Ford has been steady building its brand, kicking *** in WRC, and racking in buckets of cash. New Ford Focus RS should be a winner.

 

excited to see an RS on the road here the US

 

The example every auto executive should remember:

The most successful car GM ever built is the one the suits, "market analysts", and "telephone sanitizers" () told them not to build.

But one exec wanted a Corvette for himself.


So that's the lesson: Build the car your people would want, and you'll find that other people will want it, too.


Build the car that the bureaucrats want you to build, and nobody will want it.


When people buy cars, very few care what Big Brother wants you to drive, and *nobody* cares what "the market" is supposed to want.
People buy the car that *they* want (or as close to it as they can afford).

So when you have a performance car that can hold its own with machines costing twice as much, it's just stupid to dump it.


Yes, the Lancer is going "international platform" with a Peugeot.
But the GTR isn't a "Skyline GTR" anymore.
So there's no reason an EVO has to be a Lancer EVO.

Jack the price 20% from the loss of common production, ...
... and you'll still be priced well below other cars in the same performance class.

Heck, dump the cheap Lancer interior for something more upscale, and you'll have something comparable with six figure sports cars for at least 25% less.


Although the MR shows the worry: The Mitsu dealer network just isn't scaled to handle a 70-80K$ sports car.
They can't even service the Getrag gearbox.

So Mitsu can't run a dealer network for just one performance car.
They'd need to also move the Outlander (and Pajero) upscale to compete with the X3, X5, and Cayenne.

Instead, they're following the PCisms and going plug-in hybrid: Setting themselves up to get smeared by the upcoming Tesla SUV.


Following the herd means you get the grass those ahead of you have crapped on.

 

Don't get too excited about the RS yet. The FailWheelDrive may yet be the driveline of choice. The jury is still out.

 

Road and Track is now report that it will be AWD. While we can still remain skeptical until the Detroit auto show next month, I think its pretty safe to say it will be AWD. Road and Track is not some random internet blog. http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...-insider-info/

 

Hope R&T is right.

 

The bit about the AWD system trickling down to other models is interesting. Maybe we will see an AWD Fiesta RS someday.

 

hope road n track article is correct. another article posted same dec 11 date states it will be fwd.

 

Its no evo alternative if it isn't AWD.

 

Well since there will be no 2016 Evo, you are right its not an alternative.

Ford has already more than proven itself in the rally world and I am sure tons of tuner shops will bring out the potential of the new Focus RS.

 

when you will resign?

that is all.