No hell didn't freeze over... But we did buy a Ford!
 

Yup... Yesterday dad and I went and picked up he and moms new 2013 Focus ST!

All the reviews are spot on, this is one insanely fun little hatchback. 250+hp to the front wheels means it really gets when you punch it, and the european designed suspension keeps it planted and going in the right direction. Really a fun little car.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1380490047.jpg


And ya.... I'd guess it is faster than a well prepared 944... ;)

So you think is is faster than a mustang?

Be sure to post here daily about how much better it is than a vintage 911S! ;)

I hear lots of great things about that car (and the whole Focus line).

Post some AutoX pics...

It's no Mustang.

Congrats Sid...nice colour! ;)

Aren't Fords Mazdas?

Since the late 90's?


KT

The new Focus looks a lot like a Mazda 3.


KT

Very nice Sidney and welcome to the ST club!

I like the blue and it looks like the seats are black on black? The car is excellent stock, but we did replace the stock springs with COBB lowering springs. You will eventually notice that the stock ones are holding the car back. The COBB are not very low, but add a greater confidence without a rough ride. Just an idea for you in the future.

I cheer for the mighty ST in this video even though I know it doesn't have a chance in this line up.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/8k1DIrfNr48" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Have Fun!

Nice! I'm a huge fan of those, I looked at several this year at Oshkosh. Did you get the Recaros?

Yup.... Dad ponied up and got the highest trim pack. Full leather heated recaros, and satnav. Almost too many goodies to try to figure out.

We are a Ford family. Generally been very pleased with them over the years. My dads 88 SHO Taurus was a great car. 220hp 24v Yamaha V-6 with a 5 speed manual. Lots of fun. Unlike any American car at the time.

[QUOTE=porsche4life;7680453]Dad ponied up and got the highest trim pack. /QUOTE]

Who's dad?? Oh wait that should go in the pet peeve thread. Nice car non the less.

at one time......
 

some Mazdas were Fords, but not the reverse. The only exception that I can think of was the old Ford Courier pick up. The Mazda B2000 and B2600 pickups were rebadged Ford Rangers. Mazda also marketed a couple of small coupe/sedans that were also rebadged Fords. A couple of years ago, Ford and Mazda ended their association and have gone their separate ways. Probably good for both companies!

Pretty cool cars. Apparently amazingly willing to turn despite so much power on the front wheels.

It's a huge seller in Britain. And 60 million Britons can't all be wrong (lets hope ;) )

I most certainly will once I get a chance... My schedule will keep me out of autox for a few months, but thats good, will give it time to get out of the break in period! ;) :D

Thats right... This is the one they let the European arm of the performance group tune. Thats why they didn't just tune the engine, they also did the brakes and the suspension. So it will go, turn, and stop! Novel concept ehh? ;)

Thanks Baz, and we used to always buy red cars, but after the M3 we started to love blue, and you see tons of red STs, and not many blues, so blue it was!

Ya, its pretty shocking how good the computer is at keeping the torque in check. Puts 270lbft to the front wheels and the torque steer is manageable. Its still there and you have to fight it, but not terribly. The electric assist on the power steering is awesome too. I was leery when I read that, but its got a very good feel, and is very quick. :D

Just curious, did you drive the Fiesta ST? Supposedly it's an even better drive, I think Top Gear called it "epic".

Sid - nice car!!!

I've become quite a Ford fan in the last few years. One of the reasons is that I worked 5 years for a large company as a Fleet Manager. Most of my job was DOT operations, but I did have to approve all vehicle repairs over $500, which is ALL repairs basically...

All management cars were from the Big 3, and the majority of them were Fords. They were turned in at 3 years or 60,000 miles (whichever comes first). The Fords were more reliable with fewer catastrophic failures (e.g. engine or trans failure). Very few troublesome electrical "gremlin" issues, etc. I had never been a Ford fan prior to that job but that changed. Based on the real world vehicle performance, I wound up buying THREE Ford Edge's (one to sell, one to keep and one for my Mom). When I go to pick a rental car, if there is a Ford in the group for my choice - that's the one I pick.

As far as that little hot-rod Focus goes - I'll bet it's a BLAST to drive! Enjoy!!

angela

european designed suspension

What does that even mean?

I have to admit we've always been a decidedly anti ford family, and for the most part not too hot on any cars by the big 3, but they all seem to be improving by leaps and bounds in the last few years. I had 2012 Durango last year and that was a great SUV, way better than the previous body style. But ford seems to have really nailed the car market. I don't like the lack of rear visibilty in the taurus, but otherwise they are all good looking nicely appointed cars.

What does it say? The suspension package was done by Ford's european performance group. You know, the guys that did the highly lauded Focus RS that we never got.

I know that your generation Focus is far superior in every way to the first model year but I will never forget the first time I test drove the Focus.

We did the Au Pair route with our kids child care and their car was an '80's Corolla. It began to have problems around the 200k mark (I had used it to commute into DC for years) so I decided to get a cheap new car, no frills, for the girls to drive safely.

I looked at a brand new '99 Focus, cloth seats, base engine, etc. a car as empty as a gold diggers heart. Remember as well that when I was first driving there were truly unremarkable Ford cars, the Maverick, the Escort, etc.

The price was outstanding, the trade in on the Corolla reasonable, all that was left was a trip around the rural environs of Southern Maryland.

I was stunned. It was, for what I paid, an outstanding performer, comfortable, planted and well behaved.

I was, and remain, a fan. Well done!

We bought a Ford F150 over a Toyota Tundra last year. I felt the Ford was equally well made, far more powerful with the same MPG, and more features for the same money. More so than the other domestics, I think Ford has embraced the fact that just building good cars is the path to profit. I've recently had a new Taurus, Escape, and Explorer as rentals, all were excellent cars.

I like those a lot. Please post your MPGs after you've driven it a while. I do lots of highway miles for work and don't want to be filling it up all the time - the Focus has a tiny gas tank for some reason. I test drove one and it felt very European, great little car.

Same here.... I bought an F150 Lariat ($47K sticker) -$9K from Ford, instead of a $38K Tundra. Toyota's Tundra had either a 4.6 or 5.7 motor. I got the 5.0, don't trust a turbo ECO boost. This truck is so plush!!!

Wifey and I went to "Rush" on Saturday and on the way home stopped to look at Ford Edges, we saw a CMax and liked it, the gas/hybrid one, not the plug in one. Thinking about trading in the 2010 Mazda 3 for it or selling used and then buying one. 40 MPG on a 40 mile each way all highway, no traffic drive. The Microsoft Sync stuff is cool, on the test drive she pushed a button and said "temperature 70 degrees" and it just did it. No programming, no voice recognition, it just worked.

Yup, and the 5.0 gets the same MPG as the 4.6 but with the power of the 5.7. The Ecoboost is nice but we saved a few thousand going with the 5.0, which I think will be more reliable in the long run. Ford also was much more flexible in their options than Toyota. We wanted the front bench so we had an extra seat (3 kids), to get a bench in the Toyota basically drove us into a bare bones base model that didn't even have a power driver's seat. In the Ford we were able to build a loaded XLT with a bench, power seat, backup camera and sensors, Sync, trailer brake controller, locking rear diff, tailgate step, etc. All for the same out the door price as the Tundra. I love Toyota trucks, but eventually you have to rethink your bias.