I could find one that I liked once they become eligible.
It's a great car, but Ford seems to really be tip-toeing back into the sport compact pool for fear of pissing off the Mustang boys that are paddling around with their beer and water wings. This is why the SVT Focus was a powertrain milquetoast offering - the chassis and suspension, the cockpit... they were all spectacular. But no RS motor. That would have angered the Mustang boys.
I can see that as the years pile on, so long as Ford is too worried about selling the Mustang crowd their people wagons for their wives / whipped husbands and their DDs / weekend toys, Ford Canada will still always treat the Focus performance crowd as an anomaly - or an afterthought. Yes, we have the "ST" now - but time will tell if this car is really any "better" than the Mk.2 Focus ST. It doesn't hold a candle to the Mk.2 RS / RS500, obviously.
This sounds like I'm angry. I'm not. I'm sad for the fact that many Focus guys will snap up the new ST because "it's the best Focus we'll ever get from Ford", and they might just be right. The problem is that we deserve MORE. We deserve a 300BHP RS Focus. We deserve a serious allotment of track-ready accessories and / or options package (ala Laguna Seca for GT500, but obv a little tamer) for those who really want to beat on the track. We deserve more than what we're being given after being faithful Focus fans for over 12 years.
If the new Focus ST is a sales failure, it's because they waste so much of Jost Capito's development efforts by not marketing / pricing it effectively. Personally, I hope I'm proven completely wrong and that it sells out completely.
Of course, I'm a purist and I'd have to have a hell of a reason to actually "buy" this car as I'm not impressed with the curb weight bloat that has crept on nearly all sport compacts in the last 10-15 years. This is why I'm going to such pains to get Subsonic right. Hell, I'd import a Escort RS Mk.2 if I could find one that I liked once they become eligible.
It's a great car, but Ford seems to really be tip-toeing back into the sport compact pool for fear of pissing off the Mustang boys that are paddling around with their beer and water wings. This is why the SVT Focus was a powertrain milquetoast offering - the chassis and suspension, the cockpit... they were all spectacular. But no RS motor. That would have angered the Mustang boys.
I can see that as the years pile on, so long as Ford is too worried about selling the Mustang crowd their people wagons for their wives / whipped husbands and their DDs / weekend toys, Ford Canada will still always treat the Focus performance crowd as an anomaly - or an afterthought. Yes, we have the "ST" now - but time will tell if this car is really any "better" than the Mk.2 Focus ST. It doesn't hold a candle to the Mk.2 RS / RS500, obviously.
This sounds like I'm angry. I'm not. I'm sad for the fact that many Focus guys will snap up the new ST because "it's the best Focus we'll ever get from Ford", and they might just be right. The problem is that we deserve MORE. We deserve a 300BHP RS Focus. We deserve a serious allotment of track-ready accessories and / or options package (ala Laguna Seca for GT500, but obv a little tamer) for those who really want to beat on the track. We deserve more than what we're being given after being faithful Focus fans for over 12 years.
If the new Focus ST is a sales failure, it's because they waste so much of Jost Capito's development efforts by not marketing / pricing it effectively. Personally, I hope I'm proven completely wrong and that it sells out completely.
Daily driver 1: 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport "S"
33" BFG Mud-Terrain KM2s, lots of Rough Country gear - bumper, 2.5" lift, swaybar disconnects, Superwinch 10,000lb winch, Detroit Locker in rear D44 axle, custom exhaust, K+N filtercharger, Superchips-tuned.
Daily driver 2: 2006 Subaru Legacy GT
COBB Stage 1+ package - AccessPort tuner, COBB intake and airbox. Stage 2 coming shortly - COBB 3" AT stainless DP and race cat, custom 3" Magnaflow-based exhaust and Stage 2 COBB tune.
33" BFG Mud-Terrain KM2s, lots of Rough Country gear - bumper, 2.5" lift, swaybar disconnects, Superwinch 10,000lb winch, Detroit Locker in rear D44 axle, custom exhaust, K+N filtercharger, Superchips-tuned.
Daily driver 2: 2006 Subaru Legacy GT
COBB Stage 1+ package - AccessPort tuner, COBB intake and airbox. Stage 2 coming shortly - COBB 3" AT stainless DP and race cat, custom 3" Magnaflow-based exhaust and Stage 2 COBB tune.