[naz]

the mazda3 uses the platform that the euro focus uses right? so there you go, you can still have the latest gen focus in north america

personally, i think fomoco has more problems than just a lack of competitive 'sport compact' vehicle

i mean.. getting your bonds cut to junk or near junk status is a pretty clear signal that the company is having some serious problems remaining competitive

http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/05/markets/bo...tos_bonds.reut/

personally, i think ford's strategy has some good points.. let the focus be the rental fleet special, let the closely related mazda 3 to be the enthusiast and upmarket model. doesn't make much sense to have the focus and mazda3 both use the latest platform and compete against each other..

EDIT: my opinion.. ford is toast in north america.. i thought i read somewhere that ford has only 1 car line that sold more units than the 3series.. its pretty sad when a mainstream car maker can't sell more than a niche/luxury car maker.. so ford is pretty much not a player in cars..its only a matter of time until euro and japanese brands blow them out of the water in trucks, SUVs and vans