Cars - Ford Focus

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	Cars - Ford Focus

The Ford Focus is an automobile made by the Ford Motor Company and sold in most Ford markets worldwide. It was launched in 1998 in Europe, and in 2000 in North America. Since then, it has become the most popular car in the United Kingdom, following in the success of the Escort, its predecessor. A new version of the Focus was launched in Europe in January 2005, while the United States received an updated version of the old model.

Unlike previous Fords in the North American market, the Pinto and the Escort, no luxury Mercury version is available.

In Australia, New Zealand, Japan and other countries in the region, it replaced the Laser, based on the Mazda 323 (called the Mazda Protege in some markets).

Ford Focus Mk I

Codenamed CW170 during its development, and briefly known to some Ford contractors as the Ford Fusion, the original Focus took its eventual name from a Ghia concept car which was shown in 1991. Certain elements of the design had been seen even earlier in prototypes used by Ford to demonstrate forthcoming safety features such as the eye-level rear lighting clusters. Initial spy photographs of the car seen in 1995 took the world by storm at the design's apparent boldness - further developing Ford's "New Edge" styling philosophy first seen in the Ka in 1996 and Cougar in 1998. The daring styling made it largely unchanged when it entered production three years later.

Mechanically, it drew heavily from other European Ford models, using a sophisticated fully independent multi-link rear suspension (dubbed "Control Blade") derived from the Short-Long Arm system used in the Mondeo station wagon (estate), giving the Focus class-leading handling and ride.

The engines available were the well-proven 1.8 litre and 2.0 litre Zetec units from the Mondeo/Contour family and 1.4 litre and 1.6 litre versions of the Zetec-SE units found in the Fiesta and Puma, with the Endura diesel (a development of the old Deutz-designed motor which Ford had been using since the 1980s), although the Duratorq unit replaced this in 2002. The SVT and ST170 used a 168 Bhp (170 Ps) variable valve timing version of the 2.0 litre Zetec engine while the RS used a 212 Bhp turbo version of the same engine, but without variable valve timing.

The Focus, unlike the Mondeo Mk I intended to be, was a true "world car", which saw Ford coordinate and pool its resources from all over the globe and use the same design globally. Like the Mondeo, most of the design and engineering work took place in Europe. The Focus is arguably the biggest indication of the change in Ford's design and engineering philosophy. After the Escort Mk IV was criticised by the motoring press as being designed by the "bean counters" and for its mediocre ride, handling and quality, Ford decided to take more risks in its replacement. As a result, the Focus had bold styling, increased quality and critically-acclaimed handling and refinement.

The body styles available were 3 and 5 door hatcbacks, a 4 door saloon and a 5 door estate. When the Focus was launched in North America the car featured different front and rear bumpers and a grille which incorporated the indicators/running lights, but all the sheet metal was the same as the European version - unlike the Mondeo and Contour.

Ford Focus Mk I 5-door (European version)

Ford Focus Mk I saloon (European version in Ghia guise)

Ford Focus Mk I 3-door (North American version in SVT guise)

2001 Ford Focus Mk I

In 2001 the European version of the Mk I Focus was facelifted, receiving a new grille, headlights and front and rear bumpers. The facelifted version also saw the introduction of the ST170, which shared it's engine with the North American Focus SVT launched earlier, and in 2002 the long awaited Focus RS appeared although it was not available in North America and was only produced in limited numbers.

Ford Focus Mk I 3-door (2001 facelift in ST170 guise)

2004 Ford Focus Mk I

While Europe received an all new Mk II Focus in 2004, the Mk I was heavily facelifted in North America in late 2004 for the 2005 model year and featured an all new front end and interior, with the grille and headlights looking very similar to the Focus Mk II. Ford apparently decided that a completely new car would not be profitable in this heavily price and incentive-driven market, while sales of the Mk I eventually slid in North America.

Ford Focus Mk I saloon (2004 facelift)

It is produced by factories in: Saarlouis, Germany; Valencia, Spain; Pacheco, Argentina; and Wayne, Michigan in which the US Knocked down kits are supplied for assembly to Vsevolzhsk near Saint Petersburg, Russia. Some North American Focuses were built in Hermosillo, Mexico, before all post-2005 North American Focuses were built in Wayne, Michigan. The Hermosillo plant was then retooled to build the Ford Fusion.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Ford Focus ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Ford Focus; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Cars - Ford Focus

Ford Focus Mk I

2001 Ford Focus Mk I

2004 Ford Focus Mk I

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