I think I have been a bad boy...

[DGibb]

I went and looked at a Ford Focus SVT today...and...I kinda liked it... *waits for the flames*

Man, if the states would get the Focus RS (210HP+ Turbo) I'd drop the MSP in a second to get one. Damn Europeans! They get all the powerful cars! :)

[1sty]

I would smash ya, Hell those focus rally cars kick ass. Fords trying like hell to make that car a compeditor.

[Newf]

one problem.....it's ugly....looks like a "girlie" car.

Might as well buy a neon too.

[Limited Edition]

don't worry DGiBB..
i admit the SVT focus isn't too bad :p
but it's a bit pricy for a ford IMO.
the blue looks really good when under direct sunlight...

[katsmp3]

ITS NOT A GIRLY CAR. Im a girl and that has not blinded me from seeing that it is butt ugly. I feel bad flaming somones opinion. but, we are trying to help you. Yes, the car is fast. Yes the car post good numbers. But is that worth your reputation as a stylish person.

kat

[Sir Nuke]

okay....I am chiming in here anyway....its been said....but I will say it again...ITS UGLY!!

I turely hate the way the front end slopes down and just goes straight to the ground...and those BIG ASS funky headlights that reach way up the hood are sooooooooooooo frickin ugly!!! it looks like they ran out of sheet metal for hoods so they compromised and made the lights bigger! lol and those wheelwells! omg...how ugly are those? it looks like some cheap fender skirts on their edges....way ugly....one of those things could come off the dealers floor running 11's and I wouldn't have one.

Yes the rally cars kick some butt.....but I am not running a rally....I am crusin around town....ya know?

(stash)

[AustinG]

THE ONLY THING THAT YOU ALL CAN SAY ABOUT THE CAR IS THAT IT'S UGLY. CAN'T THINK OF ANY THING ELSE BETTER. JUST ADMIT THAT THE CAR IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE MAZDASPEED AND THAT'S IT. YOU ALL SOUND LIKE THE GUY THAT GOT BEAT OUT BY A BETTER CAR AND STARTED COMMING UP WITH ALL THESE THING WHY IT NOT THE CAR IT THE WEIGHT, THE CLUTCH, AND SO ON. JUST ADMIT THAT THE NEON AND FOCUS ARE GOOD FAST ASS CARS.

[Protege01MP3]

and you sound like a guy who doesnt know where the caps lock key is on his keyboard... or maybe you broke it in your fit of rage when you almost blew up from being so upset because alot of the ppl on this board dont like a car that can be classified as "butthole" at best... hmm... i wonder which it is

[Dexter]

well of course the focus rally car is more powerful. but the SVT isnt.
the wrx is more powerful than the mazdaspeed too...big shit. whats this argument about again?

[JasonH]

It'd be one thing if the car was ugly but unique, but the Focus SVT is just as ugly as the regular Focus, and seemingly just as common. And now they're going to make a four-door hatchback too? Why not just slap an SVT sticker on every Focus out the door?

And please, "MORE POWERFUL" than the Mazdaspeed Protege?Car & Driver wrote:
For all that work, though, the Focus is not as fast as you might expect. At 7.8 seconds to 60 mph and 16.1 seconds through the quarter-mile, it's barely quicker than the Honda (Civic Si.)

[BigBlue]

Personally I don't like the looks either. There are tons of cars out there faster than the MSP...I mean it's a great car, but it's not gonna go around taking out Vipers(well not without some work)., but it's got it all in my opinion. Stylish looks that set it apart, great system, great straight line performance and it handles on rails. Yeah I can find cars that are faster than it with ease...but do you really want to drive around in an ugly car?

[Ishmael]

I'd take a Focus RS over a Mazdaspeed or a WRX any day. The RS version of that car is far from ugly. The interior is still the shits, but the outside of the RS screams Rally ready road monster.

[Protege01MP3]

EXACTLY!!!
people seem to forget that the mp3 and msp are a TOTAL PACKAGE

they arent just fast.. or just stylish.. or just come w/ a damn good stock system... they are all of that and more... and they even have somewhat decent insurance rates because theyre 4dr sedans... i know ppl that wont even look at anything w/ more than 2 doors (or 2 + hatch :) ) but they love the mp3 even tho its a foh doh (dats dat ebonics foh four door foh allz y'all unedumicated fowkes)

anyway... lets divide power/style/handling/and accessories (like audio) in to their respective categories... and then lets see who wins

.................mp3..........svt
1. power.....................1
2. handling....1.............
3. style..........1.............
4. acsries.......1.............

hmm... looks like that doesnt exactly balance out... mp3 wins in 3 categories... focus wints in 1 category... and i'd bet a new turbo that the mp3 can be modified to acheive the same power as a modified focus as well... so.. heres the conclusion..

