The 2008 Ford Focus: no wagon, no hatchback

The arrival of the new North American Ford Focus is not very good news for the Canadian market, let alone for Quebec, where consumers love small cars. Why? That's because the second-generation Focus will only be available as a sedan and a coupe.

You've read correctly: no wagon and no hatchback are on the menu.

Bill Osborne, president of Ford Canada, explains that these two bodystyles only accounted for 20 percent of all Focus sales. On the flip side, for the first time since its original introduction, back in 2000, Ford's compact car will be offered as a two-door coupe.

The new Focus: not unanimous
In fact, the blue-oval automaker chose to unveil the coupe at Detroit's NAIAS, which is going on as we speak. However, its styling gets mixed reviews. Some like it, while others find the front bumper oddly shaped and the grille, only half-reminiscent of the Fusion's.

Moreover, the platform of the new Focus has been carried over from the first generation. Ford has strangely decided against using the European Focus architecture, which was acclaimed by international auto journalists.

It is true that this European platform would have required costly modifications to meet North American standards, particularly on the safety front. "We saw a lot more advantages in continuing with our existing platform," said Mr. Osborne.

High hopes for "Sync"
In order to keep pace with compact queens such as the Honda Civic and Mazda3, which sold 70,028 and 47,933 units last year, respectively, the president of Ford Canada says he has high hopes for the new Focus and its "Sync" technology.

Sync has been developed by Microsoft and the 2008 Focus will be the first Ford vehicle to use it. Actually, Sync will be exclusive to a dozen of Ford products until the end of 2008. After that, other manufacturers will be able to take advantage of this new technology.

But what is it? Sync allows everyday electronic gadgets -- cell phones, PDAs, digital media players -- to communicate with the car and the driver. "Your automobile will even be able to read your text messages aloud," explained Bill Gates during a teleconference.

According to Mr. Osborne, "such functionality and convenience will prove to be very interesting to the consumer. Affordably priced, we believe Sync will help us conquer new customers."

First but not last
Ford of America president Mark Fields promised that the new Focus would be the first in a series of small cars to enlarge the automaker's portfolio.

Ford is currently considering bringing a sub-compact car to market. "We think this market segment is a good opportunity for us in Canada," said Mr. Osborne.

Ford Fiesta

He added that the new global structure announced by Ford last December will greatly benefit our country. "We'll be able to choose from the best Ford has to offer worldwide while taking advantage of economies of scale."

Without revealing any future plans for Ford Canada, Mr. Osborne says he expects a variety of new products to hit our shores. "I would particularly like to see a couple of B-segment cars, such as the Ka or the Fiesta. I would also like to bring the Transit, which is the minivan sold by Ford in Europe. Finally, a diesel engine would be fantastic for our cars."