kaj

iTrader: (60)

At least they have some experience to draw from much like Honda did with Formula 1, Mitsu/Ralliart, etc.
Personally, I'd rather buy a car with it's development and history in motorsports. I think that's why we all own an Evo.

ambystom01

iTrader: (7)

I'm pretty sure Ford has released Focuses in AWD format before.

PZ.eu

nope they never did. Only thing exceptional that was done was making ST and RS trims that had Volvo turbo 5cyl's punching a lot of torquesteer power only to change it to another torquesteer powerplant
ofc they have and a lot of xp from continuous rallying. But one thing is making a tube chassis beast that only resembles civil available model, other is making civil available model that can rally. While I think that Ford would have a hit on their hand if they made AWD Fiesta and Focus, as much as VW would if they made Polo WRC-like public model, they seem anxious about adding 2 diffs and starting charging for it, for reasons because they might be wallowy as much as Golf R is, aiming at the top while trying to tick all the boxes and failing in the end. Because one thing is making an AWD car for 35k and selling it for a fat profit(Golf R), the other is making an AWD car squeezing it in 35-40k territory and barely evading red while selling it(evo/sti). Thats the key difference, because from seen anybody today can make an AWD car, but question is will the powertrain be adequate? We've seen that Merc can do it with ease, but it costs 20k more. And on the other hand you're on the verge of trying to be evo/sti like and making a car that only serves as an AWD option of a FWD trim and eventually ending up being barely <15% of actual trim sales, cause in the end most of buyers just went on with FWD cause its 3k less and you wasted lot of R&D just to make it available. Maybe thats why Ford and others never bothered, cause it wasn't worth it by the books and it only existed as an alternative to established class leaders. Who knows, Mitsubishi willingly sent Eclipse to its prolonged death so it won't mess up with Evo sales, even tho eclipse was a car and name that embodied a decade in the market which started to acknowledge AWD and Turbo by its name. To CEO's that discuss this things, numbers and quality engineering are two things that are always in the brawl, and it always seems like numbers win. We've seen the downfall of too many names, and we hear that our car will be "replaced in spirit by SUV with similar performance" because numbers say it will sell at a fatter profit, and for instance Subaru doesn't want to bother with state of the art ZF(or even Aisin) 8sp transmission(Subaru has all technical possibilities to do this, yesterday!) because it doesn't fit their cheapness with which they severely undercut Mitsubishi, even tho it would allow them to trump the Evo on quality basis, along with sales numbers.

For all reasons above I am really sceptic on Focus AWD until the specification is released, because whats the point of having a car that costs millions to develop only to barely cross the profit line cause of vanity reasons. On the other hand Mitsubishi is being forced to make another Evo, in any way feasable cause of vanity reasons.

TL;DR: if Focus is released it might be as cheaply made like Golf R or seriously made to compete with STi being a 40k+ car or discarded as a low volume seller due to being an expensive endevour cause of vanity reasons.

ambystom01

iTrader: (7)

Hmmm, I thought they had some AWD variant in Europe at some point.

kaj

iTrader: (60)

No way am I reading the rest of all that LOL.

Anyway, here's to being hopeful!

PZ.eu

Yeah nobody reads my WoT anyway

Ang Wen Yan

I do and i agree with your points

DGS

I read it, and I fear you're correct.
Why did the Prospeed P2 never go to production?

Market analysts (and telephone sanitizers ).

The most successful car GM ever made is the one the analysts told them NOT to make.
But they made the Corvette, anyway, because one of the execs wanted one.

Building by the numbers makes cars nobody wants.
Remember the Chrysler K-car? The "one size fits all" machine that led to the first bail-out.

If only car makers were smart enough to just build the cars *they'd* want to drive.
(But then you'd need car companies run by gearheads, instead of accountants. )

WestSideBilly

iTrader: (1)

There are more accountants in the world than gear heads. There is a market for dull car/appliances like the Camry. The problem for us is that there are more accountants in the world than gear heads, and the gear heads get drowned out by bean counters trying to eke out a penny per share more profit and thus don't want to make halo cars, low margin sports cars, or anything that might be fun. But there is a market for those cars, too.

acidtonic

iTrader: (1)

Look at diesel.... Bean counters swear Americans don't want it.

Then the Ram EcoDiesel sells out the entire allotment in 3 days. Now they are ramping up production to make more. Everyone is oh so surprised.

Was it not obvious? They act like it was a big shock which tells me they really have no idea what truly motivates us to purchase vehicles.

I bought both of my Evos knowing how much potential they have and how moddable they are. Mitsubishi however thinks I bought the car for 20 other reasons which I could care less about. They created a car that gearheads wanted by accident.

I'd rather own a 2 door lightweight coupe any day of the week. I have little use for four doors. If only Mitsubishi would build something like that......

nemsin

iTrader: (19)

Clearly, a AWD Focus RS is a good thing, even if it falls short of some of our lofty expectations. Ford has been putting out some good cars and I think this one will be no exception.

Personally, I look forward to see the STI vs. RS comparisons that you know will be coming. The new STI is a pretty high benchmark, and if the RS falls short then it will likely be DOA.

ambystom01

iTrader: (7)

The Focus doesn't have to beat the STI, I just has to offer a legitimate option. If it's cheaper, or better looking, or has better factory support, or has a nicer interior, or has more power, or whatever, it'll do fine.

mrfred

iTrader: (50)

sadly, i don't think anything can beat an sti, even if the other car is a better performance vehicle. evo 8/9 sales are proof of that. for the average awd turbo newb, the wrx/sti has an unexplainable attraction.

WestSideBilly

iTrader: (1)

Ford was going to put a V6 diesel in the F150 as far back as 2004, but they changed their mind (which resulted in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_LCF to make use of the engine plant). The beancounters were convinced nobody wanted a 1/2 ton pickup that could effectively pull a trailer while still getting 20+ MPG in the city. Realistically I think they just didn't want to scavenge sales from the F250/F350 which were very profitable. Again, beancounters trumping useful vehicles.

The same can be seen in all the compact/subcompact imports that offer diesel powertrains everywhere but the US. Our diesel emissions are tough, but the car makers are convinced nobody wants diesel cars. Except you look at VW which sells a ton of diesel small cars despite the price premium.

As far as the Evo, Mitsubishi (Japan) had a pretty good idea who they were making the car for. Mitsubishi USA doesn't have a ****ing clue about anything.

I would never even consider an STI. An AWD Focus RS? Yes. Hell I'd be more likely to buy a wrong wheel drive RS than an STI. There's almost nothing about the STI I like. So no, the Focus RS won't be DOA if it's minutely slower than the STI.

kaj

iTrader: (60)

They all say it's the sound. I suppose there are worse reasons to buy a car.



I'd buy a FWD RS before an STi. The current RS is awesome