if your just looking for a car, that you want to keep stock, and keep as a daily driver... winner is......... mp3

if your looking for a car that you can pimp out and make it a mad crazy show car..... winner is...........mp3

if your looking for a car that you can modify for track use and get good quarter mile times.... winner is.........mp3 (ok.. either i guess.. but still)

if your looking for a car that is very original, stylish, and limited edition......... winner is....... mp3

well.. i guess that the focus is screwed.... well other than the fact that the mp3 isnt exactly in production anymore.. lol...

oh yah.. and anywhere above, you can replace "mp3" w/ "msp" and all statements will still be valid

[Antoine]

I would say the Focus svt isn't a bad performance package...but it's a Ford and personally I would avoid buying a Ford. ;)

See we are lucky...of course many of us would say the MSP is the top dog (in the performance compact class) just because we are Mazda enthusiast but the reality is...it actually is the TOP DOG!!!

[slug420]

I hate stock and SVT focuses (foci?)
And I am reluctant to admit it but I have seen some heavily modified focuses that I do like. And I will aknowledge their performance in the SVT form and potential performance when modified. But even if they sold the focuses looking like the heavily modified ones I have seen, I wouldnt buy one, cuz its a ford. i shopped around for a new car last winter knowing i would be buying one this fall, and focus wasnt even close to being considered......im getting a msp.

[jhatfi]

I disagree. The Focus RS is pretty bad ass looking IMO. Much meaner looking than the SVT Focus. Now does it look as good as the Mazdaspeed Portege? No, but fugly it isn't. Still do not like the back end of it though.......

Focus RS (http://www.focusrs.net/wallpapers/focus_rs_800.jpg)

[APEXistud]

Originally posted by AustinG
THE ONLY THING THAT YOU ALL CAN SAY ABOUT THE CAR IS THAT IT'S UGLY. CAN'T THINK OF ANY THING ELSE BETTER. JUST ADMIT THAT THE CAR IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE MAZDASPEED AND THAT'S IT. YOU ALL SOUND LIKE THE GUY THAT GOT BEAT OUT BY A BETTER CAR AND STARTED COMMING UP WITH ALL THESE THING WHY IT NOT THE CAR IT THE WEIGHT, THE CLUTCH, AND SO ON. JUST ADMIT THAT THE NEON AND FOCUS ARE GOOD FAST ASS CARS.

Since when was the SVT Focus more powerful than the Mazdaspeed. :wtf: :rolleyes: I must have missed that info.

[NC_MSP]

Originally posted by AustinG
THE ONLY THING THAT YOU ALL CAN SAY ABOUT THE CAR IS THAT IT'S UGLY. CAN'T THINK OF ANY THING ELSE BETTER. JUST ADMIT THAT THE CAR IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE MAZDASPEED AND THAT'S IT. YOU ALL SOUND LIKE THE GUY THAT GOT BEAT OUT BY A BETTER CAR AND STARTED COMMING UP WITH ALL THESE THING WHY IT NOT THE CAR IT THE WEIGHT, THE CLUTCH, AND SO ON. JUST ADMIT THAT THE NEON AND FOCUS ARE GOOD FAST ASS CARS.


Hey....I sold those damn things....I even admit they are ugly and they dont perform as well as you expect.....for a focus...its good....everything needs work....and the fact that ford admitted to us dealers that they could have easily gotten 200 hp out of that engine pisses me off.....they are releasing the 5door version of the svt focus this year...which is even uglier than the hatchback....why not just redo the entire vehicle....widen it a lil...ground effects maybe....defenitly different headlights.....and different wheels.....not to mention more power from the engine.....and people might consider buying.....here in NC they are just sitting on the dealer lots......I'd take the MSP over the focus svt anyday.....and on to the neon.....sold those my first 2 years in the car biz......POS....thats all i gotta say....any vehicle that loses 75% of its value in a years time is a POS.....the interior i wouldnt be caught dead in.....the shifter is like a foot and a half tall.....it has no power.....maybe the SRT might......but thats a different story....why dont they just make all the neons look like the srt......take out the turbo and call it an SR.....and for the limited production wanting people....give em the SRT.....the fact is mazda has hit the nail on the head with the MSP and everyone is jealous.....some are people that are afriad they made the wrong choice.......others...cuz they cant have the car.....whatever the reason....its still jealousy......hey..i'm not gonna own one.....but i'd back it in a minute.......anyways...thats my 2 cents guys.

[Sir Nuke]

Plain and simple......if you want, you can make ANYTHING on four wheels run like a bat out of hell....yes even a focus. But to many, speed isn't everything....or even the tip of the iceberg for that matter...you have to go in style. I have never seen a Focus or many others cars that when they slowly and quietly pull up to a stop sign, then make heads turn.....THAT is what most of us are talking about....well making heads turn TOWARDS it...not away from it....is it nice to have a car that will out perform any other...or just a LOT of cars out there? sure it is....but you have got to have some appealing styling to go with it to make it a real package.

