Ford Doesn't Suck, Outside the U.S. Anyway (Automotive)

Ford's domestic offering is weak. With the exception of the Mustang GT, a great balance of price and performance (the GT500 has under delivered on the other hand), the amazing super car that is the GT(production has ended), and the very impressive new Superduty pick- up, Ford does not offer vehicles that can really compete with foreign competitors, especially in the bread and butter market of family sedans. (Or even domestic now that GM is stepping their game up) For better or worse, this isn't true everywhere. If you watched Casino Royale, you've already seen the vehicle that could greatly help Ford in the U.S., the new Mondeo. Unfortunately, it was not developed for this market, and will not be sold here. Just based on the styling alone, that's a damn shame. It gets even more criminal after you read some reviews of this model. (Auto Express has one here, and a recent Top Gear blog entry here) If you enjoy being jealous or angry, I recommend giving both short articles a read.


Want a little salt in that wound? Well then, I should tell you that the U.S. market's disparity with Europe doesn't end there.

Meet the Ford Focus ST. It was a shame we never got the Ford Focus RS, a turbocharged front wheel drive hand full shown here, here in the United States, but it is absolutely ridiculous that we have not received this little number, shown above in an insane orange. It's a high performance variant of the new gen Focus powered by the Volvo 5cyl turbo motor, tuned for more power, mid ranged punch, and throttle response than when found in the Volvo S40. The reviews for the ST have been fantastic. (Check out this Edmunds review here) The Volkswagen GTI still seems to come out on top of most performance hatch comparisons, but the ST is always close by.

What vehicle would you guess won 2007 International Car of the Year? A Ford by chance...oh my, and what is this. Did you say a Ford minivan?! (Proof is here)

It's true. Ford has a fun to drive, Focus ST 2.5 liter turbo motor equipped, 7 passenger MPV. (Some stellar reviews here, here, and here) Even if you ignore the fact that Ford USA has absolutely sucked in the minivan market for quite some time now with the Windstar/Freestar debacle, it's still amazing they have not tried harder to bring this vehicle here. When one of your models wins Car of the Year, I would try to get it to every market, but that's just me.

How did this happen? Why does Ford Europe have a far superior line up of cars than Ford USA? I can only imagine it stemmed from complacency. For too long, Ford was able to rely, naively, on Americans buying domestics. By the time they considered the foreign offerings really competition, it was too late. A company wide hunger for innovation can't be cultivated in a matter of months. It takes years to have the right people in place for such creations. My guess is Ford Europe has been fighting an uphill battle from the get-go. The Europeans have always had a more critical eye towards the vehicles they buy and drive, forcing the best from the manufacturers that choose to sell vehicles there. On the upside, at least we know Ford is capable of great things, whether or not we get them all here in the U.S. I truly believe that the problems Ford now faces here, will force some sort of creative innovative burst. If not, they might die. What do they have to lose?