[DGibb]

I wouldn't call this ugly... pretty damn nice in my opinion...

http://www.focusrs.net/pictures/FocusRS15.jpg
http://www.focusrs.net/pictures/FocusRS16.jpg
http://www.focusrs.net/pictures/IM000276.jpg
http://www.focusrs.net/pictures/Im000253a.jpg

[Ishmael]

Thank you for posting that, like I said, far from an ugly car, and if that was for sale in north america I would buy one in an instant.

And I was waiting for someone to say they wouldn't buy a focus because it is a Ford. Remember who owns Mazda now.

[Protege01MP3]

Originally posted by Ishmael
Thank you for posting that, like I said, far from an ugly car, and if that was for sale in north america I would buy one in an instant.

And I was waiting for someone to say they wouldn't buy a focus because it is a Ford. Remember who owns Mazda now.

yah.. its far from an "ugly" car... i guess... but its still further from a nice car....

maybe its the whole lamp scheme (headlights, tails, fogs, etc...) or maybe its the general shape of the car.... perhaps its the super duper cheapo black plastic insert thingies in the vents on the front bumper..... or maybe its the little wanna be baby fender flare things that some engineer came running into the office with, on the day they were gonna send it to production, and said "hey! hey! check out this innovative breakthrough in the world of automotive design!!! I'll give the whole board of directors blowjobs if you put them on the production vehicle! AND i'll take it in the ass if you leave them on EVERY focus we make, from the base models to the sport!" then the chairmen, having not gotten laid in quite a while, held a meeting and decided, "yes, a blowjob sounds nice with my morning coffee"

and so... the focus fender flares were born

hope you liked my story kids... i just woke up and came into work and started typing about how i dont like the focus... and i came up w/ what you see above... guess those creative writing classes i used to skip in highschool would have come in handy here, eh?

anyhow... the fucus sucks
and yes... a big part of why i wouldnt buy one is also cuz of Ford... yah yah.. blah blah ford owns part of mazda yappity yappity blah blah... hmm... lets see... who designs more stuff for the other companies cars?? i seem to recall one example... the old probes... interior? mazda engine? mazda almost everything else? mazda exterior? Ford... wow!!! ford actually did design atleast one aspect of the car that was being released under THEIR company name...

lets see... proteges i seem to believe, are all designed by mazda... ford didnt have any part in that... and yet... ford has trouble designing a good car without help... oh yah.. ford is a GREAT car company... so innovative, so elite, so...... so....... so....... dont know what they hell they are doing.... so..... unable to design a good car.... so..... WACK

whatever... fuck a focus

(sorry.. not flamin anyone.. not arguing w/ anyone.. just expressing my opinion)

peace

[Ishmael]

The problem is I agree with just about everything you are saying. No doubt about it, the Focus sucks, and Ford of AMERICA can't seem to build that car so that it doesn't fall apart under everyone who buys it. And the damn base models are as ugly as sin (espescially the four doors).

However, much like the WRX, when a company takes a generally ugly car and makes it go like shit, I love it. sure, the 'look at me I'm Colin McRae' look will wear off in a while, I think the wider fender flares, the big wheels and the mean ass bumper add a dimension to the car's styling that is not ordinarily there. Now, will it fall apart?

Ford of AMERICA sucks quite hard core, making junk cars with blazee styling and horrible quality control. However, the Ford on the other side of the pond has a history of decent, really mean, really fast RS/Cosworth editions. ANY of which I would gladly own.

Now, if Ford of AMERICA would get their heads out of their asses, realize there is a market for this car, bring it in here at 24,000 US to compete with Subie (even $27000 given that the EVO is coming) I would actually go to a Ford dealership for the first time in my whole entire life. Needless to say, that is not going to happen, so instead we get a four door SVT 'whopee fucking doo'.

It's a shame that a car company who's roots are in america do all their best work across the pond.

And as for the Ford Mazda thing, yes, I know, Ford has no hand in the Protege (FOR NOW), but they still have a hand in everything Mazda does (even my 10AE had a Ford Starter and a Ford logo on the airbag module). And while no doubt some of Ford of America's best cars have been Mazda's, well, I recall reading an article to the lines of 'Mazda to be about 80% shared with Ford by 2005' in Road and Track. And if anyone wants to refute that I WILL dig up the issue.

'nuff said I guess, I just hate it when so called enthusiasts become nothing more than fan boys. The Focus RS is brilliant in just about every respect, don't believe me, pick up this months CAR at a good bookstore, it's plastered on the cover. Man, I got to move to Europe. Lotus. TVR. Peugeot. Alfa. Subie P1's and 22B's. What the hell am I doing in Canada?

Later.